This year the Houston Texans had the best draft (on paper)
they ever have. In my opinion, the Texans picked up four potential first round
picks in the first three rounds of the draft. As all Texans fans know, Domanick Davis was injured last year and is still recovering from his knee surgery that
has him sitting on the sidelines during training camp. No one is sure right now
whether he will be able to make it back by the start of the regular season, or
if he will even be able to be a game in and game out player. With that in mind
coach Kubiak has beefed up the running back position and some major competition
is taking place.
Rookies Wali Lundy, Chris Taylor and Damien Rhodes are
tearing things up in practice and trying to prove they can play in the NFL. Wali
Lundy, the sixth round pick from this year’s draft, seems to be performing as
expected with some signs of play making ability here and there. Chris Taylor an
undrafted free agent was picked up by the Texans in May in hopes to build the
necessary depth Kubiak likes at running back. So far, he has impressed the
Texans coaching staff and Kubiak alike. With the preseason games approaching,
expect to see these two guys taking some carries so the coaching staff can see
what they can do under the spotlight against an NFL caliber team.
Backup QB Quinton Porter has been showing some signs of
life as well. Although placed behind starter David Carr and backup Sage Rosenfels, Porter builds the necessary depth the Texans have needed before. In
recent past the Texans have had to resort to their 3rd string QB in
order to keep the game alive dealing with injuries to both starter and backup.
The Texan Blitz’s J. P. Crawford reports from training camp saying “Porter is
not bad for a third stringer. He throws the occasional duck and doesn't have the
accuracy that Carr has, but he's good for where he is.” Good to know that we
have some good backup quarterbacks to lean on if the unthinkable happens.
Other rookies worth mentioning to look out for during
pre-season games are WR David Anderson, TE Owen Daniels; OT’s Charles Spencer
and Eric Winston. Anderson hasn’t made much of a mark this off-season but TE
Owen Daniels has been turning some heads recently. Most notably is the duo of
offensive tackles Spencer and Winston which were both taken in the 3rd
round of this year’s draft. Both are showing signs of starting ability and
Spencer, a former defensive lineman, is showing a bit of a mean streak. He and
another teammate were involved in a squabble with DE Jason Babin, which was
quickly broken up. Some simple pushing and shoving going on, but it is nice to
see the players getting fired up.
More tomorrow on the defensive side of the ball…..