The Z Report

Lance Zierlein: Even with no early picks, the Texans hit in the draft

Lance Zierlein: Even with no early picks, the Texans hit in the draft
The Texans added Keke Coutee in Round 4. Houstontexans.com

All in all, I was very pleased with the Houston Texans draft. They stole a future starting safety in the third round while adding to obvious positions of need. Brian Gaine said they wanted to get faster and they did just that and they also added players at the end of the draft who should help improve their special teams unit. Here are my thoughts on the players drafted by the Texans.

Round 3, (68th) Jordan Reid, S, Stanford: To be honest, I had a first round grade on Reid, but expected him to go sometime in the early second round. Reid is what teams are looking for at the safety position. He's a plus size/speed prospect who has the athletic ability to help with man coverage and the instincts and ball skills for ball-hawking duties on the back end. Reid can get himself into some trouble when he's overly aggressive, but his positive plays far outweigh the negative. He has the talent to become an early starter and a good one. Tyrann Mathieu is at his best when he’s free-styling in space so even though Reid can play a combo safety role, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Texans used him as a safety on the back-end. Make no mistake, Reid has the talent to become an instant starter in this secondary.

Round 3 (80th) Martinas Rankin, OL, Mississippi State: In my personal opinion, the further Rankin kicks inside the better he will be. I’m sure the Texans will give Rankin the first look at tackle, but  Rankin may have issues as a run blocker handling the power he will face. He’s played at a relatively high level in a good football conference and offers position flexibility which is key. He has heavy hands and good instincts in pass protection. He could become a good NFL starter but I’m not sure it will be at tackle. The Texans are bamking on the fact that he can make it work at that position.

Round 3 (98) Jordan Akins, TE, Central Florida: Akins has decent size, but flashes with his speed and ability to challenge man coverage down the field. Akins saw 43.7 percent of his catches go for 20-plus yards this season, but he also has the necessary talent with the ball in his hands to take a short throw and turn it into a first down. Akins is a move tight end with the ability to separate and create throwing windows, but he won't offer much as a blocker. Many teams were turned off by the fact that Akins is going to be a 26-year old rookie.

Round 4 (103) Keke Coutee, WR, Texas Tech: Lanky speed merchant with an ability to take the top off of a defense as well as handle the nickel and dime catches underneath. Coutee's lack of route experience and play strength could lead to a bumpy initial season, but his ability to separate both vertically and out of his breaks should make him a coveted slot target capable of adding chunk plays to an offense or return game in need of some juice. Coutee can handle kick return dutie and he can also handle the duties that were supposed to go to Braxton Miller in the slot. There isn’t going to be much need for Bruce Ellington, Braxton Miller, and Coutee on one roster.

Round 6 (177) Duke Ejiofor, DE, Wake Forest: The only reason Duke Ejiofor fell to this spot was because there were concerns about his medicals. He’s not a naturally gifted athlete, but he’s a very advanced pass rusher in terms of his skill level. Ejiofor's game revolves around his heavy hands and his ability to finish as a rusher if a blocker gives him an opening. Ejiofor needs to play faster as an edge rusher, but don’t sleep on his ability to rush from the interior in sub-packages. He consistently harassed the quarterback as an interior rusher and might be able to do the same with the Texans if he’s healthy. Great value pick.

Round 6 (211) Jordan Thomas, TE, Mississippi State: Thomas has rare size, speed and athletic traits as a converted receiver-to-tight end that is intriguing. He'll need simpler routes as a tight end and has to be coached up on how best to utilize his frame to wall off defenders. I wasn’t sure I saw enough toughness to envision him as an in-line blocker, but the Texans said after the draft that they believed he had the “want to” in order to make it happen when they worked him out.

Round 6 (214) Peter Kalambayi, EDGE, Stanford: 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 is an explosive athlete who never seemed to get much better after his freshman season, but he does have some talent. I see him as a backup 3-4 linebacker who will used as a core member of the special teams.

Round 7 (222) Jermaine Kelly, CB, San Jose State: Kelly fits the mold of height-weight-speed cornerbacks that Brian Gaine and Bill O’Brien wanted to start adding to the roster. He can really run and could land a roster spot with his special teams abilities alone. As a cornerback, it will take some time and it may never happen for him. He had just one career interception.

 

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Will Houston's offense improve with a new OC calling the shots? Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.

As quarterback C.J. Stroud returns to lead the Houston Texans for a third season, his offense has a much different look than it did a year ago.

Top receiver Nico Collins and leading rusher Joe Mixon are back. But the Texans have a new offensive coordinator in Nick Caley after Bobby Slowik was fired and longtime left tackle Laremy Tunsil was traded to the Commanders in the offseason.

In other moves on offense, Houston traded for receiver Christian Kirk, signed receiver Justin Watson and drafted Iowa State receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel before signing running back Nick Chubb last month.

Chubb should get a lot of work early in camp with Mixon opening camp on the non-football injury list after missing minicamp with an ankle injury.

“Every year you’re looking to add more and more to your team,” coach DeMeco Ryans said Wednesday as the Texans opened camp. “I’m excited about the receivers that we’ve added. The young guys, Noel, Higgins, also with Kirk, Watson, all the guys we’ve added at those spots will definitely enhance our offense, giving us more options for where the football can go, and that will help our quarterback a lot.”

 

The Texans needed depth at receiver after veterans Stefon Diggs and Robert Woods left in free agency and with Tank Dell out indefinitely recovering from a gruesome knee injury sustained in December.

Even though it’s early, Stroud has already been impressed by his rookie receivers. Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.

“They’ve came in with a great mindset,” Stroud said. “They are really mature guys. Guys who love to work, consistently, here at the building or working with me in the offseason. So, I’m really excited to see those guys’ growth and see them take a step forward each and every day. Not going to be perfect for them, but I think they’re going to make a lot of plays.”

 

While the Texans addressed their need at receiver, their most pressing issue is improving the offensive line after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which ranked second in the NFL. Though Tunsil was penalty-prone he was Houston’s most consistent lineman and replacing him won’t be easy.

Second-round pick Aireontae Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after starting 38 games at the position over three seasons at Minnesota. But veteran Cam Robinson will likely open the season at left tackle while Ersery adjusts to the NFL.

Ryans knows everyone is concerned about the offensive line after Stroud was sacked eight times in a 23-14 loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs last season.

“I know I’m going to get a ton of questions about the offensive line and what it looks like,” Ryans said. “You guys will see what it looks like when we line up across from another team and we get a chance to actually compete in live reps. Me talking to you is probably not going to convince anybody here … we’ll see what it looks like, man. I’m excited about the group because I know they’ll be better.”

Stroud is also looking to take another step after leading the Texans to the postseason in each of his first two seasons. Stroud threw for 3,727 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 17 games last season after winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in his debut when he had 4,108 yards passing with 23 TD passes and just five interceptions in 15 games.

He was asked what the biggest lesson he learned last year was that he believes will help him this season.

“Just trust the process,” he said. “It’s not about what people think, who people think you are, what they think you are or when they think you should do it. It’s about your process and how you’re going to go about it. If God is happy, your teammates are happy and yourself, then you’re good.”

You can watch Stroud discuss his growth as a QB in the video below.

 

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