First-pick surprise: It’s a Stanford safety
Gaine goes with Reid at No. 68 overall, uses other third-round selections on OT and TE
The Texans finally made their first draft choice at 8:35 p.m. Friday, and even though they had more pressing needs at offensive tackle and tight end, general manager Brian Gaine decided Stanford free safety Justin Reid was too good to pass up.
With the 68th overall pick — fourth in the third round — Gaine selected Reid, the younger brother of former San Francisco safety Eric Reid, who is a free agent.
Gaine got his offensive tackle with the Texans’ second pick in the third round — 80th overall — in Mississippi State’s Martinas Rankin. That pick had been acquired from Seattle in last season’s trade for offensive tackle Duane Brown. The Texans also get a second-round pick in 2019 as the other part of the Brown deal.
The Texans’ other biggest need was a tight end who can
block. They selected a tight end with their last pick in the third round — Central Florida’s Jordan Akins — but he’s a receiver and not a blocker.
Gaine passed up a lot of higher-rated tight ends to take Akins, who played for Bill O’Brien and his staff at the Senior Bowl. Akins (6-3, 249) was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round in 2010 and will be a 26-year-old rookie who should be able to contribute on special teams.
Reid and Rankin solved two of the Texans’ three biggest needs. Akins doesn’t solve their need to find a blocking tight end to replace the retired C.J. Fiedorowicz. They may have to use one of their five picks Saturday on such a tight end.
In charge of a draft for the first time, Gaine used his first pick on Reid, who was the highest-rated free safety by NFL Draft Scout and projected as a first- or second-rounder.
Reid (6-0, 207) ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at the combine and provides the Texans with an infusion of talent and speed at one of their need positions.
Reid is an underclassman who has the intelligence to make a smooth transition into the NFL. Mentally, he should adjust quickly to Romeo Crennel’s defense and could give the secondary two new starters at safety along with veteran Tyrann Mathieu, another Louisiana native.
Expect Mathieu to become Reid’s mentor. One reason the Texans signed Mathieu in free agency was his leadership skills. It didn’t take him long to reach out to Reid after the Texans drafted him. Mathieu takes a lot of pride in helping younger players develop.
If the season started Sunday, Reid would back up Mathieu and Andre Hal, who led the defense with three interceptions in his fourth season.
Reid should push Hal for a starting job at some point, perhaps early in the season. Expect him to contribute off the bench and become a valuable member of the special teams.
Playing for coach David Shaw at Stanford, Reid lined up at different spots in the secondary. The Cardinal used his athleticism and ball skills at free safety but dropped him into the box so he could play the run and cover tight ends and slot receivers.
The way Shaw used Reid sounds like the way Arizona used Mathieu before he was released this offseason.
That kind of versatility is what O’Brien covets.
Speaking of versatility, Rankin can play any position on the line. Because he has short arms — 33¾ inches — for an offensive tackle, some teams liked him at guard or even center, but the Texans have a need at those positions.
Rankin (6-4, 308) is comfortable on either side. He said his career “really took off ” in 2016 when he did an impressive job blocking Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft.
Rankin comes to an offense that has Julién Davenport and Seantrel Henderson as starting tackles. Kendall Lamm is the third tackle.
The starting job at left tackle is Davenport’s to lose. He made four starts as a rookie fourthround pick last season, including three at left tackle.
In the Texans’ last two games, Davenport played well enough at left tackle to convince offensive line coach Mike Devlin that he’s the best option as the roster currently stands.
Henderson, signed as a free agent from Buffalo, started only one game the last two seasons. He started 26 in his first two seasons before being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and undergoing surgery two times. Lamm started the first game last season and played so poorly that he was benched.