Monday, February 18, 2013
Possible WR addition for Houston
By Tim Kavanagh
One of the areas of need for the Houston Texans as we look ahead to 2013 is at WR. This may sound counter-intuitive at first, considering they have one of the most talented wideouts in the business in Andre Johnson, but none of the other players currently on the roster has been able to step up as a reliable secondary target for Matt Schaub.
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle offers his take on the subject, opining that it's all but certain the Texans won't trade with the Minnesota Vikings for WR/returner Percy Harvin (though this would also solve their return man issues). Moreover, he doesn't believe that they're going to go after any of the high-priced WRs set to hit the market as unrestricted free agents, either. Instead, the draft will be used to find another option at outside WR, and this could come from the pool of Tennessee's Cordarrelle Patterson, Baylor's Terrance Williams, California's Keenan Allen, Louisiana Tech's Quinton Patton and West Virginia's Tavon Austin.
Patton was the choice for Houston in Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent mock, whereas Allen was the pick for Houston in the mock from Todd McShay:
Mel Kiper Jr.
Mock Draft V2.0"Houston needs to find another weapon for Matt Schaub. Andre Johnson will be 32 this summer, and if he's out of the lineup, the drop-off is significant. If you're a fan that hasn't seen anything from Patton, roll the tape from his game against Texas A&M. All he did to the Aggies was 21 catches, 233 yards and 4 TD catches. Simply put, Patton was really, really hard to cover in 2012, and when he went to the Senior Bowl against some of the top competition in the draft, he didn't get any easier to cover. Love the way he release from pressure, can set defenders up and work the sides or the middle of the field, using long arms to snatch the ball away from his body. A rising player meets a good fit."
Todd McShay
Mock Draft V2.0"The Texans need more legitimate pass-catching options outside of Pro Bowl WR Andre Johnson. Allen lacks elite top-end speed, but he's a great athlete with a good frame, and his ball skills are much-improved from early in his career. He would give QB Matt Schaub another quality option and help open up some room for Johnson."
