DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Starting with Watson, rookies to learn their places and roles

Once this year’s draft choices and undrafted free agents cross the threshold at NRG Stadium, they will get a message from coach Bill O’Brien — loud and clear.

“Once you get here, we don’t really care how you got here,” O’Brien said Saturday after the Texans finished their draft. “It’s what you do once you get here.

“What are you going to do, preparation-wise, in the meeting room and on the practice field to get better?”

The seven draft choices — beginning with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson in the first round and ending with Baylor center Kyle Fuller in the seventh — will learn a valuable lesson in a hurry: O’Brien and his staff believe rookies should be seen and not heard. How much they’re seen on the field depends on how fast they develop.

And Watson, the most celebrated draft choice since quarterback David Carr in 2002, is going to have the most difficult transition because of his position in the NFL and the system at Clemson.

For those who believe Watson will be ready to start the first Texans game against Jacksonville, don’t bet on it.

Season for seasoning

Watson wasn’t drafted to be the starter this season. He won’t be rushed. The starting job belongs to Tom Savage.

No matter how much O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith insist Savage is the starter, many of you don’t believe it. Well, believe it. Watson will be given time to watch and learn O’Brien’s system. Savage spent his first three seasons watching and learning. He has paid his dues, been a good soldier and earned the respect of his teammates and coaches. Now he’s being given his chance to start.

If Savage suffers another injury, I believe Brandon Weeden — not Watson — will replace him, especially if it’s in the first half of the season. It really depends on how fast Watson develops.

The only way I see Watson playing as a rookie is if Savage and Weeden suffer injuries.

That’s what happened to Dallas in 2016.

First, backup Kellen Moore went down for the season. Starter Tony Romo was soon to follow. Rookie Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, was promoted and became the toast of the Metroplex.

Prescott was blessed with two significant advantages. He played behind the NFL’s best offensive line, and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott led the league in rushing.

A productive running game is a quarterback’s best friend. The Cowboys have one, and the Texans should, too.

One reason the Texans used their third-round pick on Texas running back D’Onta Foreman is because O’Brien is such a strong proponent of the running game.

In the three seasons in which O’Brien has coached the Texans, they have run the ball 1,479 times, more than any team in the NFL.

Foreman, a power back who excels between the tackles and has 4.45 speed to go long distance, should provide relief for Lamar Miller.

In his first season with the Texans, Miller rushed for 1,073 of the team’s 1,859 yards and absorbed a lot of punishment.

Miller and Foreman — assuming he supplants Alfred Blue as the primary backup — should give the Texans a terrific one-two punch that will help them control the ball, protect the quarterback and keep the defense fresh.

That formula is ideal for the AFC South, which is going to play throwback football with smash-mouth running games.

Tennessee adopted that style last season. Jacksonville used the fourth overall pick on running back Leonard Fournette. Only Indianapolis has yet to implement that mentality.

Smith didn’t waste time Saturday adding depth to the offensive line. With the first of the Texans’ two fourth-round picks, Smith selected Bucknell offensive tackle Julie’n Davenport.

The Texans have Chris Clark and Kendall Lamm at right tackle. Derek Newton, the starter, is recovering from ruptured quad tendons in both legs last season.

How soon Davenport (6-7, 318) can play depends on how fast he matures as a player under offensive line coach Mike Devlin, who does an exceptional job teaching young linemen.

Fuller, a three-year starter at Baylor, will be given a chance to play guard, too. He has to be versatile to have a chance to make the team.

Draft improves depth

Center Nick Martin, last year’s second-round pick, spent his rookie season on injured reserve. Getting him back is like having an additional draft choice, not to mention more talent for the offensive line.

To bolster the NFL’s topranked defense last season, Smith selected linebacker Zach Cunningham in the second round, defensive lineman Carlos Watkins in the fourth and cornerback Treston Decoud in the fifth.

The return of safety K.J. Dillon, a fifth-round pick last year who also spent his rookie season on injured reserve, is like having another draft choice for the secondary.

“It was a very productive weekend,” Smith said. “I think our team’s better. We felt really good about the value of where we got the players.

“If there’s a theme about this group, there’s leadership and production throughout the class. Those are the kind of guys we like to add to our team.”