NFL Draft 2017 Round 4: Houston Texans Select OT Julie’n Davenport

With the 130th pick in Round 4 of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select…

With the 130th pick in Round 4 of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select…

Julie’n Davenport!

The 6’7″ 318-pound offensive tackle is now a member of the Houston Texans.

Davenport was highly regarded as many as a sleeper pick largely because of this draft being rather weak for offensive linemen.

We’ve seen Forrest Lamp and Cam Robinson snatched up early in the 2nd round and know teams will rely the utmost on their scouting team to decide what players are the best fit for their respective team.

At this moment, the Houston Texans feel that Davenport is the fit that they’re looking for so it remains to be seen how that pans out.

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

SportsTalk 790’s Jayson Braddock:

Charlie Campbell of Walter Football:

"“He has good height, a natural build for weight and long arms. Davenport also has quick feet with athleticism. He is nimble on the edge with the ability to get depth in his kick slide to cut off speed rushers. Team sources felt that if Davenport had gone to a major program, he could have been an early round prospect. That mostly would have been from the development on the field amd in the weight room, along with the attention/hype that comes from playing at a big school.”"

Here’s some weaknesses that NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein highlighted:

"“Competition level won’t have him prepared for NFL rushers. Feet are a little heavy. Struggles to redirect back inside against stunts. Plays with inconsistent base width and balance. Will allow secure blocks to slip out of the side door due to poor footwork.”"

Here’s some clips from when Davenport faced Virginia Military Institute in terms of how he covered in 2016, it won’t knock your socks off but it will at least get you acclimated with Davenport and his tendencies:

The consensus with Davenport is that he would’ve been drafted higher had he gone to a bigger school than Bucknell.

Campbell also noted that he was among the first to report about Davenport which caused a myriad of scouts to Lewisville, Penn. to check to see what all the hype was all about.

He has a hell of a wingspan — at 36.5″ — that give him the tools necessary to wrap up his assignments and help protect the quarterback.

He is reliable, starting all 44 of games from his sophomore year to his senior year for the Bison and was Bucknell’s team captain in his last two seasons.

Julie’n was also elected to the first team All-America from four entities — the AFCA, Associated Press, STATS, Inc. and Walter Camp.

Another tidbit about Davenport is that he comes from a military family where his father was a marine and is now a police sergeant.

Next: NFL Draft Round 3: Texans Select Texas RB D'Onta Foreman

I’m positive the Texans value as such from the players and they know he’ll be ready to work and be coaching up the best of his ability.

Because he seems as a solid project at best, Bill O’Brien and Mike Devlin will likely have their work cut for them in developing this tackle into something special.

I could be extremely wrong about that — and I hope I am — but I think he’s got a chip on his shoulder to show the world that he belongs and is a pro’s pro.

We’ll have to see but this is one player I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on moving forward.

Go Texans.