With the draft in the books, the Texans are rounding out their roster by signing a handful of rookie free agents. The entire squad will report to the team's first minicamp on May 9 where the competition for starting spots will start to heat up.
Until then, we're going to breakdown the Texans' toughest position battles. We begin with wide receiver.
Andre Johnson is their guy. Duh. But Kevin Walter and André Davis will be looking to earn No. 2 duties.
Walter filled that role last year and, in the words of coach Gary Kubiak, he proved to be a "darn good slot receiver." Walter did an excellent job of getting open underneath when Dre went long. He consistently ran solid routes and caught tough balls up the middle.
Walter finished the season with 800 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Kubiak likes the sixth-year pro as a complement to Dre, who teams favor in deep coverage.
But don't discount Davis. There is a reason the team signed him to a lucrative free agency deal this offseason. When Dre went down with a knee injury last year, Davis stepped up and grabbed 33 receptions for a career-high 583 yards.
Davis made some downright spectacular plays, including a 53-yard touchdown catch to give the Texans a last-second lead over the Titans.
He can be flashy, clutch…and the guy can run. Davis sprinted in three kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2007 and was second in the NFL with a 30.3-yard kick return average.
He and Walter are completely different types of receivers, but both will want to the second starter in 2008.
- Brooke Bentley
