Hopefully some or all of you have been following the 2007 SBN mock draft over at Field Gulls. Every blogger on the network represents their team and makes their pick.
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That said, corner is a solid need for this team and Houston is a great value at #26. With Sheldon Brown having an off year last year and the oft injured William James only here on a year deal, our corner position really only has one sure thing in Lito Sheppard. Considering that Lito has missed time the past 2 years to injury, drafting high at a very important position is important this year.
Some scouts have Chris Houston as the best or 2nd best corner in the draft and understandably so. He played big time competition in college and came up big against them. He always lined up against the #1 WR and all but shutdown 3 of the top 5 WRs in this draft this past season(Jarrett, Meachem and Bowe). He has tremendous speed which was evidenced by his 4.32 40 time(fastest time for a DB). He also recorded 27 reps(at 225lbs) on the bench press, which shows surprising strength for a guy his size. Those are offensive/defensive lineman numbers. Speaking of size, it's been the one knock on him. He's about 5'10 185. However, he's always been able to make up for his size with his speed, long arms, physicality, and superior leaping ability. Even against big WRs in college, he was still able to jam them at the line of scrimmage and be physical. Take a look at the job he did against Dwayne Jarret, who stands at 6'4, 219, for proof of this.
He's also been a very good in punt coverage in college and should be able to contribute on special teams in the pros right away.
Some more scouting reports on Houston
NFL Draft Countdown
Scouts Notebook
FF Toolbox
War Room Report
Yahoo! Sports