But they also brought in free agents to compete. It wasnt just wait through free agency and depend on the draft. And again, there is a big difference between 1-6 and 1-23. The top tackles might be gone by the 23rd pick.
True and plus they're rookies. I'm willing to bet Bill O'Brien will remind them of that daily and treat them as such. Slow process and a lot to learn.
Donald Penn should be added. No excuses. His career worst grade from PFF would still make him the best lineman we've had for two or three years, IIRC.
As bad as Flowers was in New York, because of how good he was at Miami I think he would be worth a shot to compete for backup right tackle with Roderick Johnson
You are right.... the Texans front office doesn’t give a damn about what the fans think or the opinions of anyone else. They know best, better than anyone else and all those Conference and Super Bowl banners prove it.
To quote the infamous Buddy Ryan: "if you listen to the fans, you will soon find yourself sitting with them....".
It's not about the fans. It's about how the Chiefs/Rams/Eagles/Saints etc... go about their business vs how the Texans go about theirs.
The Chiefs, first and foremost, are built through the draft. Start listing their best players, and I'm going to bet Kansas City drafted them: Mahomes, Hill, Kelce (even Hunt)... Also, uhm - the Chiefs are having an AWFUL offseason. They're shedding good defensive players, overpaying average safeties and likely losing another key offensive weapon. What big moves have the Rams, Eagles and Saints pulled off? They seem to, at the very least, be shedding as much talent as adding (unless I'm forgetting a trade). The loudest teams, generally, have been poorly run organizations. Most of the playoff teams have been relatively quiet.
1 year deal? Texans written all over this • Earl Thomas was prepared, with regrets, to accept a one-year guaranteed contract worth $12 million, with $1 million in likely-to-be-earned incentives, with an undisclosed team Wednesday morning. That team, I am told, was sure it had Thomas, whose market had never materialized the way safety markets developed for Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu and Adrian Amos. Then the Ravens swooped in, knowing they had to overpay to break up the other deal. “The Ravens were never in the picture,” Thomas told me Thursday. “I was shocked. I was blessed.” In the span of two hours and 10 minutes, the Ravens and Thomas’ agents worked out a four-year, $55-million deal. Moral of the story: It only takes one. And it doesn’t take long.
The Texans are also built through the draft (Watson, Hopkins, Watt, Clowney, Fuller, McKinney, Cunningham) but they definitely need to supplement through other avenues. I don't think fans want them to build through FA. The Chiefs needed help with their defense, especially secondary, and they ponied up for Mathieu. They've also been actively chasing CBs. They also signed Alex Okafor and Carlos Hyde. The Eagles signed Malik Jackson and Desean. Remember the Patriots traded for Trent Brown and still drafted a lineman in the 1st round. They found holes on their roster and targeted players that could help fill those holes. I think that is the smart way to go. Plus there is a good chance that the top 3 tackles are gone by the Texans' draft choices. You can't just sit and wait and hope a really good player that fills a position of need is available on draft day. You hedge your bet by bringing in FA for competition/depth or even plug in starters like Mathieu or Malik.