The result of coach Bill O’Brien’s wheeling and dealing from August of 2019 to April of 2020 is the third-lowest point value of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Only the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers have lower point values for their drafts than the draft capital of the Houston Texans’ fourth ever full-time general manager.
However, not being fully invested in the draft may turn out to be fortuitous for the Texans, who have 232 points of capital invested in their picks.
O’Brien told the Houston media on a conference call on April 16 that because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the structure of the NFL offseason, the 2020 season may be a “veteran type year.”
“In my opinion — again, it’s just my opinion — but I think that this year 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.”
If that turns out to be the case, then having veterans who are already familiar with the speed of the game, the subtle differences between college and the pros, and the various schemes would be beneficial in an abbreviated offseason program.
“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 that’s part of our building of the team also,” said O’Brien.
The 50-year-old coach, who now doubles as the team’s front office point man, had no such foresight that a novel coronavirus would greatly impact the NFL’s offseason programs when he dealt away the Texans’ draft picks. However, Houston’s seven selections with only two top-100 picks may not be as disadvantageous of a situation as it would be in an otherwise normal offseason.
