Duane Brown is a converted tight end so he is light on his feet.  That is one of his strengths but it also is a weakness at times as he doesn’t have a good power game.  He is still learning and he has trouble with speed rushers.  Brown is a big guy at 6′4″, 314 pounds and he runs a 5.0 40.  Brown played in 53 games (40 starts) at Virginia Tech.  The Texans reached for need with this selection in the draft and it could hurt them down the road.

The Houston Texans selected DT Amobi Okoye with their first round pick last season.  Okoye played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Texans last season and he made 32 tackles, had 5.5 sacks and forced 1 fumble.  Look for him to even get better in the near future for the Texans.  WR/KR Jacoby Jones was the third round pick of the Texans last April.  He played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 3 times for a loss of 1 yard (-0.3 ypc) and he also caught 15 passes for 149 yards (9.9 avg).  Jones also returned 4 kickoffs for 78 yards (19.5 avg) and he also returned 30 punts for 286 yards (9.5 avg).  4th round pick (CB) Fred Bennett was perhaps the best pick the Texans made last April.  He played in 14 games (8 starts) for the Texans and he made 62 tackles, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 14 passes and intercepted 3 passes.  He looks like he’ll be a starter for a long time for the Texans.  Neither of the 5th round picks of the Texans (SS) Brandon Harrison or (OT) Brandon Frye played in a game last season.  6th round pick (OG) Kasey Studdard only played in 3 games (0 starts) as a rookie.  Inside linebacker Zac Diles was the 7th round pick of the Texans last season and he played in 11 games (0 starts) and made 13 tackles.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C+

The Houston Texans have signed Nick Ferguson.  Ferguson played in 12 games for the Broncos last season and he made 55 tackles, defensed 1 pass and forced 1 fumble.  Ferguson has now played in 108 games in his NFL career and he has made 342 tackles, defensed 22 passes, has 1 sack, forced 6 fumbles and he has picked off 7 passes.  This was a solid move for the Texans as the shuttle from Denver to Houston continues.

The Houston Texans have signed Qb Quinn Gray to a 1-year contract.  Gray played in 8 games for the Jaguars last season and he completed 80 of 144 passes (55.6%) for 986 yards with 10 TD passes and 5 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 19 times for 57 yards (3.0 ypc) last season.  Gray has now played in 11 games in his NFL career and he has completed 101 of 180 passes (56.1%) for 1,252 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 interceptions (88.5 QB Rating).  Gray has also carried the ball 24 times for 84 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  The Texans now boast one of the deepest rosters at QB in the NFL with Gray, Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels.