NFL Draft Recap

By now, everyone has digested the NFL Draft 2009.  You all know who the Cowboys drafted and all the major experts’ grade they have been given (I’ve seen everthing from a C to an A, go figure).  You may even know that they even drafted Stephen Hodge who played college football at TCU.  This article. however, is an attempt to recap the draft from the perspective of DFW football fans.

1.  Matthew Stafford (Georgia)–No suprise here really, Georgia’s Stafford was drafted number one overall by the Detroit Lions.  Stafford was an All-State performer for Higland Park High School.  I remember him his senior year when he and his Scots dominated all the way to an unbeaten year finishing off with the state championship.  I always wondered how they would have fared against Southlake Carroll.

2.  Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)–Crabtree was drafted number 10 overall by the San Francisoc 49ers.  He will play for legendary Baylor and Chicago Bear linebacker Mike Singletary who will be in his first full year as head coach for the 49ers.  Crabtree was outstanding at Tech where he won the Biletnikoff award two straight season.  Crabtree is a product of Dallas’ Carter High School where the coaches used him as a quarterback.

3.  Brandon Williams (Texas Tech)–Williams was someone I wasn’t even aware of as a DFW player before the draft.  I apologize to Williams for that.  Williams is a South Hills High School product in Fort Worth.  He had nice career for the Red Raiders and hopes to be a major part of the Cowboys pass rush.  He overcame life in the hood to reach his dream. Williams was drafted number 120 by the Cowboys in the fourth round.

4.  Jason Phillips (TCU)–Phillips has the stuff that legends are made of, and the stories are starting to become legendary in Fort Worth.  A coach’s son in high school, Phillips came to TCU having played an option quarterback in high school along with anything else his dad needed him to do.  The Frogs moved him to linebacker and he became one of the best ever for TCU.  Phillips was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round, number 137 overall.  The Ravens know something about linebackers (see Lewis, Ray).

5.  Rhett Bomar (Sam Houston State)–Rhett is someone else I left off of my pre-draft article.  Rhett played high school at Grand Prairie for his father before moving on to Oklahoma.  You probably know the story how he was payed by a car dealer in Norman for work which was not done.  He was dismissed by Coach Stoops and landed at Sam Houston State.  He had a solid career for them.  One of the most entertaining games I saw last year was between Sam Houston and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, AR, a game that also featured QB Nathan Brown from UCA who became an undrafted free agent.  Bomar was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round at number 151 overall.

6.  James Casey (Rice)–Rice’s do-everything tight end is the pride of Azle, TX.  Casey is a little bit on the small side to play tight end in the NFL, but something tells me he will be more of a utility player.  Very smart as he played for Rice after all.  He is a little older having played baseball in the minor leagues for a while.  Casey was picked up by the Houston Texans in the fifth round at number 152 overall.

7.  Thomas Morstead (SMU)–Morstead was a dual threat kicker for the Mustangs, but his specialty seemed to be punting.  He had good distance and a nice average during his college career.  To add to his attributes, he was incredibly accurate kicking 40 plus yards field goals for the Mustangs.  Morstead was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round at 164 overall.

8.  Robert Henson (TCU)–Henson was known as a fierce hitter at linebacker for the Horned Frogs, even knocking two quarterbacks out in one game last year.  Robert may be more known for marrying T. D. Jakes daughter than anything else, but he is a very good athlete and a likable guy.  Henson will be a part of any team even if just as a special teams specialist.  However, he probably has the tools to contribute as a part of a linebacker rotation.  He’s a little small, so he will probably play at an outside linebacker position.  Henson was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round at number 186 overall.

9.  Aaron Brown (TCU)–There is no doubting Aaron Brown’s speed.  He put it on display his entire career at TCU.  He was Freshman of the Year for the Mountain West Conference when TCU won the championship during their debut season.  He showed promise of a good career.  However, Brown was unable to stay healthy and showed some poor judgement his senior season getting suspended by the school for the first several games.  Brown made a huge impact for the Frogs his senior season as a kick off return specialist, and he did rush for over 100 yards against Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl.  Brown was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions at number 192 overall.

10.  Stephen Hodge (TCU)–Hodge has a chance to shine for the Cowboys.  Hodge played a position which was a hybrid linebacker-safety for the Frogs.  He excelled at blitzing and getting sacks and also did rather well in pass coverage.  He could play in a nickle or dime situation and be used as a pass rusher or drop back in zone.  He may be considered an outside linebacker for the Cowboys, and he will most likely be counted on to be impact player on special teams, a position he also excelled at for the Frogs.

11.  Blake Schlueter (TCU)–Blake was the anchor on the TCU offensive line the past three years at center.  That line was a part of offense that got better every year.  Blake had a great showing at TCU’s pro day showing his athletic ability and drawing comparisons to the Colts’ Jeff Saturday.  Schlueter is considered a little small, but he can add a few pounds of muscle and maintain his athletic ability.  His athletic ability fits in nicely with the Denver Broncos who has a history of athletic lines.  The Broncos drafted Blake in the seventh round at 225 overall.

Noticeably absent was Fort Worth Dunbar’s Phillip Hunt.  I expected Hunt to be drated as I think many people did.  Hunt was seen as someone who could go from the 4th-7th round.

Draft information was provided by the USA Today Sports Weekly.

If I missed someone with ties to the DFW area, please leave me a comment.  I tried hard to keep up with as many of these guys as I could.