The Houston Texans stayed put at number 16 in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft and selected Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson.
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Johnson himself was a little surprised by the move, as some fans may have been as well considering the consensus was that the team should take a receiver or pass rusher.
"“I was just sitting in the green room, and there was pick 16 up on the screen,” Johnson said. “The Houston Texans called me and told me they were going to draft me. I was just overwhelmed with joy and extremely excited.”"
Johnson said he only spoke with the Texans a couple of times and was unaware how high they were on him. General manager Rick Smith let it be known that Johnson was a target for Houston all along, even though they never tipped their hand.
"“He was by far my favorite corner in the draft,” said Smith, who had Johnson rated above Michigan State corner Trae Waynes, who went to Minnesota at No. 11. “When you talk about just a complete football player … in our opinion, this guy is just an intelligent guy. He’s smart. He’s tough. He can cover, he’s versatile, he plays on, he plays off, he’s got great instincts, great play on the ball.”"
Overall the pick shows progressive thinking, allowing the team options moving forward in regards to handling veteran players. It was also met with positive reviews by many of the draft experts as soon as being announced.
Thanks to offseason moves the Texans were able to avoid reaching for a position and take the best player available. While it is debatable whether or not KJ was the best player, he seems to be a solid choice in the first round.
DRAFT GRADE: B