Houston Texans Rumors: 3 players and mistakes to avoid in the NFL Draft
By T.A. Mock
Not adding offensive linemen early and often
The Houston Texans essentially moved heaven and earth in order to make Deshaun Watson their franchise quarterback two years ago this offseason. They dumped Brock Osweiler‘s albatross of a contract onto the Browns with a second round pick for nothing in return. Then, they traded their 2018 first round pick in addition to picks in 2017 to move up to draft him.
Watson took over the starting job a half a game into the 2017 season and the future looked very, very bright. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn ACL halfway through the season and the rest of the year went down the toilet. 2018 once again showed promise but not without the team trying to get him killed again.
The Texans offensive line was incredibly porous and they honestly couldn’t have been less effective if they tried. Some guys showed improvement as the year progressed but overall, it was one of the worst offensive line units in league history, allowing Watson to get sacked a league-high 62 times and suffer numerous injuries, including one that prevented him from flying to Jacksonville for a game.
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So far, the Houston Texans have not addressed the offensive line besides re-signing Seantrel Henderson to a one-year deal after he went down for the season halfway through the first game. They’ve watched other highly regarded players sign elsewhere which means they have to be targeting offensive line in the draft, right?
Well, I sure hope so. It would be a mistake of epic proportions for the Texans to turn elsewhere in the draft more often than not. The team has three picks in the first two rounds and an additional pick in the third round. If Houston doesn’t leave the first two days of the draft with two offensive linemen it could be a tremendous mistake.
In all honesty, if they don’t leave the entire draft with three players to build depth and snag starters along the offensive line it would be a mistake. If the team has championship aspirations and want to protect their franchise quarterback, this is the move to make.