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Dominique Barber is a big safety at 6′0″, 211 pounds and he brings muscle against the running game, but, he’s not the fastest safety around (4.6 40) and his hands aren’t very dependable. Barber projects as a strong safety in the pros. He played in 46 games (25 starts) at Minnesota and he made 191 tackles, broke up 17 passes, had 4 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles. Barber will be a backup and special teams player for the Texans.
The Texans were happy to see DT Frank Okam available to them in the 5th round. He is a big guy at 6′4″, 319 pounds but he often takes plays off looking like he’s content to dance with offensive linemen. But, if the Texans get motivate him he could really make an impact inside as he often played to the level of the team he was playing against. Okam played in 50 games (39 starts) at Texas and he finished with 160 tackles, had 28 tackles for a loss, had 10 sacks, batted down 12 passes, forced a fumble and recovered 5 fumbles. This was a nice pick for the Texans.
Xavier Adibi is 6′1″, 220 pounds so he has some trouble against power running teams but he’s very fast running a 4.63 40. He can cover RBs and TEs effectively in the passing game but he’s not much of a blitzer. Adibi played in 47 games (40 starts) at Virginia Tech and he made 291 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, had 11 sacks, broke up 18 passes and had 8 interceptions. Getting Adibi in the 4th round was a steal for the Texans as he was projected to go as high as the 2nd round. He will give the rebuilding Texans’ defense another very solid athlete and he will likely be starting soon.
Steve Slaton is just a little guy at 5′10″, 185 pounds but he’s lightning fast running a 4.45 40. Some question his toughness between the tackles but he is a runner that can score a TD on any play. Slaton played in 36 games (33 starts) at West Virginia and he carried the ball 664 times for 4,042 yards (6.1 ypc) with 50 TD runs. He also has caught 65 passes for 805 yards (12.4 avg) with 5 TD grabs. Look for Slaton to initially be the third down back for the Texans but he could be much more in the future as he is an incredible athlete.