Houston Texans 2018 Draft Class Review

With the 2018 NFL Draft behind us, it’s time to begin the review process on how each team stacks up with the selections they’ve made. The Houston Texans have traded away their future to gain an advantage with players selected in previous drafts such as Deshaun Watson. The Texans management also sent their second round selection from this draft to the Browns to help defray the cost of signing free agent bust Brock Osweiler to his big money deal. After all was said and done, Houston had no first or second round pick this year but still managed eight selections to add to the team. Some good players added to the fold, let’s review… 

Houston Texans 2018 Draft Class Review:

Round 3 – Pick 4 (68)

Justin Reid (DB)

While his brother (Eric Reid) continues to look for a team, Justin found himself freefalling for unknown reasons in this draft until the Texans pulled the plug and selected the former Stanford standout to join an impressive defensive unit. ADF was a fan of Eric Reid coming out of college but we believe Justin Reid is a greater talent with a more refined skillset. Checking off the box in terms of the eye test, Justin comes in with very good size at over six feet and over two hundred pounds, good for any starting safety in the NFL. While most scouts already praised Justin’s skillset, we awaited the combine with great anticipation especially to see what Reid could do. Justin hit a homerun in almost every category showing fantastic speed and agility, while showing his fluid movements and great change of direction from each individual football drill. Safe to say our outlook on Reid only gained momentum after the combine.

Justin was a decent producer in his freshman and sophomore seasons at Stanford, but he certainly found his way in his junior campaign to show what he was capable of. Reid not only became a tackling machine but found his niche in the pass game intercepting five passes and adding six passes defended. Reid’s all-around game is very impressive as his above average cover skills will go a long way in the NFL. Being placed in a situation where he can learn from the Honey Badger (Tyrann Mathieu), his game should only improve that much more in year one. Houston snagged a first round talent in the third round.    

ADF Prediction: Fantastic upside, potential all-star.

Round 3 – Pick 16 (80)

Martinas Rankin (OL)

During the draft process most had Martinas Rankin listed as a guard or center, but that’s not how the Texans envision their fourth round selection as OTA’s have seen him playing a large number of snaps at the left tackle position with the second team. Rankin has good, not great size to man the outside of the line but does have very good blocking traits that made him catch the eyes of the Texans brain trust. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Houston was clever in selecting Rankin due to his great versatility as he could man literally any spot on the offensive line with varying success.

As organized team activity comes to an end in the coming weeks and preparation for training camp ramps higher, ADF won’t be surprised to see Rankin being used in all situations giving him exposure to all schemes to better prepare him in case of injury to starters on the line. Martinas will be used as a great depth piece to start his career unless he shows out in camp stealing a starting role which isn’t fully out of the question.

ADF Prediction: Good potential, potential starter.

Round 3 – Pick 34 (98)

Jordan Akins (TE)

As we mentioned earlier, the Texans had no first round pick but found their way to holding three third round selections and capping off the round Houston chose UCF product and tight end Jordan Akins. It’s very interesting when you look back in history and find that the Texans seem to always struggle in finding a viable tight end to produce with great regularity. Akins is a fascinating prospect that showed better on field speed than in the testing process, but coming in at nearly 250 pounds running a 4.8 second 40 time isn’t too shabby. His statistics won’t dazzle either as his final season at Central Florida was a little underwhelming.

Jordan Atkins appears to us as a bigger wide receiver that has good speed and route running ability to go along with his great hands. ADF found it difficult to evaluate Akins as he does show good ability but then falls off from game to game. If he can round out his game and become more consistent all around, he should have a role in the future.

ADF Prediction: Low potential, some upside.

Round 4 – Pick 3 (103)

Keke Coutee (WR)

If we said Houston needed any more talent at the wide receiver position it would be a boldface lie. However, the Texans snagged a speedy, electric type of player in Keke Coutee formally of Texas Tech, adding to a receiver group that looks very solid on paper. Coutee is a very intriguing prospect as he could act as a fantastic complementary piece in the Texans offense alongside DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

What jumps off the screen is Keke’s great speed and ability to cook defensive backs when he’s in full flight. With that speed comes above average awareness placing himself in great situations to help his quarterback get him the ball. In reviewing his tape from his junior campaign we couldn’t help but be impressed with what he was able to accomplish. His obvious growth on the field allowed Keke to garner statistics that were quite eye popping. Coutee was able to haul in 93 receptions for 1429 yards and 10 touchdowns in that final season at Texas Tech, very impressive. With all the positives coming from his game, he does possess concerns that could make it difficult at the beginning of his career. Keke doesn’t have the type of body frame one would hope for in an NFL wide receiver, and with that lack weight on his frame it certainly shows with subpar strength in press coverage. Either way there’s a lot to like about Coutee in this potential high powered Texans offense.  

