But why waste a pick get another lineman or something?
Put him in a strong QB room he ain’t saying anything as we know he won’t start here - a weak room causes a problem and doesn’t break that entitlement
Lets say the texans did that. This guy would do everything he could to sabbotage cj stroud…there is no way this guy is going to accept a back up qb role.
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In the future, whose the better QB Cam or CJ?
Sanders on a McNair-owned team? Laughable.
Noel and Higgins were studs all year and exceeded the high expectations I had for them coming into the season.
Noel is a player that was talked about as an immediate contributer, his freshman year, but he had issues muffing punts and with drops. He was expected to take off his sophomore year, yet again he was disappointed. We finally saw good things his junior year, while Higgins was a guy who gradually increased production every year.
This year these guys caught EVERYTHING thrown their way. Between the two they had maybe 3 or 4 bad drops all year, but made several tough/clutch catches to more than make up for it. They did this despite another shaky performance from the line (affecting throwing time and our run game), vision issues witb our QB, and opponents knowing they were going to be targeted EVERY game. It’s impressive both were able to top 1000, but even moreso if you know how many opportunities were missed by Rocco. His penchent for locking on, missing windows, and missing some throws (at times) left some plays on the table. Rocco really sruggled with his middle of field vision and timing which cost Noel a lot of yards.
Houston hit homeruns with these picks. With a better QB delivering the ball, I expect both to be contributint rookies and very solid players going forward.
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The starting quarterback should be getting all of the attention and press. If the Texans drafted Sanders, the press would all be about Sanders. That would create a tense situation or a fragmented locker room. Nobody wants that.
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The Texans took Graham Mertz #197. Texas’ hyped up, all everything, 5 star QB, Quinn Ewers, went #231, the last QB drafted.
How funny is that?
What’s even funnier is that they have Arch Manning, who they are paying a ton of NIL money to, and they choose the last QB in the draft, as their starter, over Manning.
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The more I read about Woody Marks the more I feel okay with the pick.
Seems like a weapon on 3rd downs. I heard him described as the best receiving back in the draft.
I was actually hoping we picked Gunnar Helm before a RB but they know what they are doing.
The undrafted FA from Kentucky could turn out to be something.
Eli Cox—-Center from Kentucky
He was expected to go as high as the 4th round….dude has a mean streak and can play guard as well. I’d like to see him really push Patterson at Center.
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I am happy with both picks.
IMO, Noel was the better of the two but they have different skill sets….but Noel seems so explosive….i saw one mock that predicted he would go in the 30’s….seems like a steal.
What’s your take on them Rez?
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Coach Sark spoke to the TD Club today.
He said after the first round, the round doesn’t matter but the fit does. He said Miami is perfect for Quin. He knows the coach and he recruited and coached Tua.
As for Arch Manning, he said he is more like his grandfather than his uncles. He asked the fans to just let him enjoy being QB of Texas. He grew up wanting the be the Longhorn QB.
Texas took 25 high school freshman. 21 early enrolled and participated in the spring
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A kid I coached had a handful of offers but was dead set on UT.
Walked on and grinded it out….wound up start some at the Mike his last year.
And yeah, Arch is much more athletic than his Jorts wearing uncles. 
Now this is the news that I check Coogfans for. Thanks for the update.
Thanks. Will do!
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But it’s a shame for him that he didn’t get their good looks. I guess you can’t have it all.
Yup good take. I thought Noel would go before Higgins. I had Noel maybe sneaking into the late 1st round. I’d have taken Noel more where Higgins was taken, and Higgins more middle to late 2nd round. But Higgins is a more polished product in a way. He plays the game like an art and has a way of putting on a WR clinic on defenders.
Noel is more raw power and heart, and I don’t mean to scare you off him, but he’s more of a tweener combo WR than a true slot, so maybe he’s harder to project. But I like the versatility value he brings. One man’s versatility is another man’s uncertainty, so I can see why it went the way it did with where they were picked.
Higgins and Hutchinson are very similar players. Higgins is more of a fluid natural receiver than Noel is. Higgins is more polished than Hutch too, but they both do similar stuff in a similar way. Noel is more of an artificially developed super athlete that worked his way into a specimen. Higgins is smooth and fluid and just knows how to use his body, seperate, run sharp routes. Higgins always makes the right move at the right time to get separation and is way better after the catch than you think. He has uncanny wiggle for a rangey tall receiver. Not an elite straight speed burner, but that’s not really what makes his game tick anyways.
Noel is smooth too but in a easy gas can change direction at full speed kind of way. Gets to top end speed with one step it seems… and stays theres effortlessly. That’s why he’s actually more of a combo WR that you can move to the outside more than a true slot scat guy. Think more DJ Moore/Steve Smith than a Wes Welker or Tank Dell type. Will be interesting to see how Houston uses him though because I think he can do it, just not really what he was limited to in college.
