Something to Prove: K.J. Dillon

It might be unusual to put a fifth round pick on a list like this. But the former West Virginia Mountaineer will have the chance to crack the starting lineup in 2016 and will be under pressure to do so.

Playing in the Big 12 a defensive back will see a lot of explosive passing attacks, led by some really good receivers. Corey Coleman of Baylor and Josh Doctson of TCU were first round picks and Sterling Shepard of Oklahoma went 40th overall. Dillon was largely lost due to playing beside #14 overall selection Karl Joseph, who went to the Oakland Raiders.

The Texans are overhauling the safety position. Rahim Moore was released after the season was over, and now there is essentially an open competition. K.J. Dillon is in on it, as are former Jet Antonio Allen, former corner Andre Hal and Lonnie Ballentine, among others.

Here are a couple of videos of Dillon from the 2015 season. This one is against Oklahoma and this one is against Maryland.

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As I watch the videos above, a couple of things really stood out to me. First, he was really good in coverage. He is also versatile as he can move down into the box and cover the slot guy (in this case, #40 overall selection Sterling Shepard) as well as play back in zone.

What was concerning was his lack of physicality in the running game. He appeared almost hesitant to go in there and lay a hit on the running back. So my guess is he will be playing deep coverage quite a bit.

My last observation is that he doesn’t have the speed to get to the quarterback on blitzes. That shouldn’t be much of an issue because the Texans aren’t going to be doing much of that.

He will definitely be a contender to start week one at safety. Despite being a fifth round pick, the chance is there for him. Against a former corner, a waiver wire pickup and a seventh round pick and some other guys, Dillon has no excuse not to start for this team.