A second wide receiver to pair with Andre Johnson has seemingly been a draft need for the Houston Texans for several years now -- not that the Texans haven't done well for themselves in the NFL Draft. Three of their last five first round draft picks -- J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing and Duane Brown -- have gone on to become Pro Bowlers. Head coach Gary Kubiak acknowledged recently that the need at wideout may be too difficult to ignore going forward, however.
Gary Kubiak says Texans need help at wide receiver
Is this the year the Texans use their top pick on a wide receiver?
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"I do have a young guy in Lestar Jean that I think a lot of," coach Gary Kubiak said. "DeVier Posey was making big, big progress, and now we're dealing with a significant injury that is going to take some time. So I think it's important that we continue to strengthen our team in that area.
"Andre is in year 11 or something like that now, so we've got to find some other guys to produce alongside him."
Mock drafts have regularly projected a wide receiver to land with the Texans at No. 27 overall this offseason. Four wide receivers -- Tavon Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen -- are projected to go in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft in SB Nation's latest mock draft, and any one of the four could seemingly be available at No. 27.
If all four are taken by that point, as SB Nation projects, the Texans could hold off until the No. 57 overall pick in the second round, where the likes of Robert Woods, Justin Hunter, Quinton Patton, Aaron Dobson, Da'Rick Rogers or Stedman Bailey could be viable options.
If the Texans do choose to target a wide receiver in the first two rounds, they’ll get to choose from a deep pool of talent. The top-end of this year’s class isn’t considered as strong as in years past -- case in point: Austin is the only wideout projected in the Top 10, and he has very clear size concerns standing just over 5’8 -- but potential rookie contributors could be available into the third round. Hunter, for example, is listed as SB Nation’s sixth-best wide receiver, but has the talent to become “one of the ten best wide receivers in the league” according to Matthew Fairburn.
The Texans have a number of different directions they could go with their first two picks in the draft, but if they serious about giving Johnson some help in the wide receiver corps, the Class of 2013 has no shortage of quality prospects.
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