Houston Texans Report: Team Is Interested In Safety Obi Melifonwu

With the Houston Texans off season underway, the team has not wasted any time in ensuring they get their boards ready for the oft-ballyhooed event this Spring.

Yes, I’m talking about the NFL Draft which is scheduled to be held April 27-29.

There’s a lot of preparation that goes into such an event and you better believe the Houston Texans will be at the ready to lock and load.

To what extent is certainly the question as we’re all hoping that they draft deftly with a immense amount of succinct in the recipe.

The Senior Bowl — held in Mobile, Ala. annually — is a game that has the nation’s cream of the crop compete in a event that’s more like an audition for those participants who are trying to elevate themselves to the pro level.

It also is a breeding ground in the murky crevices of rumors for the draft and here’s the latest tidbit.

According to Charlie Campbell of Walter Football, the Houston Texans have interest in drafting University of Connecticut safety Obi Melifonwu.

He performed quite well in the bowl, recording three tackles and one fumble recovery in the North’s 16-15 loss to the South that occurred Jan. 28.

The safety is of current concern by the Texans as they plan for the future.

But depending on what they do with A.J. Bouye will determine what their needs are for the draft.

If they re-sign Bouye to a multi-year deal — as I expect — this would allow Kevin Johnson to play in tandem with Bouye, possibly giving Kareem Jackson the opportunity to take over at safety.

Talented corners generally progress over to the safety position as they enter the latter stages of their career and I think he’d be up for the task.

If they don’t re-sign Bouye, the safety position is of concern as Quintin Demps is not getting any younger but has been serviceable piece to this roster, forcing a career-high six interceptions in 2016.

This was only 2nd to the San Diego Chargers’ Casey Hayward who led the NFL with seven.

Anyway, there’s concern about Demps health going forward so it’s prudent that the franchise has a backup plan in place.

But with many projections having the speedy safety going in the first three rounds, they’ll have to jump on him early.

Here’s what Jon Dove of With the First Pick had to say about Melifonwu:

"“Obi Melifonwu features a rare combination of size, length and athleticism. His fluid movement skills combined with his size gives him a ton of versatility. It’s this versatility that has a lot of NFL evaluators excited about his future.”"

There’s that key word — VERSATILITY. That has been the theme of the Texans draft style since the Bill O’Brien came to power some three seasons ago.

They want a guy that can do more than one thing to get the most out of their production to which, in my opinion, is a sound strategy.

Here’s also what Walter Football had to say about the top prospect:

"“Every year, there are some size/speed freaks who rise up draft boards, and Melifonwu will be one of those prospects for the 2017 NFL Draft. Melifonwu has great size and also is a fast defender”"

His biggest knock?

The consensus among the experts is that he still needs time to develop and needs to be coached up in order for him to be a successful pro safety.

Dove also added this tidbit:

"In coverage, Melifonwu can cover a lot of ground but at this point tends to play the receiver rather than the football. His main approach is to deliver a hit to the receiver and keep him from making a play on the ball. This isn’t what NFL defensive coordinators want to see as they rather have their defensive back play the football and create turnovers."

Despite possessing the league’s No. 1 defense, forcing turnovers is something the Texans had a problem with last season.

They were ranked 26th — tied with the Indianapolis Colts — in takeaways, only being able to garner 17 of those in 2016. This is down from 25 — ranked 12th — in 2015.

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But with Romeo Crennel and Mike Vrabel running the defense in-tandem with their respective promotions, this is something I’m confident the staff could mold his development if they were able to get him.

But the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks are all interested in Melifonwu so the Texans will have to snatch him when they can if the opportunity is there.

We’ll have to see.

Melifonwu recorded 118 tackles, four interceptions and three broken-up passes for the Huskies in 2016.

In comparison, he had 88 tackles, five passes broken up and two picks in 2015, certainly indicating that he’s up to the task for high production.

Despite his small list of shortcomings, I’d take him in a heartbeat.

Go Texans.

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