A look at the selections

Lance Zierlein's analysis of the Texans later picks

Lance Zierlein's analysis of the Texans later picks

Lance Zierlein's breakdown of the Texans second-day draft picks:



​Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky

Round: 2 Pick: 54

Strengths

  • Exceptional size for the position
  • Long arms dangle down his side
  • Offers up a stiff jab to stall receiver's release near goal line
  • Fluid feet in early stages of mirror-and-match from press or off-man
  • Lateral transitions are fluid
  • Adequate eye balance between high/low routes from zone
  • Shows flashes of aggression to become better in run support
  • Dangerous off the edge as kick blocker

Weaknesses

  • Lacks consistent competitive nature
  • Motor runs hot and cold in run support
  • Content to allow catches in front of him without squeezing the route
  • No interceptions and only eight passes defensed over two years
  • Rarely finds football once back is to the passer
  • Slow to gather feet and trigger on throws from off coverage
  • Lacks top-end makeup speed to run down mistakes
  • Below-average route anticipation to stay connected

Who he is:

Long and tall with physical traits galore, Johnson looks the part but lacks the consistency and ball skills expected of a starting NFL cornerback at times on tape. He has had issues with allowing catches and touchdowns when his back is to the ball and his ball production was very disappointing over the last two years. Some position coaches believe that his issues can be corrected with coaching. If it's not corrected, it will require changes in coverage scheme.

On the other end of the spectrum, he's extremely long and strong from press. At the Senior Bowl he suffocated receivers from press coverage rep after rep and pushed himself way up with evaluators. He is willing as tackler in run support. Johnson's combination of size, strength and speed could create an opportunity to step right into a starter's role opposite Johnathan Joseph, but the going will likely be bumpy when the ball is in the air for at least the first season as he adjusts and learns.

Max Scharping, OT, Northern Illinois

Round: 2 Pick: 55

Strengths

  • Has experience at both left and right tackle
  • High achiever in the classroom and said to pick up info quickly
  • Tall with well-proportioned mass and thickly muscled arms
  • Adequate ability to mirror
  • Changes pass-set depth and landmarks based upon opponent's speed
  • Plays to his length with consistent arm extension to neutralize edge
  • Inside post-hand stabs and thwarts inside moves
  • Possesses mass potential and power to become grinder as run blocker
  • Fits and drives through down blocks to clear the run lane of debris
  • Choppy steps and good base width as base blocker

Weaknesses

  • Pass-protection fundamentals in need of improvement
  • Comes out of stance with weight too far outside
  • Quick to open outside shoulder in pass sets, exposing an inside path
  • Pass slides feature long gallops rather than choppy, controlled feet
  • Fear of edge speed could make him succeptiable to inside counters
  • Needs to eliminate hitch before striking with his wide, outside hand
  • Late hands get challenged and discarded, forcing re-sets
  • Has a tendency to linger too long on first block on combos and twists
  • Doesn't sustain run blocks like he should

Who he is

He played left tackle this season but will bump over to right tackle where he is more comfortable. Scharping has a good combination of size and functional athletic ability, but there is work to be done in his pass protection. While he's shown the ability to handle bull rushers with a stiff inside hand and quality recovery talent around the edge, He tends to open his outside shoulder too early and his pass sets become hurried and unfocused against edge speed.

However, keep this in mind…. in his matchup against Florida State's Brian Burns, Scharping was outstanding at keeping Burns away from his quarterback and stymieing Burns' edge speed while preventing any inside counters. Scharping has potential in the running game but need more reps with his hand in the ground and firing out into opponents. He could compete for early reps, but I'm expecting him to learn in practice for the better part of the year. Then again, when is the last time Seantrell Henderson stayed healthy?

