No buzz from draft for Texans this year
Unlike in previous years, when the Texans rolled out the red carpet for fans hungry for the most overhyped event in all of sports, there will not be a draft party at NRG Stadium on Thursday night.
Blame the coronavirus and city and county officials for turning the lights out on the party.
While it will be missed, the Texans haven’t exactly made the function the social event of the season.
Part of the reasoning for that is a good thing.
As exciting as a draft soiree is with a top-10 pick to anticipate, which was the case for the Texans for five of their first seven years, the later a team’s pick is slotted, the better it did on the field the previous season.
Hate on Bill O’Brien all you want, but he has delivered four AFC South titles in his six seasons. Up until now, making the playoffs automatically dropped your draft position into the 20s. And making the playoffs will be even easier starting next season, when each conference adds a
wild-card team.
Yippee.
All three coaches in team history were welcomed with the No. 1 overall pick, which provided months of sports debate and set up a nice draft day atmosphere. There is none of that this year. Barring a trade, Houston will not pick in the first round. It isn’t scheduled to be on the clock until the eighth pick of the second round Friday evening.
Little wonder that with the world on pause without any major sports events because of the global pandemic, there isn’t much discussion of this year’s Texans draft.
O’Brien pointed to defensive line and safety as two positions of need that the Texans might very well look to address in the draft. Boooring.
To borrow from O’Brien, relative to the stars of the draft, linemen and safeties taken in the second round and later don’t tend to be all that exciting. But don’t be fooled by draft day excitement.
Justin Reid, the 68th overall pick in 2018, has Pro Bowl potential at safety, and 2019 fifth-rounder Charles Omenihu (No. 161 overall) led all rookie interior linemen in quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
If they do it right, the Texans will come away with valuable players from this weekend’s draft. Unfortunately, they are less likely to contribute to this year’s team than typical rookies.
“With the unique position that we’re in, I truly believe that this is a veteran type of year,” O’Brien said. “I think it’s going to be really difficult for rookies without offseason practicing on the field and being able to do all the things that you do during that five-week stretch after the draft and then training camp.
“Who knows when all that will start? I’m not trying to predict that, but I think this year being different than any other year is part of our building of the team.”
In other words, as for this offseason, the Texans would rather have a veteran player on the roster than a developing rookie.
That’s head coach O’Brien talking. (Side note: O’Brien isn’t one to rely on rookies that much anyway.)
If the Texans draft defensive players, new coordinator Anthony Weaver will be charged with getting them ready to play. Weaver started every game as a rookie with the Ravens in 2002.
When it comes to building for the 2020 season, which could be unlike any we have seen, getting up to speed quickly should be more important than ever. In said situation, one would think the Texans would have elected to keep as much intact as possible.
You know, like keeping the best receiver in the NFL, the one player quarterback Deshaun Watson could always depend on to rescue him?
Instead, the Texans will look to incorporate three new weapons into the offense in receivers Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks and running back David Johnson.
The Texans kick off their offseason program with virtual meetings next week. That isn’t the same as having players on the field for workouts, but we’re not talking about rookies here. Get it?
Trading a second-round pick (No. 57 overall) for Cooks fits that thinking.
“I think that you’re going to have to have guys in your system that have an understanding of how to work, what it takes, and have been in similar systems,” O’Brien said. “Cooks has been in a similar system, obviously. Even Cobb has been in a similar system.
“Obviously, Deshaun Watson going into his fourth year has been in our system and knows what to expect. He’s been in contact with these guys that are new to our team.”
Therein lies the key to almost anything the Texans do. From play to play, Watson makes a difference. The same holds for game to game.
The Texans have more margin for error than most.
Agree or disagree, there is a master plan behind the perceived madness.
O’Brien is thinking about a much bigger celebration than a draft party.
“After studying teams that win in January, win in February, our staff is more convinced than ever that we must be prepared to have layers upon layers of productive players who can build on the tradition that we have established here of winning the AFC South four out of the last five years and to try to get beyond that,” O’Brien said. “We know that the goal is to get beyond that, but we’ve studied, we’ve researched.
“We’re so excited about where we are. It’s very incomplete, though. It’s incomplete relative to being before the draft. We have a long way to go here in building our team.”