The benchmark for Texans draft excellence is 2006 when the team selected Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, Eric Winston and Owen Daniels with four of their first five picks.
Another promising player, OT Charles Spencer who was drafted one pick ahead of Winston, suffered a severe leg injury two weeks into his rookie season which unfortunately cut his NFL career short.
While it may take a couple more seasons to fully evaluate the Texans 2011 class, they're certainly off to a fast start.
J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed were taken 1-2 by the Texans in the 2011 NFL Draft. Watt was selected #11 overall and Reed was taken 42nd overall in the second round.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak talked about the pair today at his season ending presser.
When asked what he is most excited about with the defense moving forward, Kubiak said “the biggest thing you got to look at is the young players and how they played. I mean, when you look at the way Brooks Reed and J.J. Watt ended these last five weeks and to think, these two guys are rookies and what’s ahead of us (it's very exciting)."
Watt and Reed each had 2 1/2 sacks against the Ravens. Watt also had three tackles for loss and three QB hurries. And of course, there was Watt's pick-six against Cincinnati.
Reed has steadily improved since becoming a starter after Mario Williams' injury and moving full time to the strong side. What's noteworthy is that both Watt and Reed are still learning, and obviously excited about the future.
When asked today about making the playoffs in his rookie season, Reed said “I feel extremely fortunate to be in this situation and to be on this team. First year playoffs, that’s just crazy to think about.”
Reed also said getting a taste of the playoffs has made him hungry for more.
“Oh yeah, we were all talking about that," said Reed. "We’re looking forward to next year and what it has to offer.”
When asked about his rookie season, Watt said he had a blast but is still not satisfied.
“It was fun. I had a blast," said Watt. "This organization is a lot of fun to play for. There’s a lot of great players, a lot of great guys. The owner, the GM, everyone around here is phenomenal, great to work with.”
"There’s a lot of motivation headed into this offseason," said Watt. "You get a little bit of a taste and it’s not satisfying. So now you want to go back and get the whole thing because you’re just not satisfied with (only one win in the playoffs). I think that’s our entire team’s attitude and I think that’s what we’re using going into this offseason as motivation is we just don’t want a piece of the pie, we want the whole pie and that’s what we’re working toward.”
Of course you can't mention the Texans 2011 draft class without mentioning T.J. Yates who went from clipboard holder to starting two playoff games in a matter of weeks.
T.J. did about as good as you could expect from a 5th rounder who wasn't expected to do more than run scout team this season. He made some good plays and made a lot of mistakes. He handled himself quite well given the circumstances and I'm intrigued about his future, especially if he can learn to eliminate the rookie mistakes - and learning how to look off a deep safety.
At any rate, when you take the top two picks from the Texans 2011 draft and throw in the top two picks from the '09 draft (Brian Cushing and Connor Barwin), then add a free agent like Johnathan Joseph and top it off with Wade Phillips, it's easy and justified to be excited about the Texans defense heading into the 2012 season.
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