The Houston Texans added three nice pieces to the future of the team last April
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+
I’ve been high on this Texans team for the last year-and-a-half. Afraid the word is out! It’s tough that they are in such a quality division, but this team is doing it right: laying a foundation and a proven system that will ensure they will be competitive for awhile. However, they are still the odd man out in an extremely physical division. One or two more top drafts, a little luck with injuries, and a free agent or two though and this team could be a legit SB contender by 2010. Just hope they keep Kubiak that long. He is solid.
I did think the Texans improved with last year’s draft. Again another competitive season, but no playoffs. Now they have to get over the hump and show they can truely be a contending team in that regard by at least just making the postseason.