Houston Texans 7 Round Mock Draft 2.0 – (Trades Included)
By Travis Oquin
7th Round – Pick #227
Jeff Driskel – QB – Louisiana Tech
6’4” – 231
TRADE – The Texans send their 6th round selection, 195 overall to the Miami Dolphins for two 7th round picks, numbers 227 & 231.
Why did we accept the offer? Among the players at the end of the 6th, there weren’t any players that differentiated themselves, so we chose to acquire up an extra pick to add some depth.
Some may think, you signed Brock Osweiler, why draft a QB? I believe the Texans will. Although the contract is four years, the Texans are only actually on the hook for two years of guaranteed money with Osweiler depending on how it goes.
For the backups, Tom Savage has two years left on his rookie contract and though we saw improvement in the preseason, he’s not yet established as a number one backup.
Brandon Weeden was brought back and has a contract that could pay him backup money, but is only guaranteed $450,000 which means if Savage wins the number two in camp, there’s no guarantee that they keep Weeden as it would have little impact to the salary cap to let him go. Weeden looked good in his brief appearances with the Texans but he’s clearly not established either.
When you consider all of that, why would you not keep adding to the pipeline at the position until you have those spots truly solidified?
Jeff Driskel has all the physical tools of an NFL starting quarterback and he made a solid transition once he got to Louisiana Tech from Florida. He shined in his brief appearance in the senior bowl as well and I like him as a developmental quarterback that they can likely put on the practice squad this year, let him start learning the system and see were it goes. Driskel has NFL size at 6’4″, 230, he has above average arm strength and is athletic and mobile.
Until you have a franchise quarterback a smart team should draft one each and every year. The Texans THINK they have theirs but it’s going to take some time to be certain, so keep drafting!
Others on the board to consider:
QB Kevin Hogan (Stanford), QB Brandon Doughty (Western Kentucky), WR Jaydon Mickens (Washington)
7th Round – Pick #227
Brandon Williams – CB – Texas A&M
5’11” – 197
The Texans are fairly set at corner with Johnathan Joseph who had a bounce back year last year. They have Kareem Jackson who is one year into a new contract as the number two corner. They have their 1st round pick from 2015 Kevin Johnson, who is a number one corner in waiting and comes in on passing downs as the 3rd corner, sliding Kareem to the nickel corner inside.
They also retained corner A.J.Bouye and Hard Knocks star Charles James. Bouye gives them depth and is the 4th corner and shown signs of being capable of starting. James is a nickel corner that excels on special teams. But the Texans normally carry six corners on the roster.
With Joseph getting older and Bouye on a one-year contract and possibly gone after this season, look for the Texans to potentially take some depth later in the draft.
Brandon Williams is an extremely interesting prospect. He has good height for a corner, is a superb athlete and a burner with 4.37 speed and 6.85 in the 3-cone. On top of the outstanding speed, he is also a kick and punt returner which the Texans sorely need.
Williams started out as a runningback at Texas A&M and has only been at corner for one year, so he still has a lot to learn, but he’s tremendously athletic and is the kind of player that can come in and develop as the 6th corner and contribute on special teams right away.
Others on the board to consider:
CB Morgan Burns (Kansas St.), CB Ken Crawley (Colorado), CB Ryan Smith (North Carolina Central)
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