Houston Texans: Kahale Warring is a fast deep ball threat but has an issue
The Houston Texans selected San Diego State TE Kahale Warring 86th overall in the third round. He’s a deep ball threat but has an issue. What’s going on?
The Houston Texans ended their Day 2 draft strategy with surprisingly not fulfilling a need but adding depth to an already-loaded, yet inexperienced, position out on the football field. With the Houston Texans drafting two tight ends in last season’s draft, they decided to add another to the mix in San Diego State tight end Kahale Warring.
Although he may have a shot to compete, it’s safe to say that Ryan Griffin‘s days as a member of the Houston Texans are numbered and the team is primed in assembling a unit that aligns with mindset of general manager Brian Gaine. Griffin, a sixth-round pick back in 2013, was part of a different regime and we’re slowing seeing the remnants start to disappear as time goes on.
Griffin will be a part of that casualty as this offense requires athletic, strong tight ends that can block like none other. Griffin, although he has those moments, is simply not that guy.
This is where Warring comes into play.
Tangibles
Warring, a junior that decided to declare for the NFL Draft one year early, is a 6-foot-5, 252-pound tight end with 32.75-inch arms and 9.75-inch hands. Warring posted a 4.64-second 40-yard dash time and was able to bench press 225 pounds at the NFL Combine 19 times.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Warring had a 65.1 grade through 597 snaps in 2018. This past season was the most significant playing time he received and he was able to catch 31 balls for 372 yards on the season. He was targeted 54 times with a 57.4 catch percentage. He caught three touchdowns and averaged 12.0 yards per completed pass.
PFF has him graded out as an above-average tight end, receiver, as well as his yards per route run (1.51). They have him below-average with his run-blocking so that’s definitely something he has to work on.
He knows how to deal with the deep ball having caught two passes of 20+ yards or more which ranked him 11th among tight ends in his draft class.
The Major Issue
However, his ability to hold onto the ball is concerning. His 11.4 percent drop rate has him ranked 48th among tight ends. He had four drops in the past two seasons back-to-back.
What the experts are saying
Aaron Reiss of the Athletic quoting his colleague, Dane Brugler:
#Texans go with a tight end in the third round. Kahale Warring (6-5, 252 lbs.). Here's what The Athletic's Dane Brugler thinks of him. pic.twitter.com/ep5unxzSZS
— Aaron Reiss (@aaronjreiss) April 27, 2019
The Chron’s John McClain:
With their third-round pick, 86th overall, the Texans selected San Diego State TE Kahale Warring, a curious pick since they already had 4 players at that position: Ryan Griffin, Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas and Darren Fells.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) April 27, 2019
The Bottom Line
The Houston Texans obviously were selecting the best player that was available with bringing
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Warring into the fold. The tight end position wasn’t necessarily a priority to supplement but they noticed a player of his stature could have the potential of helping this team win games immensely.
It’s important to note that Warring was an incredible athlete in high school and had to get up to speed to understand the position he was about to play as a walk-on at San Diego State. He had played basketball so there was a bit of learning curve but he was able to fall into the position nicely as we can see.
With Warring added, the Houston Texans have six tight ends on the roster including Griffin, Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas, Darren Fells and Jerell Adams.
Not all of these guys are going to make the cut but since a third-rounder was invested in Warring, it certainly won’t be him that’ll have to hit the road.
Warring has exceptional upside and I hope that he shores up his drops as Will Fuller did with his. I think that’s what the Houston Texans are banking on.
One thing’s for sure, the Houston Texans are looking for guys who are no stranger to adversity and are ready to come in to do the work to prove the naysayers wrong. They’ll do what is asked for the betterment of the team.
It’s an interesting draft strategy so let’s hope it works.
Welcome to Houston Kahale.
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