With the No. 42 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans selected outside linebacker Brooks Reed out of Arizona to fill their 3-4 rush linebacker void. Reed had 6.5 sacks and 47 tackles in 2010, and will be counted on to fill a role that most thought that Wade Phillips would address in the first round.
Reed was not a highly regarded pick by the SackSEER system, which thinks that he didn't have enough college production or the elite measureables to gather sacks in the NFL. It projects him to have just 15.1 in his first five years.
With two front seven players picked in the first two rounds, the Texans will now likely try to address the secondary in the next few rounds. The safety and cornerback positions could both use new blood. The Texans could also conceivably look at wide receiver, another linebacker, or the offensive line.
Houston's next pick will come at 73rd overall, the ninth pick of the third round.