2011 NFL Mock Draft: Houston Texans

This man could really shape the Texans 2011 NFL Draft strategy

It’s time we got to the Houston Texans 2011 NFL mock draft. In order to do this I had to have a few conversations with Texans expert Lance Zierlein and with his feedback I’ve settled on this mock draft. Let me know what you think.

Let’s first take a look at the Texans needs before we get to the mock draft.

DL/NT The Texans need help along the defensive line all over the place. Mario Williams and Smith seem to be good fits at DE in Phillips new scheme, but they might not take to the switch, and the Texans could use help at this spot with more natural fits and of course depth. The Texans MUST find their nose tackle in this draft or this off-season.

OLB-Connor Barwin could be an excellent fit in the 3-4 as an OLB, but they don’t have much else there and they will look to fill that void in the draft or in the off-season, though maybe not with the player everyone thinks (Robert Quinn) as character is a huge part of the Texans draft strategy.

WR-The Texans need to find another weapon to help out Andre Johnson, arguably the best WR in the game. This is not a huge need, but they do play in the same division as the Colts so they want to continue to add offensive weapons whenever they can get good ones.

1st Round pick 11: Cameron Jordan, DE, Cal

I’ve had trouble with this pick for awhile. I think the Texans two biggest needs are an OLB, and a Nose tackle. A nose tackle would be a major reach here at 11 (still think it’s possible though). At OLB there are really two possible options here to me, Robert Quinn and Justin Houston, Ryan Kerrigan is more of a 4-3 RDE to me than he is a 3-4 OLB and I think teams feel the same.

When I interviewed Lance Zierlein he mentioned that the first thing the Texans like to do is cross of character concerns from their big board, if that’s true, Quinn doesn’t make sense. Scouts love Houston’s size to speed ratio and he was productive in college, and while this might be a slight reach, it makes sense if they trade down. Even though the Texans have players they can put at 3-4 DE right now neither is the natural fit of J.J. Watt or Cameron Jordan. Be on the lookout for Lance’s next mock draft coming out soon at The Z report.

Tough pick for me here.

2nd round: Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State

Paea doesn’t necessarily fit the Nose tackle position on all teams, but I think he could thrive at nose tackle for the Wade Phillips and the Houston Texans defensive scheme. Paea is a very powerful and strong player who could hold up at the point of attack and also penetrate when he needs to. Paea’s value has been going down while Corey Liuget’s stock is on the rise, but I’ve always like Paea and think he’s a good value here.

3rd Round: Dontay Moch, OLB Nevada

After talking with Lance I’ve come to the conclusion that Ryan Kerrigan, Robert Quinn, or Justin Houston won’t fit their system so they’ll pass on OLB in the first round in favor or DL help, in the second round I think they could look WR also, but Paea is good value and a good fit. In the third round then they target a player with tremendous upside as a pass rusher in Dontay Moch who is a very good N.F.L. athlete. He fills a need and is good value here in the third round.

4th Round: Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State

The Texans need a complement to Andre Johnson to have their offense fully click. Pettis is not a dynamic athlete, but he’d fit in well with the Texans and Matt Schuab’s ability to be accurate because Pettis runs great routes and knows how to get open. He’ll also be a possession receiver to complement Johnson’s big play ability (though with how many passes he catches he can also be a possession WR) and take pressure of Johnson because even though Kevin Walter is a decent #2 the Texans could use more weapons at WR. Pettis’ value is here because he’s not a speed demon and that’s the trend in the N.F.L. right now.

5th Round: Jaiqwan Jarrett, S, Temple

Even though the safety class is not great there are a few late round gem possibilities and Jarrett is at the top of that list. Jarrett is a player who can be blow up the run game and cover well enough to improve the Texans secondary. Jarrett is a player that could be a player that we look back on in a few years and say…how’d this guy go so late in the draft?

6th Round: Jerriel King, T, South Carolina

King has everything that an N.F.L. team would desire at this point in the draft. Good N.F.L. athletic ability, good Size for a tackle, great upside at this point in the draft, versatility as a player who’s played multiple spots on the line at South Carolina. The Texans could keep searching for more OL prospects who could turn out to be N.F.L. players in this scenario they find a good upside developmental tackle prospect with King.

7th Round: Derrick Locke RB, Kentucky

There was a report recently out that the Texans are considering trading Steve Slaton if they do they could look for another scat-back kind of player who can catch the ball out of the backfield. Teams are down on Locke at this moment (while they love Cobb) and he is a nice risk/reward pick here. Noel Devine is a pick I’d make, but I’ve made it for other teams so I’ll go in a different route.

7th Round Compensatory pick: Jalil Brown, CB, Colorado

The CB class is great this year top to bottom and the Texans will find some player worth drafting at the CB spot with their compensatory pick in the 7th round. Brown is the choice here. A player over shadowed by Jimmy Smith, but still an N.F.L. athlete Brown makes sense here for the Texans as they continue to try and improve on their lackluster defense.

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