The Houston Texans are going to be thinking defense in next weekend’s NFL Draft.  I think they are going to be really happy by the end of the draft as this is how I see them doing in my mock draft:

1st round (#11 overall) – Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska

2nd round (#42 overall) – Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State

3rd round (#73 overall) – Chris Conte, FS, California

4th round (#105 overall) – Marcus Gilchrist, CB, Clemson

5th round (#138 overall) – Mark Herzlick, OLB, Boston College

6th round (#178 overall) – Josh Davis, OT, Georgia

7th round (#214 overall) – Zane Taylor, C, Utah

7th round (#254 overall) – Trevor Vittatoe, QB, UTEP

I think Texans’ GM Rick Smith will  have to be held back so he doesn’t keep yelling “Yahtzee” in this draft as the Texans will likely be cleaning up in this draft.

The Texans have placed 22-year old rookie LB Darryl Sharpton on the Injured Reserve List due to a dislocated shoulder.  Sharpton was a 4th round pick (#102 overall) out of Miami (Fl) in last April’s NFL Draft.  Sharpton played in 12 games for the Texans this year and he had 34 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for a loss.  Sharpton look solid this year and he will have a role in the defense going forward.

The Texans used a sixth round pick last April on Trindon Holliday with the idea that he would replace Jacoby Jones on punt returns and Andre Davis on kickoff returns so that they could both concentrate on offense.  Well, even the best laid plans don’t come to fruition all of the time and this is one of those cases.  Holliday will undergo surgery today to repair ligament damage in his right thumb which will cause him to miss most if not all of his rookie season.  Holliday returned 3 punts for 1 yard (0.3 avg) and 5 kickoffs for 114 yards (22.8 avg) during the pre-season for the Texans.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Texans have placed Trindon Holliday on the Injured Reserve List ending his rookie season.

The Texans have lost rookie 2nd round pick Ben Tate for the season as he will undergo ankle surgery tomorrow.  Tate carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 5 yards in the Texans’ pre-season opener.  It’s back to the drawing board for the Texans as they will be leaning on Arian Foster and Steve Slaton in the running game once again in 2010.

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.