Not everyone is impressed with coach Bill O’Brien’s first draft as the Houston Texans’ general manager.
According to the Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling, who produced instant grades for all 32 NFL teams after the draft, the Texans earned a C grade.
One possible reason could be that the Texans went from seven total picks coming into the draft and finished with five after O’Brien pulled off some trades. The Texans used their second selection in Round 4 at 141st overall to take cornerback John Reid from Penn State when their roster is full of corners.
Houston then used a fifth-round pick on a receiver, a position of more priority than cornerback, when they selected Rhode Island’s Isaiah Coulter.
What the Texans’ draft demonstrated is that O’Brien believes the 2020 season, because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on NFL offseason programs, will be favorable to veterans. Teams are going to want to add veterans to their rosters because of their experience with pro football, not add too many rookies who didn’t have the opportunity of minicamps to get up to speed.
That philosophy may prove true for Houston in 2020, but it could come back to haunt them in a few seasons when they need their ’20 draft class to step up and be at least solid contributors.
