The Houston Texans took 22-year old DE/OLB Cheta Ozougwu out of Rice with the 255th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Ozougwu is 6’1″, 251 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  He is too small to play DE and he’s not athletic enough to play linebacker.  But, Ozougwu always gives a good effort as his motor always seems to run hot.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at Rice last year and he had 54 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he batted down 2 passes and he forced 3 fumbles.  He played in 46 games (44 starts) in his four years at Rice and he had 198 tackles, 25 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, he batted down 5 balls, had 4 forced fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  For being “Mr. Irrelevant” as the last pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Ozougwu was a pretty productive college player.

The Houston Texans selected OT Derek Newton out of Arkansas State with the 214th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Newton is a big guy at 6’6″, 314 pounds.  Despite his size, Newton is much more of a zone blocking type player which just so happens to be the Texans’ style of offense.  He started at 24 games at RT during his time at Arkansas State (2 years).  This was a good pick for the Texans as they might be able to coach up Newton who already fits their style of play.

The Houston Texans selected 24-year old QB T.J. Yates out of North Carolina with the 152nd overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Yates is 6’2″, 210 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  He is a dink and dunk type of passer as he doesn’t have the kind of arm to pound the ball down the field.  He played in 13 games (all starts) at North Carolina last year and he completed 282 of 422 passes (66.8%) for 3,418 yards with 19 TD passes and 9 INTs.  He played in 45 games (44 starts) in his four years with the Tar Heels and he completed 795 of 1,277 passes (62.3%) for 9,377 yards with 58 TD passes and 46 INTs.  This was a good pick for the Texans as they will likely be able to take their time and develop him as he will be #3 on the depth chart when the 2011 season begins.

The Texans selected 23-year old safety Shiloh Keo out of Idaho with the 144th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Keo is 5’11″, 223 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  Keo is a strong safety as he likes the ball in front of him.  He delivers big hits and he’s a pretty sure tackler.  Keo also is great in pursuit.  Keo sometimes gets faked out by QBs and he sometimes doesn’t diagnose plays in time.  Keo played in 13 games (12 starts) at Idaho last year and he had 61 tackles, broke up 5 passes, had 3 interceptions, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  He played in 54 games (50 starts) in his four years at Idaho and he had 358 tackles, broke up 20 passes, had 11 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 6 fumbles.  Keo also returned 53 punts for 585 yards (11.1 avg) at Idaho.  This was a solid pick for the Texans as Keo brings an intimidation factor to the D while also being able to help out on special teams.

The Texans have picked 23-year old CB Rashad Carmichael out of Virginia Tech with the 127th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Carmichael is 5’9″, 185 pounds and he runs a 4.47 40.  Carmichael plays the game hard and fast.  He doesn’t go for the big hit as he sometimes shies away from contact.  He also need to improve on his ball skills a little bit down the field.  Carmichael played in 13 games (12 starts) for Virginia Tech last year and he had 40 tackles, broke up 7 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  Carmichael played in 54 games (26 starts) in his four years with the Hokies and he had 115 tackles, he broke up 16 passes and he had 10 interceptions.  The Texans really need help at corner and Carmichael has a nice upside, so this was a nice pick for them.

UPDATE:  (9/17/2011) – The Texans have placed Rashad Carmichael on I.R., ending his rookie season without him getting into any games.  He has a shoulder injury.