Defensive End/Rush Linebacker

Georgia

6-3 267

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #20

Draft Board Overall Defensive End Rank: #6

Rating: 85 (mid 1^st)

40 time: 4.57

4/26/11: Houston failed a drug test for marijuana at The Combine. This is more of a stupidity test than anything. You know you’re going to be tested. I’m not dropping him too far. Remember Percy Harvin’s failed drug test? Unless it’s a quarterback, this isn’t a major issue. 

3/23/11: Down 3 pounds from The Combine, Houston looked even more athletic, running a 4.57, with a 1.62 10 yard split, and moving well in the drills. 

3/14/11: Justin Houston is an intriguing prospect. We all know he can get to the quarterback with 17.5 sacks in a major conference in the last 2 years. He’s got a good motor and a clean history, but before The Combine, everyone saw him as a prospect similar to Jerry Hughes, the 31^st overall pick in 2010, almost solely a 3-4 player at under 6-3 and under 260 pounds, with the ability to fit into selective 4-3s (for instance the Colts who drafted him).

However, Houston surprised everyone at The Combine, not only by measuring in at 6-3, but also by showing up at 270 pounds. That certainly helps his stock as a 4-3 player, which means he could go as high as #20 to Tampa Bay, #24 to New Orleans, #25 to Seattle, and almost certainly won’t fall past the Falcons at #27. However, some say it ruined him as a 3-4 player.

I am not of this opinion. I believe that by running a 4.67 and looking fluid in drills that he didn’t completely ruin his stock as a 3-4 player. People like to use Robert Ayers as a cautionary tale. Ayers, as a 272 pound end/linebacker, was drafted with the 18^th overall pick in 2009 and two years later has not even blossomed into a consistent starter for Denver.

I see several differences between Ayers and Houston. For one, Houston played some linebacker in college as the Georgia Bulldog use more 3-4 than most teams (with California and Alabama being the other 2 notable 3-4 college teams). On tape, he looked very fluid in coverage and as a pass rusher in the two point stance. Granted, this was all when he was 10-15 pounds lighter, but the experience, at the very least, is going to help him at the next level.

Houston’s 40 time, 4.67, was better than Ayers’ 4.78 and Ayers didn’t look as fluid as Houston on tape. Finally, Houston is the better pass rusher. Ayers is definitely the better run stopper of the two and with only 7.5 sacks in his final 2 seasons at Tennessee, Ayers was much better known for being a run stopping left end than a pass rushing right end. Houston is the opposite. He is significantly better as a pass rusher with 17.5 sacks in his last 2 years, but doesn’t have Ayers’ ability as a run stopper.

3-4 teams will definitely have to examine him more closely in individual workouts, unable to purely rely on the tape after his weight gain, but teams like Kansas City at #21, Baltimore at #26, and New England at #28 will all give him a close look needing rush linebackers.

In the end, I love Houston as a prospect. I have a flat mid 1^st round grade on him and think he should come off the board in the first 15-20 picks. In reality, he’ll probably go a little bit lower (though you never know with Jacksonville at #16, they always seem to make one pick per year you never see coming).

I love Houston’s motor, Houston’s experience and proven track record in both a 3-4 and a 4-3, his athleticism, and his overall mature pass rushing repertoire. I think he compares well to Calvin Pace, an athletic pass rusher in the high 260/low 270 pound range throughout his career, who has had success as a good, but not great pass rusher in both a 3-4 and a 4-3 scheme in his career.

NFL Comparison: Calvin Pace