TEXANS NO DRAFT DODGERS
GM Smith has not tapped into free agency, leaving lots of holes to fill with 7 picks
Texans general manager Rick Smith needs to draft prospects who can make an immediate impact as starters and valuable reserves. The Texans are the only team in the NFL that has not signed an unrestricted free agent. They lost five, including three starters on defense, and all must be replaced with draft choices, undrafted free agents or players who have been on the roster.
Smith, who is in charge of personnel, is preparing for his 11th draft with the Texans, who have the 25th overall pick. Their primary needs are quarterback and right tackle. They also need players at outside linebacker, cornerback, safety, guard and inside linebacker. They also need depth in both lines.
Since owner Bob McNair hired Smith and put him in charge of the draft, Smith has done best in the first round. Nine of 10 of the first-rounders are still on the roster and have been productive for a team that has won the AFC South in four of the last six years, including the last two under coach Bill O’Brien.
Smith’s first No. 1 pick — defensive tackle Amobi Okoye — started four years before leaving in free agency when the Texans switched to a 3-4 in 2011, which was Wade Phillips’ first season as defensive coordinator.
To get an idea of what Smith might do, there are some trends over his first 10 drafts.
He has traded up in the first round once — one spot last year to select receiver Will Fuller. Every first-round pick has been from a Power 5 conference, and seven were defensive players. Over the last four drafts, the first-round picks have been evenly divided between offense and defense.
This year, the Texans have five picks in the first four rounds of the draft, including a fourth-round choice from Cleveland acquired in the Brock Osweiler trade.
Right tackle a pressing need
Looking back at the first four rounds of Smith’s drafts, here is a list of positions he has selected: Receivers (seven), cornerbacks (seven), defensive ends (five), outside linebackers (four), running backs (three), tight ends (three), centers (three), defensive tackles (three), inside linebackers (three), offensive tackles (two), guards (two), safeties (one) and quarterbacks (one).
This year, Smith is expected to use a high draft choice on a quarterback, possibly in the first round if there is a prospect available he and O’Brien covet.
In their 15-year history, the Texans have drafted one quarterback in the first two rounds — David Carr as the first overall pick in 2002, their inaugural year.
The only other quarterback selected in the first three rounds was Dave Ragone (third round) in 2003. Tom Savage, earmarked as the current starter, was drafted in the fourth round in 2014.
The most pressing need the Texans have is right tackle. This is a below-average draft for offensive tackles, and there are questions about the best prospects.
Since selecting Duane Brown in the first round in 2008, Smith has taken one tackle — Brennan Williams (third round) in 2013 — in the first four rounds.
The draft and undrafted free agency are vital to the Texans. When they prepared to enter the playoffs last season, they had eight rookies on the roster, including five who were undrafted.
Three draft choices — center Nick Martin, receiver Braxton Miller and safety K.J. Dillon — were on injured reserve.
“We try to exhaust ourselves in the effort to improve our team at every position,” Smith said at February’s NFL combine. “There are different types of evaluations and different risks you have to manage in terms of how you acquire players. It’s comprehensive. It’s film-based, live exposures, going to games, interviews (and) medical. There are all kinds of different things, obviously, that impact (decisions).”
Because Savage and Brandon Weeden are the only quarterbacks on the roster, drafting a third one is a no-brainer. The question is how long will it take to pick one?
Almost all of the top prospects come from spread systems that often require one read. Learning an NFL system is difficult, and good coaching is essential to their development.
“It goes back to the whole idea of what are we going to ask the guy to do?” Smith said. “Then you’ve got to project, especially when you’re talking about spread offenses or things guys are doing that aren’t necessarily indicative of what you’re going to ask him to do in your scheme. It’s easy when you can see a guy go do exactly what you’re going to ask him to do, and you can evaluate that. It becomes a little bit more interesting when you have to project.”
When will they take a QB?
This is O’Brien’s fourth draft as the Texans’ coach. Smith, personnel director Brian Gaine and the scouts had to learn what the coaches prefer from draft choices based on the style of play at each position. Familiarity has made it easier.
As the draft approaches, two things are certain: The Texans will draft a quarterback and right tackle, but there is a chance those prospects might not come in the first round based on who is available.
“It’s an ever-evolving thing,” O’Brien said at the combine. “All three years that I’ve been here, the 53-man roster we had at the beginning of the season was not the same 53-man roster we had at the end of the season.”