Houston Texans Look To Win With Speed In NFL Draft
By Matt LaPan
The Houston Texans have added their quarterback, now they are building a speedy offense around him to make another run in 2016.
The Houston Texans were one of the teams in the NFL that made a huge splash in free agency, signing Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller to help bolster a struggling offense. Pairing those two with DeAndre Hopkins was expected to lift the Texans back into the playoffs, and hopefully make them a contender.
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They have continued to grow their offense through the NFL draft, adding a number of speed players to build an ultra-fast offense ahead of the 2016 season. With all of their picks completed, the Texans added six players to their roster via the NFL Draft. They spent four of those picks on offense, including three at skill positions.
The Texans added Will Fuller in the first round, Nick Martin in the second round, Braxton Miller in the third round, Tyler Ervin in the fourth round and both K.J. Dillon and D.J. Reader in the fifth round. With Fuller, Miller and Ervin all being known as speed players, Bill O’Brien and his staff have made it clear that their offense will try to win with speed in 2016.
In Fuller, the Texans selected the fastest wide receiver from the NFL Scouting Combine. Fuller ran a 4.32 official 40-yard dash, placing him .07 seconds ahead of the next fastest receiver, Kolby Listenbee. Fuller was also extremely productive at Notre Dame, finishing his career with 144 receptions for 2,512 yards and 30 touchdowns. His speed allows him to get behind defenses and be a good down field threat despite being just over 6-0.
After bolstering their offensive line, the Texans went back to the outside for speed in Braxton Miller. The former Ohio State quarterback has been known for his speed and elusive ability throughout his college career. He ran a 4.50 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but improved that time to a 4.43 at his pro day.
Miller’s speed off the line of scrimmage and in the open field helped him make the transition from quarterback to receiver with relative ease in 2015. He hauled in 26 receptions for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He has been known as an elite speed player in the open field, and will likely be the number three receiver on the Texans, leaving him great opportunity to make plays in the open field.
With their final skill player selection, the Texans found a perfect backup for the speedy Lamar Miller in Tyler Ervin. The lesser-known back from San Jose State is just 5-10 and 192-pounds, but has a very similar skill set to Miller.
Ervin also showed great speed at the NFL Scouting Combine, putting up the second best time for a running back with a 4.41. This helped Ervin total 528 carries for 2,803 yards and 19 rush touchdowns in his career along with 87 receptions for 783 yards and four receiving touchdowns. He also showed a great burst as a kick and punt returner, showing his speed en route to four total special teams touchdowns.
With these three speedsters joining an improving offense, O’Brien showed that he believes his team will be able to win with speed in 2016.