First selection of draft has good pedigree
Stanford safety Reid spent plenty of time learning from his Pro Bowl brother
By virtue of his family pedigree and intelligence, Justin Reid could emerge as an unusually precocious NFL rookie for the Texans.
The younger brother of San Francisco 49ers veteran freeagent safety and Pro Bowl selection Eric Reid, Justin Reid spent countless hours studying the game with his brother in the Bay Area over the past two years.
As Eric Reid plied his trade for the 49ers, Justin Reid excelled for Stanford and built a reputation as a hard-hitting, fast defensive back. Now, the Texans’ third-round draft pick, their first overall selection at No. 68 overall, is hoping to put his advanced knowledge to use.
“We break down film together; I go and visit him at his house,” Justin Reid said during a conference call. “We watched games together. He would let me in on what the game plan was that week, how they’re playing certain personnel.
“The NFL is a matchup league. It got me into NFL strategy and what they were doing against opposing teams, so I would already have a feel for the routine whenever I got to this stage.”
Reid is a big, fast safety at 6-1 and 207 pounds. He’s run the 40yard dash in 4.40 to 4.38 seconds and posted a 36½-inch vertical leap. He bench pressed 225 pounds 16 times at the NFL scouting combine.
Now, Reid joins former Arizona Cardinals All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu in the Texans’ secondary.
Mathieu saluted the pick on social media, writing, “Let’s rock, young man!!”
Mathieu teamed up with Eric Reid at LSU and will now form a tandem with his younger brother, provided that Justin Reid beats out incumbent free safety Andre Hal.
“It’s cool, it’s come full circle,” Reid said. “Now, it’s like version 2.0 of what they had at LSU.”
He recorded 99 tackles last season, five interceptions and 6 ½tackles for losses and was named an All-Pac-12 selection and a second-team All-American.
Upgrading their secondary was a recurring theme for the Texans during free agency.
General manager Brian Gaine stuck with that emphasis in the third round Friday night when he drafted Reid.
Being the younger brother of a respected NFL player is just part of what the Texans liked about Reid.
“That’s certainly something we were aware of, the football pedigree in the family,” Gaine said. “What I’ll tell you about Justin is No. 1, the prototypical body type, height, weight, speed for the position; No. 2 production, graded well in terms of production; No. 3 was the versatility, interchangeable ability to play strong safety, free safety, the ability to play the run, the ability to play the pass. We feel like he’s a fully-dimensional safety at the position.”
As a sophomore, Reid had 57 tackles, four for losses and seven pass breakups. He played right away as a freshman and had one interception and 23 tackles.
Reid is known for his ability to play all over the field.
“I talk about my versatility,” Reid said. “I talk about my explosiveness, my ability to run whenever I need to get into my top-end speed. I would also talk about my intelligence and being able to diagnose offenses and what they’re running by their scheme and personnel.”
In need of reinforcements across their offensive line, the Texans drafted All-Southeastern Conference offensive tackle Martinas Rankin with their second third-round draft pick
Rankin played at Mississippi State after transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
He was a two-year starter at left tackle, building his confidence after a strong performance against former Texas A&M AllAmerican pass rusher Myles Garrett. Garrett was the top overall pick last year with the Cleveland Browns.
“I knew he was one of the top players,” Rankin said. “I was locked in that whole week. I watched countless hours of film. I tried to do as many of the little things right. I think that’s when my career really started to take off because I started to understand what it really took to be a great player in the SEC.”
Rankin is regarded as a skilled blocker, but not extremely powerful. He moves fairly well and could project inside at some point.
With the Texans’ need at the tackle position, it’s safe to think he’ll be given a long look at tackle initially before he’s ever tried at center or guard.
“Naturally, he was a starting left tackle in the SEC, so my hope is he’d have the ability to do that,” Gaine said. “But we also believe that if he has to play guard, right side, left side, wherever we need him that this guy has the versatility to do that.”
The Texans addressed their need at tight end in the wake of starter C.J. Fiedorowicz being forced to retire due to multiple concussions.
They selected Central Florida tight end Jordan Akins in the third round with the 177th overall selection.
The Texans became familiar with Akins’ skills and personality when they coached him at the Senior Bowl all-star game.
“He came across very well as a person and a player on the field with his work ethic,” O’Brien said.
Akins was drafted in the third round by the Texas Rangers out of high school and initially played professional baseball.
After four years in the minor leagues, he enrolled at Central Florida. He started out as a receiver before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
Moved to tight end from receiver, the 26-year-old rookie caught 32 passes for 515 yards and four touchdowns for the undefeated Knights last season.
Akins is regarded as more of a receiving tight end than a blocker.
“He’s got physical toughness,” O’Brien said. “He can do a little of that (blocking). The value he brings to the passing game is intriguing to us.”
Akins struck a confident stance after joining the Texans.
“With their help, I will hopefully become a Pro Bowler,” Akins said. “I make clutch catches in clutch situations. Anytime you need a big-time play, you can come through the air to Jordan Akins.”
Akins says he’s recovered from a hamstring pull and is ready for rookie minicamp.
“It’s definitely going down at rookie camp,” Akins said. “Jordan Akins is fully recovered.”