Gaine open to picking best available athlete
Team wants to give long-term contract to retain Clowney
The patience Texans general manager Brian Gaine exercised a year ago didn’t come easily.
Possessing no first- or secondround draft picks due to prior trades involving Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson and $72 million quarterback bust Brock Osweiler, Gaine had to wait until the third round before he picked hard-hitting Stanford safety Justin Reid.
Reid emerged as an immediate impact player as a starter.
“What I learned is it’s hard to wait for two rounds until you can pick a player in the third round,” Gaine said. “You do a lot of watching, but what I learned is a lot about the process.”
Now, Gaine is armed with a lot of capital heading into next week’s draft, and his patience could pay off with major dividends. He has four picks within
the first 86 selections, including the 23rd pick in the first round, the 54th and 55th picks in the second round, and a third-round selection at No. 86. The 54th pick comes from trading Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown to the Seahawks. The second-year general manager is confident the Texans will land four future starters.
“We hope, at some point in time, all four of those players would be starters or eventual starters if you’re drafting them in the first three rounds,” Gaine said. “So we have an opportunity here, and we have every intention of getting it right.”
Positions in need
With needs across the offensive line, secondary, running back, wide receiver and defensive line, the Texans are expected to concentrate on upgrading their offensive tackle and cornerback positions.
They don’t feel locked in to drafting specifically for need, though, and won’t pass up the best player available following a free-agency signing period that included getting former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Matt Kalil, re-signing former starting right tackle Seantrel Henderson and adding former Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby on a one-year, $10 million deal.
“Correct, we were able to address some situations in free agency, and free agency’s certainly more of a needs-driven environment,” Gaine said. “We felt like we were able to add some pieces to the puzzle here to help us come into this draft and to be in position to take the next best player.
“We’re very excited in terms of our scouting operation, our player personnel operation, the coaching staff. We’re going to get four very good players.”
Meanwhile, Gaine hasn’t altered his philosophy when it comes to Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. The intention
remains to sign the former top overall pick to a long-term contract extension.
Clowney, 26, is an unsigned franchise player who has opted not to sign his $15.967 million tender and isn’t attending voluntary workouts. No deal is in sight or expected any time soon for him, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.
“Yes,” Gaine said when asked if he remains optimistic about signing Clowney to an extension. “That’s the spirit of the franchise tag. There’s a reason why we did that, with every hope and intention of continuing to work on that. That’s a negotiation.
“It’s a process. It has to be a deal that makes sense for both sides — for the player, for the organization as it relates to short term and long term. So that’s still the plan.”
Fuller expected to return
When the Texans open the regular season against the Saints on Sept 9 in New Orleans, they expect wide receiver Will Fuller
to be on the field running routes. Fuller is rehabbing a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered last season against the Dolphins.
“Everything’s going well with Will,” Gaine said. “I won’t speak to specifics, but I anticipate when we kick off versus New Orleans, he’ll be ready to go. He’ll be at full speed by then.
“I’m sure through the preseason, we’ll be smart and efficient with him as it relates to getting him right. Everything has gone well. There’s been no setbacks, been very positive. Everything’s trending in the right direction. He’s been here the whole offseason. He’s looking good — mind, spirit, body.
“Everything’s going well for Will, and we’re excited about seeing him get back on the field.”
Perhaps no Texans player is under more scrutiny this offseason than running back D’Onta Foreman after a disappointing, injury-plagued year. The Texas City native has worked to get in better shape and reported for the conditioning program at 230 pounds.
The former University of Texas consensus All-American’s season was impacted by a torn Achilles tendon suffered as a rookie.
He began this past season on the physically unable to perform list.
Focus on Foreman
“D’Onta, he’s come back in good shape,” Gaine said. “He had an unfortunate situation. Very difficult injury to return from as it relates to the running back position, so we’re pleased with his progress. It looks like he has put in the time and the commitment to be ready to go when we got back here for the first day of the offseason program.
“I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen, but there’s a lot of football left to be played; there’s a lot of offseason left to complete. But so far so good in terms of getting off on the right foot.”