The 2015 NFL Draft is just a few days away, and there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the festivities in Chicago if you’re a Houston Texans fan. Here’s our breakdown of everything Texans fans need to know heading into draft week.
Houston Considering UCLA QB Brett Hundley With No. 16 Pick?
The Houston Texans have a variety of different directions they could go with their first round pick as they need depth all over the field, but they could fill their biggest need in the first round by drafting a quarterback.
Many assume the Texans will wait until the second or third round to draft a quarterback because of the talent gap between the top two QB’s in the draft (Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota) and the rest, but according t0 SB Nation, Houston may decide to take a gamble on UCLA’s Brett Hundley:
Houston faces a few glaring team needs, include WR and LB, but none shine brighter than the question mark that remains at QB despite the Texans’ hustling to acquire 3 new QBs since O’Brien’s arrival in Hoyer, Mallet, and Savage. My top three WRs, the three I have an easy first round grade on, are gone. I could go tight end, but I dont feel the value is even close to being there. Another edge rusher was an option, but all of the studs there are off the board as well. That makes this decision easier in pulling the trigger on Hundley.
Hundley is physical specimen, has good arm strength and accuracy, is the best running QB in this draft, and has shown great touch and a nice deep ball. I believe his WRs and OL hamstrung him in 2014, and I think his pocket presence and poise are underrated. He’ll have to think a little more quickly in the NFL but think O’Brien and his staff are up to the task of bringing the best out of Hundley, who I believe has tremendous upside. Could I have waited til the second round and gotten him? A coin flip at best. I see an opportunity to snatch up a franchise QB when no other studs are there for me, and I take it. I consider this much less of a reach than the Bills grabbing EJ Manuel a few years ago, and for a prospect I believe to be much, much better, despite some similarities on the surface.
I think Hundley could even hang out on the bench for 6/8 games or even a whole season, especially if Hoyer or Mallett come out using familiarity with the offense to win the job (I dont think Savage is long for the NFL). However, neither of those guys is a long term answer at QB. I think Hundley has what it takes to have a promising rookie outing if he isn’t rushed into the gig.
Melvin Gordon Interested In Texans, Wants To Learn From Arian Foster
Houston also needs to find depth at the running back position, and they may look to the first round of the NFL draft to find their back of the future. Arian Foster has been the face of the franchise for most of the past decade, but without a proven quarterback on their roster, Houston will rely heavily on their rushing attack.
They’ve been linked to Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon with the No. 16 overall pick, and he told SportsRadio 610 in Houston that he’d love to play for the Texans and learn from Arian Foster:
“[The Texans] were at my pro day. I talked to one of the scouts there. They have Arian Foster there so they have a great running back, but if they take me and I’m able to learn from one of the greats I think that would be awesome. I think I could learn a lot from Arian Foster.
I think that as far as the outside zone game, I think he runs it the best. Obviously we ran that at Wisconsin – we ran inside and outside zone – I would definitely watch him a lot. I just feel like he’s a great back. He’s not super-fast, he’s not super-strong, but he gets the job done. He goes out there and makes plays, he catches the ball well. I’m a big fan of Arian Foster, and I’ve been for a while just because of the adversity he’s been through – knowing his story a little bit – so I’ve been paying close attention to him but as far as the outside zone game I don’t think there’s a back in the league that does it better.”
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