AND THE HOUSTON TEXANS SELECT...
Josh Jordan's mock draft 3.0: The rule of three
Apr 5, 2019, 6:54 am
AND THE HOUSTON TEXANS SELECT...
They say good things come in threes. Hopefully, that's the case with my 3rd mock of the year. I have the Texans taking a player that would be an immediate upgrade, and will give the team some stability where there's currently a huge weakness. The Houston Texans have the 23rd pick, so let's take a look at how the draft board might stack up.
All signs point to the Cardinals drafting Kyler Murray.
The 49ers take the best player on the board despite trading for Dee Ford.
Passing on Josh Allen would be a mistake, and they need somebody to pressure Tom Brady.
Mike Mayock knows what he's doing. He'll take the best player on the board, and that's Williams.
The Bucs have to improve on defense. They roll with Gary to hide their weak secondary.
All this talk about Eli Manning playing several more years for the Giants is just a smoke screen. The Giants select their future QB here.
The Jags want to run the ball and play good defense. They appear committed to Leonard Fournette, so they improve their o-line with the best right tackle in the NFL Draft. If Cam Robinson comes back healthy from his ACL, the Jaguars will love their starting tackles.
Matt Patricia is all about defense, and they have to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Trubisky and Cousins aren't too shabby either. Hopefully his heart condition doesn't push him down the board.
The Bills might actually have an offensive line worse than the Texans. This pick is a no-brainer as they get the best left tackle available.
The Broncos had an elite defense the last time they won a Super Bowl. Devin White will make an immediate impact.
11. Cincinnati Bengals- Missouri QB Drew Lock
12. Green Bay Packers- Houston DL Ed Oliver
13. Miami Dolphins- Clemson DL Christian Wilkins
14. Atlanta Falcons- Oklahoma OT Cody Ford
15. Washington Redskins- Alabama OL Jonah Williams
16. Carolina Panthers- Iowa TE T.J. Hockenson
17. New York Giants- Michigan LB Devin Bush
18. Minnesota Vikings- Iowa TE Noah Fant
19. Tennessee Titans- Clemson Edge Clelin Ferrell
20. Pittsburgh Steelers- LSU CB Greedy Williams
21. Seattle Seahawks- Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown
22. Baltimore Ravens- Ole Miss WR D.K. Metcalf
I had the Texans selecting LSU corner Greedy Williams in my first mock, and had them taking Ole Miss tackle Greg Little in Mock Draft 2.0. This time, I have the Texans drafting a right tackle because there aren't any left tackles that are worth drafting this high. Also, with the Texans signing Matt Kalil, they are not locked in to taking a left tackle in the first round. I also think that current Texans left tackle Julién Davenport is a better bet to be a decent starter than current right tackle, Seantrel Henderson. Henderson can't stay on the field because of non-stop injuries, so the Texans need a right tackle just as much as they need a left tackle. Remember when the Texans had Eric Winston at right tackle? Yeah, those were good times. Hopefully Risner can have that type of impact.
24. Oakland Raiders (via Bears)- Florida State Edge Brian Burns
25. Philadelphia Eagles- Washington CB Byron Murphy
26. Indianapolis Colts- Mississippi State S Johnathan Abram
27. Oakland Raiders (via Cowboys)- Alabama RB Josh Jacobs
28. Los Angeles Chargers- Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence
29. Kansas City Chiefs- NC State C Garrett Bradbury
30. Green Bay Packers (via Saints)- Mississippi State DL Jeffery Simmons
31. Los Angeles Rams- Georgia CB Deandre Baker
32. New England Patriots- Alabama TE Irv Smith Jr.
Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5. We're on every Sunday from 10-noon,
Cross your fingers that Isaac Paredes’s hamstring tweak Thursday night is only a tweak. The Astros’ mediocre lineup would absorb a hard blow if Paredes winds up heading to the Injured List. But don’t worry, is there any doubt the Astros’ medical staff has it handled? Paredes has been excellent, a better player than was 2024 Alex Bregman. If he is to miss some time with the sore hammy, that will hurt Paredes’s “on pace for” numbers, but his 15th home run of the season Thursday has him on pace for 35, his 42nd run batted in has him on pace for 98. Reminder that Paredes is making $6,625,000 this season versus Bregman’s 40 million. The Astros sure hope that Paredes doesn’t wind up joining Bregman on the IL.
Follow the money
Never blame a player for grabbing every last dollar he can. However, when taking more money to join a clearly lesser organization, one loses the ability to honestly say, “winning is the most important thing to me.” It’s no sin if winning isn’t absolute priority one. It’s a life choice and business decision. Hello Carlos Correa.
The Astros host the Minnesota Twins at Daikin Park this weekend. Correa is now in his fourth season with the Twins. If his level of play doesn’t pick up, it will be the worst season of his career. Correa is in the third year of the six-year 200 million dollar contract he signed with Minnesota after exercising his opt out clause following the first year of the three-year deal he initially inked with the Twins. In total he has seven years with and 235 million dollars coming from the Twins. When Correa first hit free agency the Astros final offer to keep him was a very reasonable five years and 160 million dollars. If Correa had re-upped with the Astros, he’d have become a free agent after next season. No way would he then have gotten 75 million over two years to match the total haul of 235 over seven he bagged.
Financially, Correa played it correctly. But is he having the same fun playing home games in Minneapolis where the Twins are averaging barely over 20,000 per game in announced attendance, versus the Astros who are announcing about 32,000 per? Correa has played in the postseason once in the three years, and the Astros eliminated him, while the Astros have been in every year. The Twins start the series here this weekend with a record only a game and a half behind the Astros, but while the Astros lead the weak American League West by four and a half games, the Twins about need a telescope to see the Detroit Tigers eight games in front of them in the AL Central. The AL West is the only of the six divisions in Major League Baseball that has just one team with a winning record.
Correa turns 31 years old September 22, the same day Jeremy Pena turns 28. Correa is making over 37 million dollars this season. The Astros are paying Pena four-point-four mil. Over 2026 and 2027 Correa will pull down nearly 65 mil. Over those same two seasons, the Astros will likely pay Pena a total of between 20 and 25 million. Last season Correa was a significantly better player than Pena, except that Carlos played only 86 games. This year Pena has made a quantum leap and is playing like a superstar, while Correa’s game has eroded. Fun factoids: Pena stole his 14th base of the season Wednesday. Correa’s last stolen base came in 2019. To be fair, speed was never a signature of Correa's game.
Double trouble
In 1948 the Boston Braves had a tandem of starting pitching aces in future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. The rest of the rotation was a bit shaky. Boston sportswriter Gerald Hearn wrote “First we’ll use Spahn, then we’ll use Sain, then an off day followed by rain. Back will come Spahn, followed by Sain, and followed we hope by two days rain.” Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez are the Spahn and Sain of the 2025 Astros. Brown has been marvelous all season, Valdez has a 2.02 earned run average over his last seven starts. I leave Brown/Valdez poetry to you.
Spahn is among the handful of greatest left-handed pitchers in history. He debuted in 1942 and pitched in four games, before serving in World War II that took him out of the 1943, ‘44, and ‘45 seasons. Spahn logged his first big league win in 1946 when he was 25 years old. He’d win 362 more and will never be caught for the honor of most wins by a lefty in big league history. As a 42-year-old Spahn went 23-7 and threw 22 complete games. When men were men! It was the 13th time in Spahn’s career that he was a 20-game winner.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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