Mario Louis, WR, Grambling
Jerrell Jackson, WR, Missouri
Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina
Jason Ford, FB, Illinois,
Davin Meggett, RB, Maryland
Jonathan Grimes, RB, William & Mary
Greg Williams, ILB, Pittsburgh
Shawn Loiseau, ILB, Merrimack
Dalano Johnson, OLB, Bowie State
D.J. Bryant, OLB, James Madison
Eddie Pleasant, S, Oregon
Desmond Marrow, S, Toledo
Nate Menkin, OT, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Cody White, G, Illinois State
Phillip Supernaw, TE, Ouachita Baptist
Logan Brock, TE, Texas Christian
David Hunter, DE, Houston
Tracy Roberston, DE, Baylor
Rennie Moore, DE, Clemson
Loni Fangupo, NT, Brigham Young
Case Keenum, QB, Houston

More to come on these players if and when their signings become official.

It’s impossible to truly evaluate a draft class until a few seasons have passed (2006, anyone?), but that doesn’t stop people from posting draft grades anyway. And as long as they’re out there, we feel obligated to pass them along. Without further ado:

Houston Chronicle (John McClain): B
Analysis: “GM Rick Smith took a chance by trading out of the second round before getting [DeVier] Posey, suspended for 10 games last season, and [Brandon] Brooks, who wasn’t invited to the combine. [Ben] Jones was ranked second at center. [Jared] Crick was an excellent pick. [Randy] Bullock is first kicker drafted in team history.”

ESPN.com (Mel Kiper): B
Analysis: “I had Whitney Mercilus as a good fit at defensive end as high as No. 19 with the Bears, so he’s a pretty good value at No. 26. He isn’t Mario Williams, but the defense made a huge leap in 2011, and the Texans clearly want to make sure Wade Phillips has the tools he needs. He’s not a great value at No. 68 overall, but I’m intrigued by the DeVier Posey pick. He had to sit out so many games last year I don’t think scouts saw enough of him. He has really good hands, can create some matchup problems, and might be a little underrated in his ability to stretch the field. I also really like Keshawn Martin. He creates space and should stick with this team. Ben Jones and Brandon Brooks help the interior of that offensive line. I was surprised the Texans didn’t get a linebacker. At one time I saw Jared Crick as a second-rounder. If he regains form, that’s a good value in the fourth.”

NFL.com (Michael Lombardi): B
Analysis: “I always believe when you can strengthen a strength – and I think that’s the 49ers’ greatest testimony when they drafted Aldon Smith last year; it was a part of a strength – this year the Houston Texans can come off the edge. Whitney Mercilus can do that. I think that was outstanding. Brandon Brooks gives them another inside, strong player. I gave them a B. I like it.”

Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer): B
Analysis: “Key picks: OLB/DE Whitney Mercilus, WR DeVier Posey, DT Jared Crick. Following up the J.J. Watt-Brooks Reed combination, Wade Phillips should feel very good how his elite 3-4 just reloaded, again.”

FOXSports.com (John Czarnecki): B-
Analysis: “Houston has consistently selected defensive players in the first round, and didn’t disappoint its fans with Illinois pass rusher Whitney Mercilus, who had 16 sacks last season. Some teams pegged Mercilus as a one-year wonder, but he suits what defensive coordinator Wade Phillips loves to do. … Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick was another gem with the 126th overall pick. … Apparently, the Texans want to cut Jacoby Jones loose based on taking two more receivers in Ohio State’s DeVier Posey and Michigan State’s Keshawn Martin, who’s not afraid to go over the middle. Martin has 4.46 speed and figures to be a plus in the return game as well.”

SportsIllustrated.com: C+
Analysis: “There was the good — Whitney Mercilus gives Houston another excellent pass-rusher after Mario Williams’ departure — and the very good — G Brandon Brooks (76) and DE/DT Jared Crick (126) could both be huge for the Texans. There was also a complete meltdown at wide receiver with red flag-heavy DeVier Posey (68) and inconsistent Keshawn Martin (121).”

Yahoo! (Jason Cole): C
Analysis: “There’s nothing wrong with the [Whitney] Mercilus pick, but I keep coming back to the idea that if the Texans needed a pass rusher, why didn’t they just spend the money and keep Mario Williams? That would have freed the team to use its first-round pick on another need or do something more creative. Williams was expensive, but there are times in the building of a team that you spend big to get big results. The Texans are finally at the point of making a big run and they made a move that screamed of remaining middle of the pack. [DeVier] Posey is an intriguing athlete with return ability and [Brandon] Brooks and [Ben] Jones could be starters in fairly short order if the team wants to push them.”

