K-town
05-04-2006, 01:32 PM
Despite passing on Bush, Texans drafted well
By Jeremy Green
Scouts Inc.
Archive
The NFL draft is a time of excitement, but it's also a time of long days and nights as you prepare for the big weekend. It can be a tough transition for some teams moving from the season into the postseason. However, for teams with stability, that transition can be much easier.
That can't be said for the nine new head coaches (excluding Kansas City's Herm Edwards) this season. The majority of them were hired in late January to early February, giving them only two to three months to put together coaching staffs and prepare for the NFL draft.
While a lot of the new head coaches did a solid job, three really stood out from the others.
The new staffs for the Texans (despite the Reggie Bush misstep), Jets and Packers separated themselves from the pack. They all had a concise plan and stuck to it. The majority of those plans were based on past experiences with other organizations and they did an excellent job of taking that plan and executing in a different environment.
Houston Texans
There are varying trains of thought on how the Texans did in the draft. Some experts feel that passing on Bush automatically makes anything they did in the draft seem insignificant.
I am in the group that feels that passing on Bush was a huge mistake. However, I would not consider their overall draft to be poor. Even though they passed on Bush, it would be hard to argue that defensive end Mario Williams will not have an impact. This team had three major goals going into the draft, and it was able to accomplish two of them.
Under their old regime, the Texans ran a 3-4 scheme and ranked near the bottom of the NFL in sacks. With the switch to the 4-3 scheme, the team desperately needed to find a pass-rushing 4-3 defensive end. Williams will fill that void.
Bush was enticing, but the Texans needed an impact defender like Williams.
They came back in the second round and drafted DeMeco Ryans. Ryans is an athletic outside linebacker who will be an every-down player once he gets comfortable in the scheme. I think the Williams and Ryans selections say that the Texans know they must get a lot faster on defense if they are going to compete with the Colts.
After their first two selections, they stayed away from the defensive side of the ball. Their last five picks were all on offense, and I think this is where you really see the Gary Kubiak influence on this football team.
The Texans had major issues on the offensive line and they will be changing their schemes. Kubiak would like to build this offensive line in the mold of his old team, the Denver Broncos. To do that, he added two athletic linemen in Eric Winston and Charles Spencer at the top of the third round.
The tight end also will be a staple of their new system. In the top of the fourth round they added a solid "move" tight end in Owen Daniels. Daniels is a versatile player who can play from the backfield, on the line or in the slot. Kubiak would like to use a lot of two-tight end sets, and Daniels, along with free agent Jeb Putzier, will give Houston a solid 1-2 punch.
The Texans and Kubiak passed on potentially the best player in the draft. Still, they had a pretty impressive draft class.
New York Jets
There was definitely some concern for the Jets coming into this draft. They had first-timers Mike Tannenbaum (general manager) and Eric Mangini (head coach) who had never been in position to make the tough calls on draft day.
However, this young duo did an excellent job. They had a plan and they stuck to it. After a courtesy-type call to the New Orleans Saints to move up for Bush, they stood pat at No. 4. Once their selection came up, they passed on the "people's choice" quarterback, Matt Leinart. Leinart may find greatness in the NFL, but he didn't fit what they wanted in the quarterback position and they had the guts to stick to their guns and pass. One of the toughest things young executives face when acquiring personnel is being able to tune out what the fans want and do what is best for the organization.
In passing on Leinart, the Jets were able to acquire left offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. He will be a premier left tackle in this league for years to come. They followed that up by adding a little toughness in center Nick Mangold at the bottom of the round. These two players will be the staple of the Jets' offensive line and now they have a duo up front they can build around.
They came back with their quarterback of the future when they took Kellen Clemens in the second round. Clemens has very good arm strength and many NFL teams had him ranked very closely to the Big Three of Leinart, Vince Young and Jay Cutler.
