SBN Mock Draft: Pick No. 26

No. 26

Pick by Bleeding Green Nation Chris Houston Cornerback Arkansas

BleedGreen from Bleeding Green Nation checks in:

Well, last night the Eagles slot came up and I selected Arkansas CB Chris Houston. I was actually relieved when the Jets selected TE Greg Olsen one slot ahead because if they hadn't it would have left me with a very difficult decision between him and Houston. The Te is a very important part of what makes this offense work and LJ Smith is in the final year of his contract. After seeing the crazy money some TEs got this offseason who haven't produced like LJ has... it would not surprise me to see him gone next year. Olsen would have more than made up for the loss of Smith and very well may have even been an upgrade...

That said, corner is a solid need for this team and Houston is a great value at #26. With Sheldon Brown having an off year last year and the oft injured William James only here on a year deal, our corner position really only has one sure thing in Lito Sheppard. Considering that Lito has missed time the past two years to injury, drafting high at a very important position is important this year.

Some scouts have Chris Houston as the best or second-best corner in the draft and understandably so. He played big time competition in college and came up big against them. He always lined up against the #1 WR and all but shutdown 3 of the top 5 WRs in this draft this past season(Jarrett, Meachem and Bowe). He has tremendous speed which was evidenced by his 4.32 40 time (the fastest time for a DB). He also recorded 27 reps on the bench press, which shows surprising strength for a guy his size. Speaking of size, it's been the one knock on him: He's about 5'10, 185. However, he's always been able to make up for his size with his speed, long arms, physicality, and superior leaping ability. Even against big WRs in college, he was still able to jam them at the line of scrimmage and be physical. Take a look at the job he did against Dwayne Jarret, who stands at 6'4, 219, for proof of this.

He's also been a very good in punt coverage in college and should be able to contribute on special teams in the pros right away.