CBS Sports (Rob Rang): C
Analysis: “With a talented group of linebackers already in the fold, it was a surprise to some that the Texans elected to add another pass rusher in Illinois’ Whitney Mercilus in the first round but considering his production and upside, he may have been simply too good to ignore at No. 26. Some veteran talent evaluators thought he was limited to remaining as a 4-3 defensive end. Frankly, this wasn’t Houston’s only head-scratcher. There were better receivers still on the board for the Texans when they instead selected Devier Posey and Keshawn Martin in the second and fourth rounds, respectively. On the other hand, the Texans may wind up with steals in guard Brandon Brooks in the third and versatile, high-effort defensive lineman Jared Crick in the fourth.”

• The Houston Texans selected a defensive player in the first round of the NFL Draft for the fourth consecutive year and the eighth time in 11 years overall.  The last offensive player taken by the Texans in the first round was T Duane Brown, also with the 26th pick, in 2008.

• Houston’s 11 previous first round draft picks made immediate impacts as rookies, with only one starting less than 14 games for the team in their first season. Houston’s first-round picks in the in the Gary Kubiak Era have started a combined 94 of 96 games in their rookie seasons.
• The Texans selected five players from Big Ten schools in the 2012 NFL Draft. The five draft picks from one conference are the most from a single conference in team draft history.

• The Big Ten has now produced 15 Texans draft picks, which is more than any conference other than the SEC, which has produced 16 Texans draft picks.

• The Texans executed the 15th draft day trade in franchise history and sixth draft day trade in the last  three years on Day 2 of the 2012 NFL Draft. Houston traded the 26th pick of the second  and seventh rounds (58th and 233rd overall) to Tampa Bay in exchange for the fifth pick in the third round (68th overall) and the 31st pick in the fourth round (126th overall).

• It was the 15th draft-day trade in Texans history and the eighth executed by Texans general manager Rick Smith.  Of Smith’s eight draft-day deals, six have resulted in the Texans moving back and acquiring additional picks.  The Texans made two trades during the 2011 Draft.

• The trade meant that Houston did not have a pick in the second round for the first time since the 2008 Draft.  It also resulted in the Texans having two third-round picks after not having a selection in that round in last year’s draft.

• The Texans used the newly-acquired third-round selection to grab Ohio State WR DeVier Posey. Houston’s second third-round pick, Miami (Ohio) G Brandon Brooks was taken with the 13th pick in the round, which was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia in March that sent DeMeco Ryans to the Eagles in exchange for a fourth-round pick and a swap of third-round positions.

• Houston’s three fourth-round picks were the most in a single round since the team had three picks each in the sixth and seventh rounds of the 2004 Draft.

• The Texans did not have a selection in the seventh round for the first time in franchise history.

Houston Texans Player-By-Player Draft Notes

LB Whitney Mercilus – 1st Round, 26th Overall

• Mercilus and his new teammate, OLB Connor Barwin, already have something in common.  Mercilus and Barwin both played for the same college defensive line coach, Keith Gilmore.  Gilmore tutored Barwin at Cincinnati from 2007-08 before moving to Illinois, where he coached Mercilus from 2009-11.

• Is the 14th linebacker drafted by the Texans. Houston has drafted more linebackers than any other position, with cornerback coming in second with 11 picks.  Houston has drafted at least one linebacker in every draft in franchise history.

WR DeVier Posey – 3rd Round, 68th Overall

• Is the second Ohio State Buckeye drafted by the Texans and the first since RB Jonathan Wells in 2002.

• Joins Houston’s first-round pick, OLB Whitney Mercilus, as an alumnus of a Big Ten school.  The duo bring the number of players drafted by the Texans out of Big Ten schools to 12, which is third in team history behind the SEC and ACC (14 apiece).

• Is the ninth wide receiver drafted by the Texans in team history and the highest-drafted receiver since the team selected Andre Johnson with the third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.  The only other receiver drafted by the Texans earlier than Posey was Jabar Gaffney, who was the 33rd overall pick in 2002.

G Brandon Brooks – 3rd Round, 76th Overall

• Is the fourth guard drafted by the Texans in team history and the first since Shelley Smith in 2010 (7th round).

• The only guard drafted by the Texans earlier than Brooks was Fred Weary, who was the 66th overall pick in 2002.

• Is the first player out of Miami (Ohio) to be drafted by the Texans.  He is the second player from a Mid-American Conference school to be picked by the team, joining Jason Babin, who was the 27th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.The Texans did not have a pick in the seventh round for the first time in franchise history.

C Ben Jones – 4th Round, 99th Overall

• Is the fourth center drafted by the Texans and the first since Antoine Caldwell was selected in the third round (77th overall) in 2009.

• Is the first Georgia Bulldog drafted by the Texans.

WR Keshawn Martin – 4th Round, 121st Overall

• Is the second receiver selected by the Texans in this year’s Draft and the 10th taken by the Texans all-time. Houston also took two receivers in the 2010 Draft, when they selected Trindon Holiday in the sixth round and Dorin Dickerson in the seventh.

• Is the first Michigan State Spartan drafted by the Texans.

DE Jared Crick – 4th Round, 126th Overall

• Is the second Nebraska Cornhusker drafted by the Texans, joining FS Jammal Lord in 2004.