Kahale Warring, TE, San Diego State

Round: 3. Pick: 86

Strengths

  • Chiseled, athletic frame with very good size
  • Has blocking toughness and just needs to improve technique
  • Snaps hands and hips into engagement
  • Good radar in space as move-blocker
  • Races off snap and into seam with plus acceleration
  • Early speed to lose linebackers
  • Nifty, quick feet for sharp directional change in routes
  • Talented to work all three levels as receiver
  • Former basketball player and it shows
  • Able to post up defenders and win body positioning
  • Sudden leaper with springs to win at the high-point
  • Makes mid-air ball adjustments
  • Ability to run past or drag tacklers after catch
Weaknesses
  • Needs to improve his landmarks as run-blocker
  • Slow-starter getting into lateral blocks and loses positioning
  • Inconsistent hands as base-blocker
  • Needs to improve timing on work-up blocks
  • Still relatively inexperienced with modest career production
  • Not as clever in setting up route breaks as he could be
  • Will need to work quicker and be more sudden with red zone work
  • Dropped too many easy catches in 2018

Charles Omenihu, DL, Texas

Round 5: Pick: 161.

Strengths

  • NFL-ready frame with long limbs, broad shoulders and muscular legs
  • Has punch to rattle the pads when he gets off first
  • Length to lock out on tackles and tight ends when setting an edge
  • Above-average play strength should translate into NFL improvement vs
  • the run
  • Explodes with some twitch out of his stance
  • Usually one of the first defenders off the ball and up the field
  • Better edge attack than expected once he commits
  • Ankle flexibility allows for rip-and-bend edge move
  • Batters the tackle's outside hand with angry two-hand swipes
  • Has leg drive to plow through redirection by tackles.
Weaknesses
  • Movement tends to be mechanical and rigid
  • Below-average tackle radius
  • Change of direction is chopped and exaggerated
  • Unable to hold ground with sturdy inside post against most angle blocks
  • Body control and balance are blow par for interior action
  • Inconsistent hand usage, limiting ability to control point of attack
  • Limited gas tank hinders pursuit effectiveness on extended plays
  • Pass rush is more telegraphed than instinctive
  • Struggles to alter his rush path in response to mobile quarterbacks.

Xavier Crawford, CB, Central Michigan

Round: 6. Pick: 195.

Strengths

  • Patience from press
  • Can shadow release or pedal out
  • Waits out release declaration and opens on time
  • Smooth to turn and run
  • Route magnet with agile feet and swivel hips
  • Able to withstand sharp, complex routes
  • Usually in position to challenge the catch
  • Allowed under 40 percent completion rate this year
  • Sticky feet able to collect and squeeze the comebacks and shallow crossers
  • Shows pace in cover-3 bail to retain proper spacing near receiver
  • Not fast, but has a makeup gear
Weaknesses
  • Slightly built frame
  • Plays strength to challenge NFL size in question
  • Missed seven games in 2017 due to back injury while at Oregon St
  • Good ball skills short, but average when deep
  • Average long speed
  • Slow to turn head and find the football Can be stacked and shunned by big boys targets
  • Loss of coverage leverage can be exploited in pros
  • Sits back in run support and takes passive angles
  • Blocks tend to stick to him

Cullen Gillaspia, RB, Texas A&M

Round: 7. Pick: 220.

Strengths

  • Plays like his hair is on fire at all times
  • Doesn't come off field as core special teamer
  • Impressive speed to get out in front of wide stretch plays
  • Has athletic tools to improve as a blocker
  • Showed better radar as blocker by South Carolina game
  • Soft hands out of the backfield
  • Able to add yards after catch
  • Stands in and gets after it in pass protection
Weaknesses
  • Instincts as lead blocker need a ton of improvement
  • Slow to process moving pieces and pick out his target
  • Play can be scattered and out-of-control
  • Poor gather and strike in open field
  • Struggles to adjust to moving targets
  • Lacks thump in the hole
  • Loses leverage with elevated pad level into contact
  • Doesn't bring feet under him at contact and bounces off blocks

Editor's note: Lance's analysis of all the Texans picks first appeared on NFL.com, where you can find all of his terrific draft coverage.

