NFL Draft 2018 Round 6: Houston Texans Select LB Peter Kalambayi
The Houston Texans have selected Peter Kalambayi in Round 6 — 214th pick — in the NFL Draft. How will this have an effect on the team as a whole? What about potential? Let’s take a look and examine further.
With the 214th pick in Round 6 of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select:
The Houston Texans are tapping into the Stanford well once again after taking safety Justin Reid in
Round 3 of the NFL Draft.
The relatively-durable 6’3,” 247-pound linebacker with 33.5″ arms and 9″ hands has the tagline of “additional help on the pass rush” written all over him. In fact, it’s his strongest attribute being ranked 20th by Pro Football Focus among eligible in pass rush productivity, getting a grade of a 11.6. He also wields a ton a pressure with his strength and is handy stopping the run as well.
With all of those traits, he certainly will be somebody that could help on the special teams front as well. He wasn’t anointed as a bona-fide starter right out of the gate but had to work his way up through the fray to get where he is now. His final season was his best where he got the opportunity to start 13 games — first season in a starting role — where he had 45 stops of which 6.5 were for loss as well as 3.5 sacks to go long with an already impressive stat line.
His parents are of Congolese and Trinidadian/Tobagonian descent but Kalambayi was born and reared in Raleigh, N.C.
Here’s what the experts had to say:
John McClain of the Chron:
With their third pick in the fifth round, 214th overall, the Texans took Stanford OLB Peter Kalambayi, 6-3, 252 with 4.57 speed. He was a team captain the last 2 years in a base 3-4. He was teammates with FS Justin Reid, the first pick in the third round.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 28, 2018
"“Kalambayi is a well-built athlete with adequate strength, above average wingspan and sudden feet who hasn’t been able to match the production to his traits. Kalambayi looks the part and will test well, but his lack of instincts and feel as a pass rusher could leave teams frustrated.His strength at the point of attack and ability to handle and work around edge blockers may be a little bit underrated. Kalambayi has the talent to become a backup 3-4 SAM linebacker and with high-end special teams potential.”"
Next: Texans select TE Jordan Thomas in the 6th round
The bottom line is we have plenty of pass rushers already existent and dominant on the defensive line. However, it won’t hurt to have another plus what he can do to man the special teams unit if everything pans out well. His proven leadership obviously was appealing to the Texans and hopefully he’s a guy that can make some sort of contribution quickly while he develops.
Kalambayi racked up 189 tackles — 27.0 for loss — along with 18.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery through his four-season career with the Cardinals.