5 reasons the Texans need to clean house
1. Inability to draft
Every franchise has its fair share of bad draft picks. However, the NFL draft is an exciting time for 31 of the 32 franchises and fan bases around the league. For Texans fans, it’s not a question of “who will we draft this year?”, it’s more along the lines of “how can Rick Smith screw up this year?”.
Ironically, the Texans seemed to have a good draft in 2017, with each of the teams’ first three picks making an impact already, two weeks into the season. However, Houston hasn’t been as lucky in years prior. They’ve not drafted terribly, most of the picks have had success for the team. Be that as it may, it’s been the moves the Texans haven’t made that have hurt the franchise in the long run.
2016
The Texans began the 2016 draft taking wide receiver Will Fuller in the first round. While the receiver position was certainly a spot that needed addressing, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to in the first round when offensive line was a need. Much better receivers such as Sterling Shepard, Michael Thomas and Malcolm Mitchell were still on the board into the second and third rounds. Fuller has yet to live up to his first round potential, along with 2016 third round pick Braxton Miller. Injuries and inconsistent play have led fans to question why the Texans went with those guys in the first three rounds.
Although to the credit of the team, nabbing Nick Martin in the second round was a steal as he’s shown glimpses of greatness through his first two NFL games. D.J. Reader was another steal, but running back Tyler Ervin was a bit questionable in the fourth round. Especially with their abundance of quality running backs on the roster and the still glaringly obvious hole at the quarterback position. The team expressed interest in Dak Prescott, who was still on the board at the time their fourth pick rolled around. Had the Texans pulled the trigger on Prescott, the narrative could have been a lot different right about now.
2015
Few can complain about the Texans’ 2015 early draft choices. Although Kevin Johnson has struggled heavily with injuries, the first rounder has performed well when on the field. Linebacker Benardrick McKinney has been phenomenal. Despite wide receiver Jaelen Strong being seen as a steal in the third round (which he was at the time), Strong has yet to do anything significant in the NFL. Taking Strong in the third round was a no-brainer, so little credit can be given to Smith as the projected first-rounder fell in the draft due to injury.
Other than that, the rest of the Texans’ 2015 draft was a disaster, with exception to Christian Covington. Covington, the teams’ sixth-round pick has been great for where he was drafted. He hasn’t done all that much in the NFL, yet. But, his ceiling is high, so credit Smith for this great pick. Otherwise, none of the other last four picks (Mumphery, Hilliard, Cliett) are still with the Texans.
2014
This is the draft where the Texans made quite possibly the biggest mistake in franchise history. No, it’s not the fact that they took Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1, Clowney turned out to be a fantastic pick. For Houston, it came down to either Clowney or Khalil Mack with the No. 1 overall pick, you couldn’t have gone wrong with either.
Where the Texans went wrong is the second round. The repercussions of this pick are still plaguing Houston in 2017 and had it not been for Clowney’s eventual success (and his friendship with McNair), Smith would have been fired immediately for making one of the most idiotic draft choices in NFL history. What is that choice, you ask? Xavier Su’a-Filo.
To put into perspective how bad this pick was, Su’a-Filo was replaced on the offensive line in Week 1 of the 2017 season, halfway through the game. He later returned due to another injury on the line, but only because he had to be put back in. In Week 2 of 2017, Su’a-Filo was the Texans’ lowest graded player, coming in at unbelievably bad 31.7. His career can be summed up in his first NFL game, where he completely missed a block, not even touching the defender.
Worst of all? The Texans selected Su’a-Filo over Derek Carr. Instead of electing to take a shot at a franchise quarterback, they drafted a scrub offensive lineman from UCLA. Now, the Texans fans’ usual response is “we didn’t want another Carr at quarterback in Houston”. That’s fair. In that case, Jimmy Garoppolo was still available. That’s two franchise quarterbacks that the Texans could have had. Instead, they decided to roll with Su’a-Filo, who wouldn’t be on an NFL roster if it weren’t for the depth issues on the line for Houston.
Next: Every NFL team's greatest moment of all-time
As if that weren’t bad enough, the Texans could have had their franchise quarterback in the fourth round as well. Instead of taking a National Championship winning quarterback in AJ McCarron, the Texans went with Tom Savage. After riding the bench and “learning the system” for three years, Savage finally got his chance as the clear starter in 2017. That opportunity lasted one half. In addition, third round pick Louis Nix is no longer with the Texans, he lasted just one year. But, the team did manage to draft C.J. Fiedorowicz, Alfred Blue and Andre Hal that season. So, Smith has that going for him.
Overall, it’s been the squandered opportunities in the draft that have cost the Texans success over the last few seasons. Not every general manager is perfect, but nearly every one of them has had better draft success than Smith. Or at least, less failures.