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The Chiefs are favored by nine points. Composite Getty Image.

If you are a believer in the third time is a charm, go ahead and book the Texans for their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game! Saturday is the Texans’ third crack at the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Of course, the Texans had a third time is the charm opportunity at advancing beyond the division round back in 2016 and came nowhere close. Charm will have nothing to do with the outcome at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs have administered the Texans’ two most humiliating postseason defeats in franchise history. They came as the bookend postseason appearances of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach. In 2015, the Texans won the worst division in the AFC (that sounds familiar) but as a division champ got to play host to the Wild Card 11-5 Chiefs. The visitors were three-point favorites. They won by 30. 30-0 to be more precise. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown. It would have been in the Texans’ best interest to have forfeited right then and there. In what was not exactly a shocking development, Texans’ quarterback Brian Hoyer wasn’t up to the task, throwing for just 112 yards and four interceptions. On the Chiefs’ side third-year tight end Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards. Taylor Swift was not in attendance.

The second Texans-Chiefs playoff get together is the most incredible game in Texans’ history. The Texans showed up in Missouri fresh off the greatest comeback win in their history, having come from down 16-0 in the third quarter to best the Buffalo Bills in overtime. In what could safely be characterized as stunning, the Texans put up three first quarter touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. *Massive bonus points if you can name the three Texans who scored those TDs, answer below. A field goal made it 24-0 Texans with 10:54 left in the second quarter. In a collapse tough to pull off, the Texans would trail before halftime. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns in nine minutes and eleven seconds of game time, with that Kelce fellow scoring the last three of them. Some will recall O’Brien calling a fake punt from his own 31-yard line with the Texans up 24-7. Too soon? Justin Reid (now pursuing his third Super Bowl ring in three seasons as a Chief) was stopped short. An even more damning O’Brien moment came later in that game when he actually had to use a timeout to change his mind and go for it with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Texans down 48-31, and facing fourth and four at the K.C. 42. That was a fire-able on the spot offense! Instead it took an 0-4 start to the 2020 season for O’Brien to be ousted. 51-31 Chiefs was the final score, and they went on to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles in the ongoing Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era.

Back to the present

Those routs were then, this is now. For a 15-2 team the Chiefs seem vulnerable. Maximum credit to them for having won an NFL record 16 consecutive games decided by eight or fewer points, 11 of them this season including their 27-19 victory over the Texans December 21. Perhaps the two-time defending champions were often bored with the regular season and often did just enough to win. The Texans would have been tied with them late in the third quarter had Ka’imi Fairbairn not botched an extra point. On the other hand, it was the play that got them within 17-16 which resulted in Tank Dell’s catastrophic season-ending knee injury. Who besides Nico Collins will do something in the passing game Saturday? Last Saturday the Texans’ pass rush harassed and flustered Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Mahomes is a different breed. Four weeks ago the Texans sacked Mahomes just once and did not intercept him. That seemingly must change for the Texans to pull off what be a shocker for most people. Saturday’s high temperature forecast for Kansas City is 25 degrees. Not ideal for the Texans but better than if the game had been scheduled for Sunday when the high is supposed to be 16.

Still standing

Four Texans who dressed for the debacle five years ago will suit up against the Chiefs Saturday: Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard who were in their first season with the team, Fairbairn, and long snapper Jon Weeks. Granted he’s just a long snapper (important role but not physically taxing), but Weeks is in his 15th season with the Texans and has yet to miss a game-244 regular season games (with Saturday his 14th playoff game, also without a miss). Presuming he is back next season, Weeks (who turns 39 next month) can crack the top five list of most consecutive games played in NFL history by answering the bell in the first 12 regular season games.

*The Texans’ three early TDS in the 51-31 loss at KC: 1. Kenny Stills with a 54-yard reception 2. Lonnie Johnson with a 10-yard return of a blocked punt 3. Darren Fells with a four-yard grab

For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube

The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!

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