Houston Texans Rumors: Team eyeing S Quin Blanding at NFL Combine
The Houston Texans will embark on the last day of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and according to the latest of rumors, the team could be targeting a safety in the later rounds in Virginia safety Quin Blanding. What gives? Take a look to find out.
The Houston Texans will certainly have a lot of work to do to ensure they can scoop up the best possible talent in the later rounds. As you know, they don’t have a first- or second-round pick for this draft so they’ll have to make do with the nine picks they have in Rounds 3-7 this season.
Incoming general manager Brian Gaine will be developing his legacy early as he will be tasked with finding talent that fits the Houston Texans mantra in the later in the draft. It’s honestly where exec at the pro level earn their status as well as their clout so this is an opportunity for him to prove that he was the right choice for the Houston Texans.
The team has wasted no time in wading through the large amount of prospects who participated in the NFL Combine and know we know of at least one guy they’ve got their bullseye on.
According to Jeff Risdon of USA TODAY, the Houston Texans have met with Virginia safety Quin Blanding, indicating that he could possibly be targeted at the NFL Draft next month.
At media availability for the players, Risdon noted that Blanding quickly went out of his way to mention that he partook in the Senior Bowl festivities. This was a game that Bill O’Brien and his partially revamped staff coached back in January.
Risdon also talks about the brief exchange that he had between he and Blanding:
"“As he left podium No. 7 of the interview room, I asked Blanding how his experience with the team went. He was effusive in his praise of how much he learned and how the team “values smart players like me.”"
It’s no secret that O’Brien has high regard for guys like Blanding, which fit his mindset of finding guys with high football intelligence.
The 6’2,” 190-pound safety in Blanding has amassed 100+ tackles in each his four seasons at Virginia but the consensus of his glaring weaknesses by draft scouts seem to be his inability to be adequate in pass coverage. That’s not anything coaching could fix at the pro level and I certainly think the team should take a flyer on him.
We’ll have to see if he’s available but it’s possible that he’ll be around on the third day of the draft and Texans may pounce at the opportunity.
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Blanding had 495 tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss, 10 interceptions, one defensive TD, 16 passes defensed and one fumble recovery throughout his career with the Cavaliers. His 495 eye-opening tackles are a school record, surpassing Jamie Sharper (435), a record that had been intact for 21 years.
Go Texans.