The Texans needed help in the secondary and they are hoping Bennett will give them some.  He has a nice size/speed combo at 6′0″, 196 with a 4.45 40.  He is good in coverage and can make some big plays in the passing game.  But, he’s super soft against the run and misses a lot of tackles.  In 48 games (33 starts) at South Carolina, Bennett made 108 tackles, broke up 24 passes, had 9 interceptions (43 return yards), forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.  Bennett looks more like a free safety type to me because he’s too soft to be near the line of scrimmage.  This was likely not too good of a pick by the Texans.

The Texans have been looking for a receiver to play on the opposite side of Andre’ Johnson for a long time and they hope they’ve found him in Jacoby Jones.  Jones sure looks the part as he’s 6′2″, 203 pounds and runs a 4.4 40….but questions still abound.  Jones played at Lane College in Tennessee so he hasn’t played against top level competition so this will be a big leap for him.  He also has really small hands to he could have some problems with drops in the Pros.  Jones played in 42 games (all starts) at Lane College and he caught 200 passes for 2,750 yards (13.8 avg) with 21 TD grabs.  It will be interesting to see how Jones does in the NFL.

The Texans decided that they needed some help on the interior of their defense and that was the reason for picking Okoye.  Okoye is a very smart guy as he graduated from Louisville with a 4-year degree at the age of 19.  It will be interesting to see how Okoye handles playing against men much older than he is.  Okoye has tons of upside because he hasn’t played a lot of football as he didn’t start playing until high school.  He has a lot to learn but he has good size at 6′2″, 302 pounds and he is pretty quick for a big guy.  He plays hard every down and he’s good at staying low to the ground which is important for a defensive tackle.  In 4 seasons at Louisville, Okoye played in 48 games (24 starts) and he made 121 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, had 10.5 sacks, batted down 1 pass, forced three fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  This will be a boom or bust pick for the Texans because it’s hard to gauge how well Okoye will play in the NFL.

The Houston Texans have signed undrafted running back Darius Walker after he got out of the deal he signed with the Chicago Bears.  Darius Walker got a little to big for his britches as he skipped his senior season and entered the NFL Draft, but no one wanted him. Now he will have an uphill battle to try to make the Texans. Still, there are some things to like about Walker. He has the skill set of a third down back in the NFL as he doesn’t have elite speed (4.55 40) or size (5′9″, 210) but he’s a tough runner that is a good receiver too. In 36 games (27 starts) at Notre Dame, Walker has carried the football 693 times for 3,249 yards (4.7 ypc) with 17 TD runs. He also has caught 109 passes for 815 yards (7.5 avg) with 3 TD receptions. He’s got his work cut out if he wants to make the Texans as he will start out behind Ahman Green, Samkon Gado and Ron Dayne on the depth chart.

The Houston Texans have signed former Boise State QB Jared Zabransky as an undrafted free agent.  One of the biggest reasons that Zabransky went undrafted is because he’s a gunslinger that takes too many chances.  But, that’s also what makes him exciting to watch.  It will be interesting to see if he can make the Texans roster behind Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels.  Zabransky is a great athlete as he’s 6′1″, 205 and he can run a 4.55 in the 40 yard dash.  In his four seasons at Boise State, Zabransky completed 610 of 980 passes (62.2%) for 8,256 yards with 58 TD passes and 37 interceptions.  He’s also not afraid to tuck the ball and run.