Texas Football

By Travis Stewart//TexasFootball.com

In last year's NFL Draft, 36 kids from either Texas high schools or Texas colleges were picked by an NFL franchise to be a part of its future. As you would expect, that led all states -- as a matter of fact, the state of Texas had more draft picks (36) than the number of states that had a draftee (34)! Six of those kids went in the first round, and had Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree not fallen down the draft boards, three of the top five could have called the Lone Star State (and Dallas, specifically) home. So with that in mind, what does the 2010 Draft look like?

Obviously, we're still about a month and a half away from the big day. But we already have a somewhat solid idea of where our natives will go and what the Draft order will look like. Starting today, TexasFootball.com is offering an eight-part series on the upcoming draft and how are Texans fit into the picture. Today we'll look at the fourth round -- next segment we'll view the fifth, and so on, until we get to undrafted free agents. Notice someone missing from the list? Email us.

The Fourth Round

Somewhere along the line, we got locked into the number five. The fourth round of our mock NFL draft again saddles us with the same number of Texans as did the past three -- five kids for five teams in need. And if you go back to check on where everyone has gone up until this point (and add in the five below), that gives us, in four rounds of NFL action, 20 kids headed out to 19 teams. How about that for balance? As we get into the middle rounds, expect more wide receivers to start flying off the board -- after all, down in these spots, they're cheaper to get on the roster. With that in mind, let's head out to Buffalo at No. 9.

#9 (105 overall), Buffalo Bills: Jeremy Williams, WR, Tulane (Baytown Sterling)
With both Terrell Owens and Josh Reed on their way out in Buffalo, it looks almost certain that the Bills will have to address the wide receiver spot somewhere in the draft -- likely more than once. But with Lee Evans already commanding a formidable salary at the position, filling in the gaps with lower-priced options is probably Buffalo's best bet. That's why drafting Williams in the fourth round may be a better bet than, say, Dez Bryant in the first. Williams was often overlooked at both the high school and college level, so many Texans may be in the dark as to what he brings to the table. But as a slot or No. 2 guy, he has great potential. He's got a wonderful set of hands, and he's one of the more natural pass catchers you'll see in this year's draft. He runs very polished underneath routes and has a knack for finding soft spots in the zone, so he could be a nice safety valve for whoever's unfortunate enough to be playing QB in 2010. If his team had been more successful -- which is no fault of his, really -- he could have been a much higher draft pick. Buffalo should be ecstatic to get a guy that can play immediately at such a draft spot. 

#16 (112 overall), Denver Broncos: Roddrick Muckelroy, LB, Texas (Hallsville)
Muckelroy is one of the more interesting prospects to come out of Texas in a while. He doesn't have the mind-blowing numbers or athleticism of Derrick Johnson back in 2004, but he consistently played well against the run during his lengthy and distinguished career for the Longhorns. He's been durable after an early injury as a freshman, and he started 25 out of a possible 26 games in 2009 and 2008. Is he going to overwhelm you with blinding speed and crushing strength? Probably not. But he's a solid, dependable guy that can plague the gaps in the run game and keep opponents from ripping off big plays. That's why I have hit headed out to Denver -- the Broncos were one of the worst rushing defenses in the league this past season, and while D.J. Williams is still a key linebacker for them, Andra Davis isn't getting any younger in the middle. Having Muckelroy to spell Davis or fill in if there's an injury would be a nice luxury for a team that's trying to win a division title. Of course, Denver's draft day strategy could change dramatically if teams start matching the tenders the Broncos have offered on a number of their key contributers.

#19 (115 overall), Atlanta Falcons: Jevan Snead, QB, Ole Miss (Stephenville)
I was at the game that may have hurt Jevan Snead's draft status more than any other -- a horrifying Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma State that made both Snead and Cowboy QB Zac Robinson look downright bad. That day, Snead was both inaccurate and out-of-whack: his decision making was terrible, his throws were way off target and, as a result, his team struggled. He even got pulled for a little bit after he took a mighty whack trying to make a tackle. But all that aside, Snead still has some physical tangibles that teams will target in the draft. He's still a good-sized kid (6-foot-3, 200+ pounds) with a strong arm and good coaching credentials. And even though he's coming out to the draft early, and even though his junior year was less than impressive, he looked good for the scouts at the Combine and showed the kind of touch and accuracy that made him attractive in the first place. So why Atlanta? Matt Ryan is obviously the answer there for the young Falcons, but drafting a quality backup is en vogue, like the Cowboys did last year with Stephen McGee out of A&M. If you saw Chris Redman play in Ryan's absence last year, there's clearly a need to find someone a little better. Snead may be a bit of a project guy, but he could be a good value here for the Falcons anyways.

#25 (121 overall), Baltimore Ravens: David Gettis, WR, Baylor (Dorsey, Los Angeles, CA)
My first reaction to seeing Gettis around this level on most draft boards was mild to severe surprise. Gettis has of course been under-appreciated playing for some bad Baylor teams and has been covered up even more by the emergence of young, dynamic Kendall Wright, but a fourth round draft pick is still supposed to be an impact guy, and I never considered Gettis an NFL-standard role player. But anyone who reads my work knows I'm wrong frequently, and I'm willing to admit I may have misjudged Baylor's overlooked pass catcher. If there's one thing Gettis has in abundance, it's speed, and when you combine that with his size and stature, he's a prototypical mismatch kind of talent against smaller corners. Is he going to be ready to play right away, like Jeremy Williams from Tulane? Probably not. But he can find a home somewhere and make an impact in the right system. Right now, Baltimore is desperate for wide receivers -- Derrick Mason (if he even returns) and Kelley Washington are both on the downside of their careers, and Mark Clayton is not a No. 1 guy. So finding pairs of hands to offer Joe Flacco has to be a high priority for a team that's supposed to be a contender. Odds are Baltimore takes a wide receiver much higher than this, then supplements it with another one or two later on.

#27 (123 overall), Dallas Cowboys: Ciron Black, OT, LSU (Tyler Lee)
The total and complete Iron Man -- Black hasn't missed a start, ever. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2005, than started every game (53) all the way through his senior campaign in 2009. That, of course, breaks the school record. Plus, he was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2009, which goes out to the SEC's top offensive lineman. So why is he only getting drafted in the fourth round? Well, his height (6-foot-4) works against him a little bit, and even though that kind of size would make him a giant 15 or 20 years ago, it still leaves him two to three inches short of the norm for an All-Pro left tackle. But the real knock is his feet and mobility, which is not stellar. Teams aren't going to want to draft him and use him as a pulling tackle, and for any group that loves bubble screens and such, he may not be a good fit. But Dallas needs depth along the offensive line, especially if mainstay Flozell Adams is on the way out, which seems likely. You can do a lot worse than a 53-game starter this late in the fourth round, and especially at a difficult position to fill. Jerry would be pleased to end up with this guy on the group.