No guarantees QB to be taken in draft
General manager doesn’t feel any pressure to do so
Despite the local and national buzz about the Texans possibly selecting a quarterback in the first round, general manager Rick Smith said there is a chance they might not draft one at all.
And he said it with a straight face. Sort of. In his annual state-ofthe-Texans predraft news conference, Smith admitted they would acquire a third quarterback behind Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden but didn’t disclosed by what route — free agent, trade or undrafted free agent.
“I think it’s a good quarterback class,” Smith said. “I don’t feel any pressure
(to draft one). At some point, we’re going to add a quarterback.”
The Texans have the 25th overall pick.
There could be a fan revolt at NRG Stadium if Smith doesn’t draft a quarterback in one of the first three rounds.
Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes and Mitchell Trubisky are the top three quarterback prospects. All could be gone by the time Smith makes his first pick, assuming he doesn’t trade up.
The Texans have a desperate need at right tackle, but this is a down year for top prospects at that position.
“I’d characterize the offensive line as a little light,” Smith said.
But Smith may still use his first-round pick on an offensive tackle. It depends on who’s available when the Texans make their decision.
Smith reiterated what coach Bill O’Brien said earlier this month in that he has confidence in Savage, who has battled injuries in each of his first three seasons.
“He’s proven he understands this offense and can play at a high level,” Smith said. “He’s been injured, so he hasn’t had an extended amount of time to do that. I’m comfortable (with Savage).”
Like O’Brien, who has led the Texans to backto-back AFC South titles, Smith knows the offense has to improve.
Last year, they signed running back Lamar Miller and guard Jeff Allen and drafted receivers Will Fuller and Braxton Miller as well as center Nick Martin and running back Tyler Ervin. The second-year players should be better this season.
Faith in Savage
Still, improvement has to start at quarterback. Savage is expected to follow Brock Osweiler, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Fitzpatrick as O’Brien’s openingday starter.
“One of the things that I’m excited about is that Tom’s been here,” Smith said. “He knows the players. I think another year in this system with all of those parts that we added last year and an additional year of experience in the offense. Understanding what the play call is designed to do, understanding what the options are in those particular calls.
“Then everyone seeing the play of the defense and the adjustments from the same set of eyes, I think that’s important to our offensive philosophy and to our offensive execution. I think we’ll be better because of that.”
No matter how effective the Texans believe Savage can be, they still need to draft a quarterback. As many as six or seven could be chosen in the first two rounds.
Smith talked about what the Texans look for in a quarterback prospect.
“I think there are a lot of variables that go into successful quarterback play,” he said. “If you start with the intangibles, there’s the work ethic, the leadership, the ability to rally people. There’s the ability to be able to command a room, the ability to handle adversity — all of those intangible things you look for.”
Smith agrees with O’Brien that a high priority should be placed on leadership.
“Then there’s the physical skill set,” Smith said. “The arm strength, the athletic ability. There’s certain size — height, weight and speed — parameters that ideally we look for. There’s his playing history, the style of offense he’s come from.
“All of those things go into an obvious comprehensive evaluation of the position because it’s so important.”
If there’s one thing that’s close to a guarantee in this draft, it’s the player selected in the first round will be consistently productive for a long time.
‘Mitigate risk’
Of the first-round picks in Smith’s first 10 drafts, nine are still on the team and contributing.
Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye (2007), Smith’s initial first-round pick, started for his first four seasons before leaving when they switched to a 3-4 under Wade Phillips in 2011.
The personnel people try to identify what the coaches want at each position. The coaches then develop the players they’ve been given in the draft. They’ve also excelled at developing undrafted players.
“We want to be very diligent in the first round,” Smith said. “We want to mitigate risk.
“We try not to do anything in our draft evaluation and this process that reflects need. We evaluate strictly on talent. You open yourself up to being inaccurate if you evaluate on need.”