If the Texans nail their 147th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft the same way the Cardinals did in 1971, they'll get an electric receiver who went to four Pro Bowls and averaged 18.9 yards per catch.
Houston owns eight selections this year, and the Draft begins a week from Thursday night on April 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Texans don't pick until 67th overall, which is a third round choice. They have a pair of fifth round selections, the first of which is their very own at 147th overall. We've chronicled the success stories in NFL history at picks 158, 195, 203, 212 and 233 overall.
Today the focus is on 147, which has yielded 15 players who suited up in 16 or more career games. 33 would start at least once in their NFL careers, and 35 of the 88 players chosen at the spot never appeared in an NFL contest.
Here are a few productive players chosen 147th overall in the NFL Draft.
WR Mel Gray - A 5-9, 175-pounder out of Missouri, the Saint Louis Cardinals took him in the sixth round of the 1971 NFL Draft. In 1975, Gray erupted for 11 touchdown catches, 926 receiving yards and 19.3 yards per catch en route to an All-Pro campaign. He was selected to a quartet of Pro Bowls, started 121 games in 12 years, and finished with 6,644 receiving yards and 45 touchdown grabs.
LB Al Smith - In 1987, the Oilers picked up Al Smith in the sixth round from Utah State. It proved to be a fruitful move, as he'd start 11 games as a rookie and log 100 tackles. From 1988 through 1994 he started 15 games or more each season, and Houston was a perennial playoff participant. Smith logged 880 tackles and started 124 games in 10 NFL seasons, and went to a pair of Pro Bowls.
DE Kenyon Coleman - An 11-year pro, Coleman was taken by the Oakland Raiders out of UCLA in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. A reserve with the Raiders as a rookie, and then with the Cowboys from 2003 through 2006, Coleman became a regular starter in 2007 with the Jets. He spent 2009 and 2010 as a starter with Cleveland, before finishing his career in Dallas in 2011 and 2012. When he was done, Coleman started in 81 games, played in 141 total, and tallied 13.5 sacks and 377 tackles in his career.
S Ricardo Allen - The Purdue Boilermaker was a fifth-rounder for Atlanta in 2014, and he didn't play as a rookie. But he started 14 games for the Falcons in his second season, and would be the starter in 76 games total through last season there. He's picked off 11 passes in his career, and loggede 340 total tackles. Allen signed with the Bengals this offseason.
