Houston Texans: Javelin Guidry is worth the gamble to make team whole

The Houston Texans need to beef up their secondary and Javelin Guidry remains one of the more intriguing prospects in the later rounds. Why select him?

The Houston Texans are gearing up for draft time which will take place in less than a week from now. The great thing is that we’ll have something to watch live for the first time in goodness knows how long. Well, to be exact, it’s been since mid-March so even though it’s been a month, it might as be an eternity as all things are on pause as the globe fights a seriously destructive pandemic.

But the NFL Draft will go on as scheduled and as expected, it will be virtual with all 32 NFL franchises’ executives and staff working together from their homes to send in their picks. This draft will be likely the most-watched in NFL history as sports fans turn to find some sense of normalcy to our daily fix of live happenings.

Although things are still a bit of a way from actual games will be played, we’ll all be appreciative once this gets going to give us hope of what could be in store this fall when the season starts.

Even in September, it’s hard to fathom stadiums being packed with fans but the reality is very possible that they’ll be able to move forward, playing games in venues with empty seats.

We’ll have to see how that goes.

Although there’s plenty of talent that remains within the secondary, there’s nothing wrong with drafting talent in the later rounds that has the potential to make inroads in making this team successful.

I think that guy is Javelin Guidry which is one of the more intriguing picks in the later rounds and with all the plus on his side — which are more than the minuses — I think he can scrap his way through and become a pro’s pro.

He’ll be a solid complement to Bradley Roby, Lonnie Johnson and Gareon Conley as he gets his feet wet with the other guys and will likely provide some great help on special teams.

And with a first name like his, it gives that impression that he’ll stake the hearts of the many quarterbacks that would be throwing his way in the near future, likely in the slot.

Let’s talk further about him.

The tangibles

Guidry is a 5-foot-9, 191-pound corner with 31.25-inch arms and nine-inch hands that obviously

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wants to prove the naysayers wrong that he can belong in the NFL. He has been an honorable mention to the All-Pac 12 team in the past two seasons so at least he is making some noise throughout his conference. But that doesn’t matter, it’s all about him getting to the Big Show and showing out after that.

He’s fast (he can run a 4.29 in the 40-yard dash), he’s athletic but the knock on him is that he has still yet to harness those valuable talents while covering his assignments but the fact you’ve got a guy this fast in the draft, somebody is going to take a chance on him so it might as well be the Houston Texans.

What the experts are saying

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:

"“Twitchy and very athletic but lacking necessary feel for both man and zone coverages. Guidry will be one of the fastest players in the draft, but he’s often in catch-up mode as his anticipation is not yet fully developed. He’s a willing tackler and has the athletic ability to stay near his man and recover when needed. He needs more work and additional coaching but his speed and gunner potential might give him an outside shot.”"

Joe Marino of The Draft Network:

"“Utah cornerback Javelin Guidry brings world class speed to the table which enables him to remain in-phase down the field with whatever burner he’s tasked with covering. He has rapid foot speed and the fluid hips needed to thrive in man coverage. With that said, his route recognition skills, awareness and anticipatory skills are very poor. His ball skills are well below average, he lacks length and isn’t an asset as a run defender. An investment in Guidry comes down to a belief in his speed, quickness and fluidity and believing you can develop the rest. His unteachable traits are exceptional but the rest is severely underdeveloped. Guidy is likely a slot only at the next level as a developmental prospect.”"

Let’s view the tape — roll ’em:

The bottom line

The Houston Texans will have some work to do to get him up to speed — no pun intended, well maybe — but there’s no reason why this man can’t be successful in this league using all of the exceptional skills that the heaven bestowed upon him.

He just wasn’t blessed with size and that’s something I know he’s tried to overcome throughout this whole career. But if they’re looking to get the best bang for their buck with a late-round pick, Guidry is definitely the man as he’s certainly worth it.

It’ll be cool to see where Guidry ends up in this draft because I think he’s going to prove a lot of people wrong by making a way for himself in this league.

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Guidry accumulated 120 tackles — 82 solos — along with three interceptions, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, one defensive touchdown, 19 passes defensed 0.5 sacks and one forced fumble through three seasons with the Utes.

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