The War Room | HoustonProFootball.com 
February 11, 2006
Seniority Report
by Warren DeLuca
HoustonProFootball.com
As the Texans work towards the goal of assembling a championship-caliber roster, a good place for them to find pieces of that puzzle is the Senior Bowl. This year’s Super Bowl featured several players who had once been put through their paces for the NFL brass in Mobile, Alabama. The Steelers had ten Senior Bowl alums in its starting lineup, including standouts Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle-El, Kendall Simmons, James Farrior, and Joey Porter. The Seahawks had nine, such as NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, Steve Hutchinson, Michael Boulware, and Marcus Trufant.
Neil Stratton of Inside the League was in Mobile for the Senior Bowl events again this year and shares his impressions of the week with us.
HPF: Neither Gary Kubiak nor any members of his still-developing coaching staff were in Mobile for the Senior Bowl. What kind of presence did the Texans have, and how much do you think not having Kubiak there hurt considering the power that he will have on draft day?
Stratton: Well, the full scouting staff arrived on Sunday, joined by Charley [Casserly] on Monday, so everyone was there for the full practice week; I know that may come as either good or bad news to Texans fans. The first order of business is always filling out your staff, so I think Kubiak and Co. will have plenty of time to catch up. I also think it’s worth noting that the Texans actually coached the Senior Bowl three years ago and drafted three players then ([QB Dave] Ragone, [OT Seth] Wand and [TE Bennie] Joppru) who haven’t been very big contributors to the team, so actually being there in the flesh may be a little overrated.
HPF: Tight end is a definite need area for the Texans. What is your opinion of the tight ends at the Senior Bowl — USC’s Dominique Byrd, Colorado’s Joe Klopfenstein, UCLA’s Marcedes Lewis, and NC State’s T.J. Williams?
Stratton: The tight end position is probably as deep this year as it’s been in a long while, probably since 1990, when Eric Green, Jackie Harris and Shannon Sharpe all were drafted. There are three big-time players in this draft: Maryland’s Vernon Davis, UCLA’s Marcedes Lewis and Georgia’s Leonard Pope (probably in that order). Among the four in Mobile, Lewis definitely held serve, maybe even pulled even with Davis; he just caught everything and blocked everyone. Byrd probably went to Mobile slightly behind Williams on most teams’ boards, but after three practices in pads he’s probably even or maybe slightly ahead of Williams. Believe me, Byrd didn’t win Monday’s beauty contest/weigh-in – he’s just not a sculpted athlete like, say, Davis is – but he is very smart about finding the holes in the zone, has very good hands, and exceptional power after the catch. I think Klopfenstein will slide and be a bargain in this draft due to its depth at the position; he’s mostly a possession type, but is another guy with very reliable hands.
HPF: By all accounts, Virginia OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson has locked up the status of the top offensive lineman in the draft. How does he compare to the elite tackle prospects of recent years?
Stratton: He seems to be the real deal, and it says a lot about his character that he lived up to his commitment to the Senior Bowl, even though he had nothing to gain by playing there. As far as where he compares, among prospects that turned out to be top-10 draftees in the last five years, I’d put him ahead of Robert Gallery, Jordan Gross, Bryant McKinnie, Levi Jones, and Kyle Turley but behind Chris Samuels and Leonard Davis. As a pro, I would expect him to be a solid left tackle in the Gross/Samuels/Jones class and maybe more.
HPF: Kubiak is expected to implement the Broncos’ blocking scheme, which requires athleticism even at the expense of size. Which linemen at the Senior Bowl would be best suited for that system?
Stratton: The linemen on the South squad were mashers designed for traditional offenses and not for zone schemes except for one, Miami (Fla.) OT Eric Winston, who was lights-out all week and would be a great fit in the Texans’ new scheme. On the North squad, there were plenty more guys built for a Denver/Atlanta/San Francisco scheme. Along with Ferguson and Ohio State’s Nick Mangold, who would fit in any scheme, Boise St. OT Daryn Colledge and Oklahoma OG Davin Joseph had very good weeks (Colledge especially, who was probably the second-best tackle in Mobile). With that said, most teams that use that scheme don’t believe in drafting offensive linemen in the first three rounds (Denver’s starting left tackle last season, Matt Lepsis, was an undrafted free agent). None of those players will still be available on Sunday.
HPF: We’ve been hearing nothing but good things about Vanderbilt QB Jay Cutler. How early could he be off the board?
Stratton: I think there has been a lot of hype surrounding Cutler that may be a little unwarranted. Cutler is a very good quarterback for a team that seeks a traditional dropback passer with great arm strength and size. There aren’t many teams that run that kind of offense anymore, and the ones that do (Washington, Green Bay, New York, San Diego) are young at quarterback or have their passer in waiting already. When it comes to dropback passers that have come out in recent years, I’d say Cutler has as much chance of going in the direction of Patrick Ramsey as he does Eli Manning.
