2010 NFL Draft Countdown: Houston Texans

The NFL Draft Countdown is where we take a closer look at an NFL franchise to see what its transactions have been and what its needs are.

Franchise

• Draft Position: 20
• 2009 Season Result: 9-7 (2^nd in AFC South; Missed Playoffs)
• 2009 Head Coach: Gary Kubiak
• 2010 Head Coach: Gary Kubiak (31-33; 0-0)

Key Transactions

• CB Dunta Robinson (to ATL)

Draft Picks

• 1-20
• 2-19
• 3-17
• 4-20
• 5-19
• 6-18
• 6-28
• 7-20

Analysis & Outlook

The Houston Texans managed to get their first winning season ever with the NFL’s #1 passing game. The downside, however, is that they also had the #30 rushing offense and their defense was still so-so.

On defense, the Texans did do a good job by re-signing S Bernard Pollard who was a valuable addition last season, but they did let CB Dunta Robinson go. They must make up for that during this off-season.

On offense, QB Matt Schaub had a spectacular season, but OC Kyle Shanahan left to join his dad in Washington. The Texans will need to show that that isn’t going to affect their offensive performance. Regardless, they’ll have to improve in the running game to become a stronger offensive factor.

In the first round, I’m looking for the Texans to address their needs by going after either a RB or a CB. I’m leaning towards CB because they’re in a pretty good spot to land Kyle Wilson. The RB pool is deeper and it’s also in the later rounds that they landed Steve Slaton. Toby Gerhart is a realistic option in the second round. His power-running style with good receiving skills seems like a good complement to Steve Slaton’s running. After that, look for the Texans to shore up on the defensive secondary and along the offensive line.

The Texans have been steadily improving under HC Gary Kubiak who was also rewarded with a contract extension. They need to become tighter on defense and more balanced on offense to compete well in what is a tight race with the Titans and the Jaguars.