Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Texans Draft Breakdown: DJ Swearinger

With their 57th pick the Houston Texans drafted South Carolina S DJ Swearinger. Swearinger will be the heir to Ed Reed and is the same type of player in many ways. Swearinger is a hard hitter known for being penalized for some of the hits he's laid on offensive players in college. He has the ability to make WR's think twice about going over the middle of the field. In his highlights from South Carolina he plays like a missle. He should bring a toughness to this Texans defense, and with the departure of S Glover Quin he'll be able to step on the field in a lot of situations early.

Wade Phillips likes to use safeties to cover TE's one on one while pressuring the QB.  Swearinger's coverage ability is probably the most underrated part of his game. He can cover WR's in the slot as well as on the outside if needed. This is already evident to the other rookies that participated and saw his pick 6 INT during the Texans 3 day rookie mini camp. Texans DC Wade Phillips had this to say about his instincts after that practice: "He’s very instinctive. He’s just learning the defense like everybody else, but he seems to catch on quickly, and he made an interception today where he was playing in another area but made the play. He’s a naturally good player that needs to keep developing, but we like him.”

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