• Is the fourth defensive end drafted by the Texans. Houston has taken a defensive end in three of the last four drafts, including last year’s first-round pick, J.J. Watt.

K Randy Bullock – 5th Round, 161st Overall

• Is the 14th Texans draft pick from Texas and the eighth since head coach Gary Kubiak took over in 2006. The Klein product becomes the 12th native Texan on current Texans roster.

• Is the second Texas A&M alumnus drafted by the Texans, joining LS Chance Pearce in 2003.  Bullock is the first Aggie drafted by Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, a Texas A&M alumnus.

• Is the first kicker drafted by the Texans in team history and was the first kicker taken in the 2012 NFL Draft.

• Is the second member of the Texans’ 2012 Draft class to have played in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (known as the Texas Bowl from 2006-10), joining OLB Whitney Mercilus (2010 Texas Bowl). He is the fifth player drafted by the Texans all-time who has played in the bowl, joining Mercilus, LB Zac Diles (7th round, 2007; 2006 Texas Bowl), TE James Casey (5th round, 2009; 2008 Texas Bowl) and LB Cheta Ozougwu (7th round, 2011; 2008 Texas Bowl).

• With Texas A&M’s pending move to the SEC, Bullock counts as the 16th player from an SEC school to be drafted by the Texans and the second this year, joining C Ben Jones from Georgia (fourth round, 99th overall).  The SEC has produced more Texans draft picks than any other conference.

T Nick Mondek – 6th Round, 195th Overall

• Is the first Purdue Boilermaker to be drafted by the Texans.

• Is the eighth offensive tackle drafted by the Texans.

• For the second straight year, the Texans closed out their Draft class with a tackle; the team selected T Derek Newton in the seventh round in 2011.

The Texans had eight picks in the 2012 NFL Draft: one first-rounder, two thirds, three fourths, a fifth and a sixth. Here’s a full list of the their picks:

Round: Pick (Overall)
1: 26 (26): Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Illinois
3: 6 (68)*: DeVier Posey, WR, Ohio State
3: 13 (76)**: Brandon Brooks, G, Miami (Ohio)
4: 4 (99)**: Ben Jones, C, Georgia
4: 26 (121): Keshawn Martin, WR, Michigan State
4: 31 (126)*: Jared Crick, DE, Nebraska
5: 26 (161): Randy Bullock, K, Texas A&M
6: 26 (195): Nick Mondek, T, Purdue
*Pick acquired from Tampa Bay
**Pick acquired from Philadelphia

There are 253 total picks in the 2012 draft.

With the 161st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Texans have selected Texas A&M kicker Randy Bullock.

Bullock (5-9, 205) won the Lou Groza Award in 2011 as the top kicker in college football. He was 29-of-33 on field goals (87.8 percent), with the 29 field goals ranking third in NCAA FBS history.

This is the first time the Texans have drafted a kicker in team history.

With the 126th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Texans have selected Nebraska defensive end Jared Crick.

Crick (6-4 279) had 9.5 sacks in 2009 and 2010 but missed most of his senior season with a torn pectoral muscle. He’ll add depth behind defensive ends J.J. Watt and Antonio Smith.

Crick was the Texans’ third pick in the fourth round, following Georgia center Ben Jones (99th overall) and Michigan State wide receiver Keshawn Martin (121st).

With the 121st pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Texans have selected Michigan State wide receiver Keshawn Martin.

Martin (6-0, 188) was an All-Big Ten receiver and kick returner at Michigan State. He ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine and had a 39.5-inch vertical jump.

He is the second wide receiver drafted by the Texans in as many rounds, joining Ohio State’s DeVier Posey (third round, 68th overall).

With the 99th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Texans have selected Georgia center Ben Jones.

Jones (6-3, 304), from Centreveille, Ala., started 49 games for the Bulldogs. He was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and an All-SEC pick in 2011.

Jones is the second interior lineman drafted by the Texans in 2012. They also drafted guard Brandon Brooks from Miami (Ohio) with the 76th overall pick in the third round.

With the first three rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft in the books, here’s an updated list of the Texans’ picks. They’ll have five picks on the final day of the draft on Saturday, including three in the fourth round:

Round: Pick (Overall)
1: 26 (26): Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Illinois
3: 6 (68)*: DeVier Posey, WR, Ohio State
3: 13 (76)**: Brandon Brooks, G, Miami (Ohio)
4: 4 (99)**
4: 26 (121)
4: 31 (126)*
5: 26 (161)
6: 26 (195)
*Pick acquired from Tampa Bay
**Pick acquired from Philadelphia

There are 253 total picks in the 2012 draft.

With the 76th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Texans have selected Miami (Ohio) guard Brandon Brooks.

Brooks (6-5, 343), a four-year starter in college, was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran a 4.98 40-yard dash at his pro day and put up 36 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press.

Brooks started 41 games at Miami — 15 at left guard, 14 at left tackle and 12 at right guard.