The Jets were able to follow up their early-round success by adding safety Eric Smith, versatile, slash-type player Brad Smith and running back Leon Washington.
Watching Tannenbaum and Mangini work the draft was very reminiscent of watching Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick operate. Both are disciples of the Super Bowl coaching combination. The Jets drafted very wisely. They did an excellent job of drafting production over flash, something this new young duo learned from two coaching greats on their way to the top.
Green Bay Packers
Second-year general manager Ted Thompson and new head coach Mike McCarthy were definitely in sync during this draft. While the hiring of McCarthy could be questioned with other more attractive candidates available, there is no questioning that these two men can work together effectively.
The Packers traded down and all around for much of two days. The end result was 12 potential new players added to their roster.
I like the Packers' philosophy of adding quantity. Every player they drafted probably won't make their team, but if they can come up with eight to nine, this would be a huge success. The Packers have a lot of holes to fill. How do you fill holes? By adding new players.
The Packers added the No. 1 linebacker in the draft in OLB A.J. Hawk and one of the steals in the draft in middle linebacker Abdul Hodge (third round). With the state of the Packers' linebacker position, don't be surprised if Hawk and Hodge are both in the starting lineup come Week 1.
The Packers also did an excellent job of addressing their offensive line. This was a huge weakness last season, and the additions of Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz go a long way toward upgrading this unit.
During the draft, they traded wide receiver Javon Walker, but the team added wide receiver Greg Jennings in the second round and Cory Rodgers in the fourth. Both will take a little time to develop, but this franchise did an excellent job of drafting for the future.
Green Bay is far from a playoff team, but Thompson and McCarthy have done a great job of seeing the big picture. They did an excellent job of starting the turnover of their roster. That turnover may not pay dividends in 2007, but it should down the road.
Going into the draft, teams have many different philosophies. The Texans, Jets and Packers took different approaches to the draft, but if the 2006 draft was any indication of the future, these teams are on the right track.
Jeremy Green has been an NFL scout for 10 years. Most recently, he was director of pro personnel for the Cleveland Browns.
By Jeremy Green
Scouts Inc.
Archive
The NFL draft is a time of excitement, but it's also a time of long days and nights as you prepare for the big weekend. It can be a tough transition for some teams moving from the season into the postseason. However, for teams with stability, that transition can be much easier.
That can't be said for the nine new head coaches (excluding Kansas City's Herm Edwards) this season. The majority of them were hired in late January to early February, giving them only two to three months to put together coaching staffs and prepare for the NFL draft.
While a lot of the new head coaches did a solid job, three really stood out from the others.
The new staffs for the Texans (despite the Reggie Bush misstep), Jets and Packers separated themselves from the pack. They all had a concise plan and stuck to it. The majority of those plans were based on past experiences with other organizations and they did an excellent job of taking that plan and executing in a different environment.
Houston Texans
There are varying trains of thought on how the Texans did in the draft. Some experts feel that passing on Bush automatically makes anything they did in the draft seem insignificant.
I am in the group that feels that passing on Bush was a huge mistake. However, I would not consider their overall draft to be poor. Even though they passed on Bush, it would be hard to argue that defensive end Mario Williams will not have an impact. This team had three major goals going into the draft, and it was able to accomplish two of them.
Under their old regime, the Texans ran a 3-4 scheme and ranked near the bottom of the NFL in sacks. With the switch to the 4-3 scheme, the team desperately needed to find a pass-rushing 4-3 defensive end. Williams will fill that void.
Bush was enticing, but the Texans needed an impact defender like Williams.
They came back in the second round and drafted DeMeco Ryans. Ryans is an athletic outside linebacker who will be an every-down player once he gets comfortable in the scheme. I think the Williams and Ryans selections say that the Texans know they must get a lot faster on defense if they are going to compete with the Colts.
After their first two selections, they stayed away from the defensive side of the ball. Their last five picks were all on offense, and I think this is where you really see the Gary Kubiak influence on this football team.
