NFL Draft 2016 Round 4: Houston Texans Select Tyler Ervin

With the 119th pick in Round 4 of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select…

Tyler Ervin!

For the first time in recent memory, the Texans have pretty much filled their off season needs via free agency before the draft.

The Texans went out and nabbed top free agents in Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller to plug the gaping holes vacated by Arian Foster and whomever was the flavor of the week under center.

But the draft certainly comes at the right time where supplemental needs are to be filled.

Now is the time more than ever to ensure that the Texans can’t miss in these later rounds because a lot of these guys found will likely have a solid role on our roster.

You don’t have to take my word for it, ESPN’s Trey Wingo has mentioned that the 33 percent of an NFL team’s final roster are filled with picks in Rounds 4 through 7.

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That’s an interesting stat so the Texans will need to do everything they can to make it count and ensure that our fan base is proud of their work.

After all, it’s the fans that our the fuel to the NFL’s massive engine right?

I’m thrilled that the Texans were able to find some quality help in this round and Ervin could certainly be someone we’d see regularly lined up on offense.

Bill O’Brien dug deep on this one and it certainly was a good pick for the offense as a whole.

As stagnant as the offense was last season, I’m thrilled to see that they’re using the draft to invest in handy, speedy play makers that can make a difference for this team.

Tyler Ervin certainly epitomizes that particular theme.

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The 5’10,” 192-pound running back out of San Jose State strides his steps quickly and has no boundaries with his ability to accelerate quickly.

He can run the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds so there’s no problem with him kicking it up to his higher gear.

His ability to elude defenders is one of his greatest strengths and he’ll certainly be valuable just about every where on the field.

But don’t discount his innate ability as a kick returner, he scored three touchdowns for the Spartans last season and amassed 2,374 yards on the ground.

Next: Houston Texans Select Braxton Miller In Round 3

He also is pass catcher so he’ll be great for the bubble screens and quick shovels from Osweiler down the field to get the yards that are needed.

What’s his weakness?

It’s his size. If he’s going to be running back in the NFL, his twiggy-type frame isn’t necessarily built to handle the defenders that will be ready to eat him for lunch.

But that’s the Texans’ coaching staff job, to get him a bit bigger and to work him in where his strengths will most allow and let the chips fall where they may.

But you don’t have to take my word for it, here’s what the experts had to say:

SportsTalk 790’s Jayson Braddock:

Pro Football Focus:

Tyler Ervin is a great third-down RB option for Texans: https://t.co/BHSrr4lXnL "He's a big play waiting to happen"
— PFF (@PFF) April 30, 2016

So we know he’s fast, we know he’s not ready to be a full-time back yet in this league but one things for sure, he is quite versatile.

I’m hopeful that they try him out on kick returns because that’s certainly a way that we can measure how speedy he is against NFL defenses.

We’ll have to see.

Ervin rushed for 2,357 yards and 17 touchdowns in two seasons with the Spartans (2014 and 2015). He also caught 73 passes for 642 yards as well.

Go Texans.

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