28-year old QB Matt Schaub can’t do much better than he did last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Texans last year and he completed 396 of 583 passes (67.9%) for 4,770 yards with 29 TD passes and 15 INTs (98.6 QB Rating).  Schaub also carried the ball 48 times for 57 yards (1.2 ypc) last year.  The Texans fell just one game short of the playoffs last season but they can’t blame that on Schaub who was electric.  If he has some help from the running game in 2010 the Texans might make their first venture into the NFL playoffs in 2010.  Schaub has now played in 76 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 923 of 1,413 passes (65.3%) for 11,087 yards with 59 TD passes and 40 INTs (91.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 120 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.  Schaub is 19-21 (47.5%) as a starting QB in the NFL and the Texans hope that record improves a lot in 2010.

The Texans had better hope that Schaub stays healthy because his backup will be 26-year old Dan Orlovsky.  He didn’t get in any games last season for the Texans and he last played in a game in 2008 with the Lions.  Orlovsky has played in 12 games in his NFL career and he has completed 150 of 272 passes (55.1%) for 1,679 yards with 8 TD passes and 8 INTs (71.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 ypc) in his career.  Orlovsky has a 0-7 record as a starting QB in the NFL.

25-year old John David Booty will be the likely #3 QB for the Texans in 2010 and he has never taken a snap in the NFL. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TEXANS QBs in 2010:  A 

The Texans have signed 33-year old OLB Danny Clark.  Clark played in all 16 games for the Giants last season and he had 53 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and he defensed 2 passes.  Clark has now played in 154 games in his NFL career in which he has made 609 tackles, he has defensed 18 passes, has 7 sacks, he has forced 8 fumbles and he has 2 interceptions.  Clark might he a stopgap until Cushing returns from his suspension but it would be a huge dropoff for the Texans.

The NFL has suspended second year linebacker Brian Cushing for the first four games of the 2010 NFL season because he was using steroids.  This is a huge blow to the Texans as Cushing was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2010.  Cushing played in all 16 games for the Texans last season in which he had 134 tackles, 5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 10 passes defensed and 4 interceptions.  Cushing is just not replaceable so the Texans’ D will likely have some issues the first month of the season.

The Texans have picked TE Dorin Dickerson out of Pittsburgh with the 227th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  The Texans will likely move Dickerson to WR.  He is 6’1″, 222 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  He is a good open field runner with a good set of hands.  He needs to work more on his run blocking but that will be less of a issue at WR.  Dickerson played in 13 games (9 starts) for Pitt last season in which he caught 49 passes for 529 yards (10.8 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He played in 46 games (11 starts) in his four years at Pitt and he caught 63 passes for 708 yards (11.2 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  The Texans got excellent value with this pick as Dickerson has a very nice upside.

The Texans have picked return specialist Trindon Holliday with the 197th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Holliday is a mini-man at 5’5″, 160 pounds but he’s as fast as lightning running a 4.3 40.  Holliday returned 22 kickoffs for 537 yards (24.4 avg) and 26 punts for 362 yards (13.9 avg) with 1 TD for LSU.  In his four years at LSU, Holliday returned 73 kickoffs for 1,806 yards (24.7 avg) with 1 return for a TD and he also returned 58 punts for 647 yards (11.2 avg) with 2 TDs.  The Texans think adding Holliday will allow Jacoby Jones to focus more on playing receiver in 2010.

The Texans have picked OG Shelley Smith out of Colorado State with the 187th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Smith is 6’2″, 301 pounds and he is a nasty lineman who gets out well to pull and trap.  He seems to be a perfect fit for the Texans and he could develop into a starter down the road for them.  He played in 8 games (all starts) for the Rams last season and he has played in 35 games (31 starts) in his four years at Colorado St. 

The Texans have picked CB Sherrick McManis with the 144th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  McManis is a tad small at 5’11″, 189 pounds and he’s also a tad slow running a 4.5 40.  McManis is a good leaper and a willing tackler.  But he projects as a backup corner in the pros but because of his tackling ability he could develop into a starting safety down the road.  He will also likely be a big time helper on special teams for the Texans immediately.  McManis played in 10 games (all starts) at Northwestern last season in which he made 37 tackles, broke up 7 passes, he had 5 interceptions, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  McManis played in 46 games (38 starts) in his four years at Northwestern and he finished up with 201 tackles, he broke up 30 passes, had 9 interceptions, forced 4 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble. 

The Texans have picked TE Garrett Graham out of Wisconsin with the 118th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Graham is 6’2″, 246 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  He has good moves and hands in the passing game but he just doesn’t have enough strength to help out as a blocker in the running game.  Graham played in 13 games (all starts) for the Badgers last season and he caught 51 passes for 624 yards (12.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Graham played in 41 games (33 starts) in his four years at Wisconsin and he caught 121 passes for 1,492 yards (12.3 avg) with 16 TD grabs.  Graham will give Matt Schaub another target in the short passing game.

The Texans have picked inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton out of Miami (Fla) with the 102nd overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Sharpton is a tad small at 5’11″, 229 pounds but he’s fast as he can run a 4.7 40.  Sharpton is strong for his size and he can handle the middle as long as he has good protection from the D-Line.  Sharpton played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Hurricanes last season and he had 106 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, he broke up 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  He played in 49 games (31 starts) in his four years in college in which he finished up with 262 tackles, 24.5 tackles for a loss, he had 2.5 sacks, broke up 10 passes and he had 1 interception.  Sharpton projects to be a backup linebacker and a core special teams player early in his career and maybe more than that down the line.