ADF Prediction: Good potential, will have a role on this offense.

Round 6 – Pick 3 (177)

Duke Ejiofor (DE)

While Duke Ejiofor is listed as a defensive end coming out of the draft, the Texans have placed him as the Sam-line backer early on in OTA’s, as he could be a very good fit coming off the edge standing up rather than having his hand in the dirt. This pick is a definite depth addition on a defense prime to take the next step in its dominance provided they call all remain healthy and on the field for the 2018 season. Statistically Duke had a great career at Wake Forest piling up 133 tackles, 43.5 of those going for loss (very impressive), sacking opposing quarterbacks 24 times, and forcing 4 fumbles, like we said a very solid career. Ejiofor has an above average motor that seems to never fall out of third gear even as the games wear on. Strength is the top aspect to his game while some scouts would’ve liked to have seen better overall speed on the field. Duke should find a role on special teams and sub packages to begin his career on a stacked Houston defense.      

Round 6 – Pick 37 (211)

Jordan Thomas (TE)

As mentioned above, the Texans seem to be in tight end purgatory and are doubling down in this draft in hopes to find a viable target and full time difference maker at the position. As the pre-drafting process takes shape for most teams, it’s clear that finding rare traits that can’t be coached out ranks other evaluation tools especially in the late rounds. Jordan Thomas is a beast of a man that runs extremely well at the weight he holds. Coming in at 265 pounds, Thomas was able to muster a phenomenal 4.74 40 time at the combine.

Possessing a small sample size in his time at Mississippi State, Thomas didn’t show much on tape of generating monster plays and great production. While some scouts completely wrote off Thomas believing he wouldn’t cut it in the pros, Houston is taking a dart throw approach hoping they can harness the natural talent with solid coaching making Jordan productive. Time will tell as this could be quite the long shot.      

Round 6 – Pick 40 (214)

Peter Kalambayi (DE)

Continuing down the defensive trend adding more depth to a unit that saw its share of devastating injuries last season, the Texans add yet another rushing presence in Peter Kalambayi. Peter was simply a steady contributor in his time at Stanford while not flashing exceptional traits or stats. Kalambayi did produce solid numbers recording 189 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks in his four year career. Possessing good size and weight, teamed with above average athletic ability, Peter should find himself on the opening day roster manning a backup role and/or having a special team’s position. The fear in Kalambayi is that he has already reached his celling and will have little room to grow in the NFL. For depth purposes alone, this isn’t a horrible pick at all.  

Round 7 – Pick 4 (222)

Jermaine Kelly (DB)

Concluding the draft much like it began, the Texans closed out with yet another defensive prospect in Jermaine Kelly, defensive back from San Jose State. Kelly has the size that most teams are looking for in a cover corner these days, as he comes in over 6 feet and nearly reaching 200 pounds. Kelly has decent skill but nothing overly impressive to get excited about at this point. He possess good speed (4.52 40 time) and has good strength teamed with above average athletic ability. His production on the field wasn’t anything to get excited about and should be in tough to stay on active roster come the fall. Kelly could act as a camp body unless he flashes in the preseason.

2018 Undrafted Free Agent Signings

Andre Chachere, CB, San Jose State

Lavon Coleman, RB, Washington

Jaryd Jones-Smith, OL, Pitt

Anthony Coyle, OL, Fordham

Kingsley Opara, DL, Maryland

Vyncint Smith, WR, Limestone College

Terry Swanson, RB, Toledo

Trevor Daniel, P, Tennessee

K.J. Malone, OL, LSU

Devin Bellamy, DB, Georgia

Davin Coleman, RB, Washington

Mason Gentry, DE, Southern Methodist

Jester Weah, WR, Pitt