HPF: The Texans may look to retool their linebacker corps as they move to a base 4-3 defense. What would Alabama’s DeMeco Ryans and Iowa’s Abdul Hodge bring to the table that the current Houston ‘backers lack?
Stratton: I think Ryans is one of the great players in this draft and would fit in any defense; regardless of the mix of 4-3 and 3-4 the Texans use next season, he would be a big-time weapon. I think Hodge works more as an inside linebacker who stuffs the run and maybe picks up the odd linebacker or fullback in coverage schemes but isn’t as effective as a blitzer or when he has to cover a lot of ground laterally.
HPF: Who left Mobile carrying late first/early second round grades, meaning that they might be available and worthy of consideration for the Texans with the 33rd overall pick?
Stratton: I think Mangold was one of the stars of Mobile, and for an offensive line looking to retool, he might be the perfect guy in the pivot for the leverage and down-blocking required in the Denver scheme; with an impressive combine, he might even move into the late first round. You can never tell who the end-of-first-round receivers will be until after March, when the combine and pro days are over, but Arizona State’s Derek Hagan would make an excellent No. 2 receiver opposite Andre Johnson. On the defensive side, a couple players who looked good and may fit at 33 are Stanford DT Babatunde Oshinowo or a linebacker we haven’t mentioned, Maryland’s D’Qwell Jackson.
HPF: What other players significantly helped or hurt their draft standing?
Stratton: I think Clemson’s Tye Hill moved way out in front among cornerbacks and may have pushed into the top 10; he was nails all week. Northwestern (La.) State cornerback David Pittman was a late substitution for Penn State’s Alan Zemaitis, but he really made a lot of plays all week. Michigan’s Gabe Watson was unbelievable all week, but the book on him is that he can be dominant when he wants to be, but that’s not all the time. Among the negatives, Boston College’s Mathias Kiwanuka was unimpressive; the old axiom is that you can only help yourself at all-star games, but he certainly wasn’t impressive. Another BC player, Jeremy Trueblood, seemed to pout and have a lousy attitude in general, and it really came through in his play on the field.
HPF: Okay, time to address the question that’s been dominating the Texan message boards and Houston talk radio shows for weeks now. Reggie or Vince? Vince or Reggie?
Stratton: I’ve been up and down and all around the bend on this issue. Obviously, if the decision is to keep Carr, then Bush is the logical choice. Of course, the other side of the coin is that if you cut ties with Carr and take the hometown kid, you re-ignite the city with a guy whose talent is hard to describe. I had a long talk with an AFC scout at the Shrine Game about this, and in the end, I guess I have to go with his assessment: that Vince is just such a wildcard, with so few guarantees, that it might be smart for the Texans to go with the safe pick, which is Reggie.
HPF: Below is a sampling of Inside the League‘s 2006 quarterback rankings.
Rnd Player School Comment 1 Matt Leinart Southern Cal Hands-down the best QB in this draft 1 Vince Young Texas Hands-down most talented pure athlete in draft 1 Jay Cutler Vanderbilt Could be this year’s Aaron Rodgers 2 Drew Olsen UCLA Wildly underrated in our book 3 Darrell Hackney UAB Also underrated, but lacks dimensions for position 3 Bruce Gradkowski Toledo Blood-and-guts type with great intangibles 3 Brodie Croyle Alabama One of the more overrated QBs in this draft 4 Reggie McNeal Texas A&M Really missing the boat by insisting on QB 4 Michael Robinson Penn State Needed to do more work at alt positions in Mobile 4 Omar Jacobs Bowling Green Great tools but shouldn’t have come out early 5 Kellen Clemens Oregon Knows the West Coast off, which really helps 5 Brett Basenez Northwestern Great head, good feet, average arm 5 Justin Holland Colorado State Second-most underrated QB in this draft 5 Paul Pinegar Fresno State Solid but nothing special 5 D.J. Shockley Georgia Great arm but has a long way to go as a QB 6 Erik Meyer E. Washington Nice sleeper who could go higher 6 Brad Smith Missouri So inconsistent, and lacks a true position 7 Travis Lulay Montana State Another small-school guy worth watching 7 Joel Klatt Colorado Well-versed in West Coast off; must answer injury questions 7 Marcus Vick Virginia Tech What a mess he’s made of his talent FA Brett Elliott Linfield Could go as high as sixth round FA Charlie Whitehurst Clemson Never really put it together after great soph year FA Kent Smith C. Michigan Super-raw as QB but has great size-speed ratio FA Josh Betts Miami (OH) Needs to start over mechanically but has skills FA Barrick Nealy Texas State Too raw as a QB; too much of a long-strider at WO FA Tarvaris Jackson Alabama St. In way over his head during Shrine week
Inside the League is an information service for football professionals and fans alike, tracking the players through the season, all-star games, workouts, and the draft. Neil Stratton is president of Inside the League. He began the service after four years as senior writer for Lone Star Football, a now-defunct NFL draft publication. Stratton has appeared on radio shows all over the nation, contributed to numerous publications, and is the draft expert for KFFL.com. Thanks to Neil for his insight.
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