2011 NFL Draft Results: How Does JJ Watt Fit into the Houston Texans Plans?

With their first-round pick, the Texans raised a few eyebrows with their selection of Wisconsin defensive end JJ Watt.

Watt was on my radar, but he certainly wasn't someone I thought the Texans would be looking at if they stayed at eleventh overall.

Even a few minutes before they made the pick, I wouldn't have thought they'd take Watt. Robert Quinn, Nick Fairley, and Prince Amukamara were all still on the board. Those three are all guys I assumed they'd take before Watt.

Da'Quan Bowers was also still on the board, but with his cataclysmic slide into the second round, I think it's safe to say his injury worries were much bigger than most had thought.

Watt does fill a need for the Texans. He's a high-motor pass rusher who works hard and makes a living getting into opposing backfields.

I'm just not sure he is the best fit for what the Texans are going to try to do moving forward. With Wade Phillips as the new defensive coordinator, the Texans will be using some 3-4 defensive sets.

In an ideal situation, I would have wanted the Texans to grab a pass-rushing defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid like Robert Quinn.

Watt isn't without versatility, though. At 6'5" and 290 pounds, Watt has the size to slide inside and play defensive tackle when the Texans use a 4-3 defensive set.

If the Texans do intend to use Watt in this way, and I think it's safe to say they will, I think it's the beginning of the end for Amobi Okoye as a Texan.

Without Watt, Okoye likely would have been the guy most often sliding between defensive tackle in the 4-3 and defensive end in the 3-4. Now, I think that's Watt's job to lose.

Watt will also give the Texans more athleticism than you would expect from someone his size. Watt isn't all that fast, but he does have a 37 inch vertical leap and he led Wisconsin in passed defended last season. With his vertical leap and his 6'5" frame, I'd expect to see a lot of passes batted out of the air.

The Texans need him to get after opposing quarterbacks. He'll have every opportunity to succeed as he will play a lot right away.

The selection of Watt might be a little safe for the taste of some. His a high energy, hardworking player, but his upside is certainly not that of a Robert Quinn, Da'Quan Bowers. or Nick Fairley.

With the relative inconsistency of Amobi Okoye and to some degree, Mario Williams, the Texans were looking for a rock solid guy at this spot. They need to know exactly what they are going to get. I think they succeeded in choosing JJ Watt.