The Texans had major issues on the offensive line and they will be changing their schemes. Kubiak would like to build this offensive line in the mold of his old team, the Denver Broncos. To do that, he added two athletic linemen in Eric Winston and Charles Spencer at the top of the third round.
The tight end also will be a staple of their new system. In the top of the fourth round they added a solid "move" tight end in Owen Daniels. Daniels is a versatile player who can play from the backfield, on the line or in the slot. Kubiak would like to use a lot of two-tight end sets, and Daniels, along with free agent Jeb Putzier, will give Houston a solid 1-2 punch.
The Texans and Kubiak passed on potentially the best player in the draft. Still, they had a pretty impressive draft class.
New York Jets
There was definitely some concern for the Jets coming into this draft. They had first-timers Mike Tannenbaum (general manager) and Eric Mangini (head coach) who had never been in position to make the tough calls on draft day.
However, this young duo did an excellent job. They had a plan and they stuck to it. After a courtesy-type call to the New Orleans Saints to move up for Bush, they stood pat at No. 4. Once their selection came up, they passed on the "people's choice" quarterback, Matt Leinart. Leinart may find greatness in the NFL, but he didn't fit what they wanted in the quarterback position and they had the guts to stick to their guns and pass. One of the toughest things young executives face when acquiring personnel is being able to tune out what the fans want and do what is best for the organization.
In passing on Leinart, the Jets were able to acquire left offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. He will be a premier left tackle in this league for years to come. They followed that up by adding a little toughness in center Nick Mangold at the bottom of the round. These two players will be the staple of the Jets' offensive line and now they have a duo up front they can build around.
They came back with their quarterback of the future when they took Kellen Clemens in the second round. Clemens has very good arm strength and many NFL teams had him ranked very closely to the Big Three of Leinart, Vince Young and Jay Cutler.
The Jets were able to follow up their early-round success by adding safety Eric Smith, versatile, slash-type player Brad Smith and running back Leon Washington.
Watching Tannenbaum and Mangini work the draft was very reminiscent of watching Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick operate. Both are disciples of the Super Bowl coaching combination. The Jets drafted very wisely. They did an excellent job of drafting production over flash, something this new young duo learned from two coaching greats on their way to the top.
Green Bay Packers
Second-year general manager Ted Thompson and new head coach Mike McCarthy were definitely in sync during this draft. While the hiring of McCarthy could be questioned with other more attractive candidates available, there is no questioning that these two men can work together effectively.
The Packers traded down and all around for much of two days. The end result was 12 potential new players added to their roster.
I like the Packers' philosophy of adding quantity. Every player they drafted probably won't make their team, but if they can come up with eight to nine, this would be a huge success. The Packers have a lot of holes to fill. How do you fill holes? By adding new players.
The Packers added the No. 1 linebacker in the draft in OLB A.J. Hawk and one of the steals in the draft in middle linebacker Abdul Hodge (third round). With the state of the Packers' linebacker position, don't be surprised if Hawk and Hodge are both in the starting lineup come Week 1.
The Packers also did an excellent job of addressing their offensive line. This was a huge weakness last season, and the additions of Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz go a long way toward upgrading this unit.
During the draft, they traded wide receiver Javon Walker, but the team added wide receiver Greg Jennings in the second round and Cory Rodgers in the fourth. Both will take a little time to develop, but this franchise did an excellent job of drafting for the future.
Green Bay is far from a playoff team, but Thompson and McCarthy have done a great job of seeing the big picture. They did an excellent job of starting the turnover of their roster. That turnover may not pay dividends in 2007, but it should down the road.
Going into the draft, teams have many different philosophies. The Texans, Jets and Packers took different approaches to the draft, but if the 2006 draft was any indication of the future, these teams are on the right track.
Jeremy Green has been an NFL scout for 10 years. Most recently, he was director of pro personnel for the Cleveland Browns.