SB Nation has been releasing weekly mock drafts for a little while now, but this week we're going to two rounds; which means twice the speculation, and three times the fun (roughly). Let's check out who SB Nation has the Texans taking with their first two picks in their latest mock.
In the first round, they have the Texans taking Missouri defensive end/3-4 outside linebacker Aldon Smith. Here is their rationale.
Wade Phillips is moving the Texans to a 3-4 defense, and his priority is upgrading his front seven with as much talent as possible. Smith has it in spades.
They build on that theme of depth up front with their second round pick, LSU DT Drake Nevis.
This is another case of a player being a poor body type fit for the 3-4, but Nevis is a super-disruptive player that would thrive in Phillips' one-gap system.
Nevis might be more of a 4-3 DT, but we've similar players like Jay Ratliff and Tank Johnson succeed in Wade Phillips' defensive scheme before.
As for the draft strategy as a whole, I think it is a good one. the foundation of a 3-4 defense is a strong front seven. If the Texans can add strong players to that scheme in a single draft, it is definitely worth doing.