Strong as a bull. Tightly wound, powerful, and springy. Tough. Fearless. Both receivers are tough and fearless and go over the middle, but Hutch and Higgins take the punishment and get back up more than they dish it out.
Noel is just the opposite. You can give it to him on reverses and the return game. He will drop his shoulder to move the chains and make DBs make a business decision to stop him. I can’t stress enough how solid and strong he is. Dont let his babyface and smile fool you. He could almost play RB in a pinch, but not quite. He’s a chain mover.
Both Higgins and Noel are excellent on 3rd downs, to the point that the double move is always a threat. Higgins is better at the double move because of his polish and instincts. Noel will round it off more so it’s a matter of if he can run by you or not. But he can run by you. We run a lot of RPO and option routes. So they are both very adept at reading coverages. Not much we do is set in stone, so they are both cerebral receivers.
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Great analysis!
I really appreciate your insight on these guys….makes me feel much better with Tank out most of, if not the entire year.
You have no choice but to be a Texans fan now huh?
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Higgins’ superior (and by supeior I mean extremely superior) catch radius is what got him drafted so high. Noel is compact with superior strength, but catch radius (sideline throws) is something that plays hard in the NFL.
Both are great athletes and both have excellent hands. Noel is prone to have more “very catchable” drops, but they are so infrequent now that they are a non-factor.
I do think Noel is a better route runner and lost out on a LOT of opportunities simply because Rocco had average field vision and read progressions. Get Noel in a capable offense, with a better construct and QB? He will make a living over the middle on timing throws. He’s at his best between the hashes (that goes for big seem splitting routes too) whereas Higgins is best on the outside.
Both work hard, lack egos, and are on upward trajectories. Stroud has much better vision and placement consistency than Becht. I think for rooks they both have big years.
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No doubt. And it couldn’t come at a better time. I’m bears fan by trade, so there’s no conflict with the AFC South teams.
I watch every Niners game now. I legitimately started to enjoy watching Texans games with Stroud there, and it was bonus points when Hutch started to actually get a couple targets.
Unfortunately, im also stuck watching every Jets attempt at playing football. Because Breece Hall is King. And Allen Lazard is a hometown kid that really helped build ISU Football to what it is today.
Can’t forget 1st round freak Will Mcdonald. So the Texans trio will be welcome relief from being subjected to Jets football, our other trio.
David Montgomery is an absolute dog, most bears thing ever to let him walk to Detroit. As @zrf mentioned, our RB room is kind of elite as a whole this year too. Campbell is on a run of stud RBs that predates his time at ISU. Kareem Hunt, then Montgomery, then Breece Hall. Now we have Des Moines product Abu Sama and Minnesota Christian McCaffery (big wink ) Carson Hanson. There’s at least two other guys that will play a big role this year and will suprise you. We have guys that can tote the rock. Blocking is always the issue.
In general, our skill position guys are really underrated and we have that in spades over iowa in Campbell’s tenure. And it drives those idiots crazy over there. Don’t get me started on our QB room lol. ISU used to be a QB graveyard. Now, we consistently log jam that room with guys that can spin the pill. Good times.
But yes, I’m fully on the Texans train.
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Iowa and Iowa State have almost been exact opposite when it’s come to talent production/development.
Iowa graveyard at QB while ISU is (soon) to be on it’s 2nd 4 year starter. Iowa meh at receiver while we’ve had good ones. RBs? During Campbell’s tenure ours have consistently been superior. TEs? Iowa cranks out TE draft picks like they are going out of style. OL? Campbell sucks here while Iowa cranks out draft picks. DL? Edge goes to Iowa (thought we’ve had some good ones). LB? Edge to Iowa, especially recently. DB is probably the one area where both have succeeded, though Iowa has an edge in NFL players from the positional group. Special teams? LOL. I guess ours have been as competent as they ever have under Campbell these last few years.
Getting back to “our guys”. On offense we’ve had a lot of positional talent under Campbell and a lot more than people give us credit for. I think players would get a lot more hype if A) the offensive line wasn’t an annual train wreck and B) Our offensive design and scheming was more robust and adaptable. At times, I have no idea what the hell we are doing on offense. Our blocking schemes/splits are perplexing, route trees often terminate at the same depth of the field, we’ve ran an overabundance of Mickey Mouse screens that don’t work, etc. If Campbell/Mouser/Whoever could build an above average line, utilize more misdirection, and adjust blocking schemes as necessary (splits are narrow and we never chip block on the outside when needed), I think we could substantially increase the production.
If people ask “what’s wrong with your blocking schemes” I’d tell them to watch tape from 2023 against Baylor and another opponent we played in back to back weeks. They simply split their ends wide and angled them toward Becht’s drop. By the time he set up to throw, he had 2 ends in his face. We made ZERO adjustments to our play calling or the blocking scheme. I’ve never understood our aversion to chip blocks.
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