(no subject)
The picks are in, and it's time to see what kind of haul our respective Texas teams took in this year...
Houston Texans
Rnd 1 (20): Kareem Jackson CB
Rnd 2 (58): Ben Tate TB
Rnd 3 (81): Earl Mitchell DT
Rnd 4 (102): Darryl Sharpton LB
Rnd 4 (118): Garrett Graham TE
Rnd 5 (144): Sherrick McManis CB
Rnd 6 (187): Shelley Smith G
Rnd 6 (197): Trindon Holliday KR/TB
Rnd 7 (227): Dorin Dickerson TE/H-Back
Starting at the top, the Kareem Jackson selection's an excellent one. Jackson, Kyle Wilson, and Devin McCourty were the top three corners bouncing around on teams' boards behind Joe Haden, and as far as the Texans are concerned, they got the best prospect available... at least, by their evaluations. He fills a need immediately. Ben Tate is also a good runner who can compliment Steve Slaton well. Earl Mitchell and Darryl Sharpton are interesting selections, as they fill needs but aren't likely to get much playing time... both are athletic and can contribute immediately. Trindon Holliday has a chance to be an explosive return man, and Shelley Smith and Sherrick McManis provide instant depth, with McManis apparently a candidate to switch to free safety to fill a need that wasn't - ostensibly - addressed in the draft or free agency. It's hard to say, however, why Houston continues to overload at TE ... they've drafted multiple tight ends over the last several years - beginning with star Owen Daniels, continuing with Joel Dreesen, and now four more in the last two years. No NFL team carries six or seven tight ends on the roster, which makes one wonder why Houston would use selections on this position when they could've gone out and grabbed an extra safety or O-lineman to help fill out roster depth. For example: Kam Chancellor and Bruce Campbell were still on the board when Houson grabbed Garrett Graham. The point is, at least two of these guys are going to have to either switch positions to wideout, H-back, or fullback, or they'll wind up being practice squad players, unless the ultimate plan is to shop Owen Daniels for a high draft pick and go with 2009 4th-rounder Anthony Hill as the starter, which would be an immense mistake.
In all, a draft typical of Rick Smith drafts: solid, not flashy, and filled with potential. Results won't begin to really show until a year and a half from now, but overall this is a B+ or B- draft, just like all the previous few drafts. These add up over time - maybe not to a Super Bowl contender - but at least a competitive playoff team, which is all Houston fans ask for.
Dallas Cowboys
Rnd 1 (24): Dez Bryant WR
Rnd 2 (55): Sean Lee LB
Rnd 4 (126): Akwasi Owusu-Ansah CB
Rnd 6 (179): Sam Young T
Rnd 6 (196): Jamar Wall CB
Rnd 7 (234): Sean Lissemore DT
This draft almost begins and ends with Dez Bryant. His addition alone brings tremendous playmaking ability that Roy Williams doesn't have anymore, and gives Dallas a receiving that looks like this: Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, Sam Hurd. And that's just the top five. Yikes. Good luck covering that, NFL ... Sean Lee is an excellent round two pick in that he can contribute immediately, and possibly even push one of the back-end roster linebackers off the team. He may even develop into a solid starter in a year or two. And on a team strong at the top but loaded top to bottom, the corners drafted - Owusu-Ansah and Jamar Wall - add depth in dime and quarter packages, which is more necessary than first blush since Dallas tends to play with large leads late in games. No team can ever have too many corners, even if you already have eight on the roster who can cover. On the surface, Sam Young and Sean Lissemore look like camp-body selections, but over time Sam Young - as many starting linemen do - may just earn himself playing time and develop into a solid, quality starter, as many late-round linemen tend to do. Lissemore does appear to be puely a depth man at this point, as Dallas is much too loaded and set at the D-line position up front to have any kind of need for potential starters.
In all, an A- draft for the Cowboys, who addressed several depth needs and added playmakers in Bryant and Lee to a team already prepared to contend for a Super Bowl berth this season. Owusu-Ansah and Wall could also contribute as rookies by adding playmaking ability to a cornerbacks corps that needs more of it, and at a substantial discount over a first-or-second-round selection.
Several other teams made out like bandits in this year's draft - like Seattle and San Francisco - but those aren't my particular areas of expertise... the Texans n' Cowboys are. ;)
Until the Preseason... stay classy, Internet.