Houston Texans have 5 prospects lined up for pre-draft visits

The Houston Texans lining up prospects with the NFL draft only weeks away.

This is that time of year when NFL teams bring in NFL draft prospects to work them out and get to know them better.

The Houston Texans are scheduled to have Lamar running back Kade Harrington in for a workout, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

"Lamar running back Kade Harrington has been invited to the Texans’ local prospect workout, according to a source not authorized to speak publicly.The workout for local high school and college players is set for April 8 at the Texans’ training facility.Harrington has an official visit with the New York Giants. Teams are allowed 30 official visits to draft prospects."

The 5-9, 190-pounds Harrington ran for 636 yards and four touchdowns in six games last season for Lamar.

Harrington suffered a season-ending foot injury that cut his final collegiate season short.

I believe the Texans are searching for a reliable back up behind Lamar Miller.  But I’m not sure if Harrington will be ready to contribute right away as a rookie.

Purdue wide receiver DeAngelo Yancey will also be visiting the Texans in April, according to Wilson.

During his final season with the Boilermakers, Yancey caught 49 passes for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The 6-1, 220 pound Yancey ran a 4.48 second forty yard dash during his pro day.

Here’s what NFL.com says about Yancey:

"Four year letterman who has relied on quantity for his production totals. Yancey is a stiff-hipped vertical receiver only with good size but below average hands. A team could sniff around on him on Day 3, but he will struggle to uncover against NFL man coverage."

Virginia safety Kelvin Rainey will be visiting with the Texans as well on April 8th with other local prospects for a workout.

The 6-1, 196-pound Rainey recently ran a 4.65 forty yard dash. This isn’t a great time and makes me wonder if he would be a liability in coverage.

Rainey finished his career with the Cavaliers with 158 tackles, two fumble recoveries and five passes defended.

The Texans are definitely doing their research on safeties as they search for Quintin Demps’ replacement.

Texas Southern wide receiver Derrick Griffin will also be working out with the Houston Texans on April 8th.

Griffin is a monster at 6-7, 240 pounds. He’s a former basketball player that hauled in 36 receptions for 713 yards and 11 touchdowns two years ago.

The Texans have certainly been doing their due-diligence when it comes to wide receivers this offseason despite drafting Will Fuller and Braxton Miller last year.  This tells me they’re not satisfied with their options behind their top three pass catchers.

I would not be surprised if Houston takes a receiver on day three of this year’s draft.

With the Texans looking into finding Vince Wilfork’s replacement, they’ll be bringing in Old Dominion defensive tackle Rashaad Coward.

Coward is a beast at 6-6, 310-pounds. He started all 13 games this past season and finished with 50 tackles and 1.5 sacks during his final season.

Coward looks like a great replacement for Wilfork, but one thing that hurts him is that he played at a small school.  He could end up being a late round steal though.