Thor goes to the Texans

It took a lot longer than I thought, but James Casey was finally selected. He will be playing his pro football three miles from where he starred at Rice, as the Houston Texans took him in the fifth round. Time to check the Texans schedule.

James Casey Overview Electing to turn pro after only two seasons with the Owls, Casey is a rare all-around athlete who was a seventh-round pick by the Chicago White Sox out of high school and spent three years in their farm system before retiring from baseball and signing with Rice.

Once with the Owls, it didn't take long for the former quarterback to establish himself as a dominant weapon at various positions, earning consensus Conference USA Freshman accolades and honorable mention all-conference honors from league coaches. Casey lined up at seven different positions in one game in 2007, and has played everything from defensive end to safety to quarterback to wide receiver.

Playing primarily at wide receiver in 2008, Casey was dominant in Rice's spread attack; he finished second in the country with 111 receptions for 1,329 yards and 13 touchdowns. For some, Casey will be characterized as a Matt Jones-like 'tweener. But also like Jones, Casey's unique upside could land him a stunningly high draft selection come April, even if he'll be turning 25 during his rookie season. Had an arm span of 30 5/8 inches and a hand span of 9 1/2 inches at the combine.

Finally! C-USA Guys are Being Taken

Finally, the NFL teams have started drafting Conference USA players. After Sebastian Vollmer surprisingly went in the second round yesterday to the hated New England Patriots, it was a long time until Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson came off the board in the fourth round to the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo is a terrific spot for Nelson. Tight end is a position that the Bills were thin at, so Nelson has a chance to make an immediate impact in Western New York. The only downfall is sharing a locker room with Terrell Owens.

Nine picks later in the fourth round, his teammate Gerald McRath was taken by Tennessee. A tackling machine at Southern Miss, McRath should be able to play both linebacker spots for the talented Titans.

The Titans grabbed a C-USA guy for the other side of the ball five picks later when they took Tulane OL Troy Kropog. A big offensive tackle, he will help provide for Tennessee and perhaps help guide the way for former East Carolina RB Chris Johnson, one of the top rookies last year.

In the fifth round, the incredibly productive Jarett Dillard was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The owner of nearly every Rice receiving record, Dillard set an NCAA career record with 59 touchdown receptions. Jacksonville should be a good spot for him, as the Jaguars completely re-work their receiving corps. Hopefully, Dillard can learn some things from new Jags wideout Torry Holt.

Five picks after Dillard went, Baltimore grabbed East Carolina TE Davon Drew. Overshadowed by more productive tight ends in C-USA, Drew is viewed as an ideal H-Back at the NFL level.

White Hot

The Dolphins pulled off a big surprise with their first of two second round picks, taking West Virginia's Pat White at No. 44 overall. White will be perfect in the Wildcat formation. I can see White playing quarterback, running back and wide receiver. His versatility will be a huge plus for veteran offensive coordinator Dan Henning.

As the great NFL Network host Rich Eisen said, "this officially means that the spread offense has hit the NFL."

Sad

Well, I didn't get what I wanted out of this draft. Three picks after the Dolphins selected Vontae Davis, the New York Giants took Hakeem Nicks. It's bad enough that he didn't go to Miami, but did he have to go to one of the teams I dislike most (among those not named New England)? What a bummer.

Dolphins Select Vontae Davis

Miami took Illinois cornerback Vontae Davis with the 25th selection. It wasn't Hakeem Nicks, which disappointed me. But, Davis is a good selection. He'll help the secondary and that's more of a Parcells-type pick, anyway. ILL! INI!

Picks 18-24

Some random thoughts on picks 18-24:

Denver clearly needed defensive help and Tennessee DE Robert Ayers is a fast-riser who should help in that regard.

Brandon Pettigrew might be the best tight end in the draft, but I can't help but wonder if the Lions hould have been thinking defense at No. 20.

Philadelphia grabbed Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin, a very interesting selection. This will give the Eagkles another speed threat to go along with DeSean Jackson and give Donovan McNabb another weapon.

Cleveland took Cal C Alex Mack. Not a lot that you can say about picking a center. It's an important position that often goes overlooked because it's not sexy. Mack was highly-regarded, so I guess it's a good selection.

Minnesota just added the talented, but enigmatic Percy Harvin to its mix of offensive weapons. If he has his head on straight (a big if) this could be a great pick for the Vi-Queens. If he could play quarterback, it would have been an even better pick.

New England trasded their pick to Baltimore so that the Ravens could select Old Mess OT Michael Oher. Will he play tackle for the Ravens as long as Jonathan Ogden?

Atlanta made it back-to-back Old Piss selections when it took DT Peria Jerry. This wasn't a huge need area for the Falcons, but there is nothing wrong with adding defensive pieces...especially when the Falcons just added Tony Gonzalez on the other side of the ball.

The Best QB in the Draft

Tampa Bay just traded up to get the guy that I think will be the best quarterback in this draft, Kansas State's Josh Freeman.

Freeman is a tall, fairly athletic QB with a real good arm. He gives the Buccaneers a quarterback to build around for the future. With Byron Leftwich in Tampa, he won't have to start this year, but I think he will be a productive starter for many years.