http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3138648 Mystery surrounds Texans' draft plans Casserly confident team will grab an impact player By CARLTON THOMPSON Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Equal parts scouting, preparation and luck are what the Texans will rely on during the two-day NFL draft, which begins Saturday. They've overindulged on frequent flier miles, visiting more college campuses than a blue-chip recruit. They have accumulated enough video to make every night a Blockbuster night, and in terms of doing their homework, there's not much more the Texans can do between now and the time commissioner Paul Tagliabue announces that they are on the clock. All that's left is luck. As the Texans continue to improve in the win column, they are gradually moving down in the draft order. David Carr was a no-brainer with the top overall pick in the 2002 draft, Andre Johnson was the obvious pick at No. 3 in 2003, and forecasting Dunta Robinson at the 10th pick was a fairly safe bet last year. But the picture is a bit cloudy this time around. How could the Texans possibly know who might be available with the 13th pick when the San Francisco 49ers still can't decide what to do with the top selection? How can general manager Charley Casserly identify a single player he believes will be available at No. 13 when a scan of 13 mock drafts might reveal a different player each time? Not to fret; Casserly is confident the Texans will get a quality player in the first round on Saturday in New York. He just doesn't know whom it will be or what position he'll play. As has been the case in their previous two years, the Texans' philosophy will be to draft the best available player who isn't a quarterback. They will take to their war room a list of players they believe will be available when they pick and hope that luck will lead one of those players their way. "You don't have star power at the top of the first round this year," Casserly said. "But like any draft, there are good positions. This year, receiver and cornerback are the best positions. You'll end up getting good players." Braylon Edwards, Mike Williams and Troy Williamson are considered the top receivers in the draft. Adam Jones, Antrel Rolle and Carlos Rogers are the cream of the crop at cornerback. The Texans have needs at both positions, and two of those players could still be on the board at No. 13. Given the unpredictability at the top of the draft, there could even be more than two, and trading up a few spots is not out of the question, either. The Texans have used second- or third-round picks on eight players over the past three years, but only three of those players — Jabar Gaffney, Chester Pitts and Seth Wand — are starters. The most disappointing among them was defensive tackle Charles Hill, a 2002 third-round pick who barely played as a rookie and was released in 2003. The team is also still awaiting a return on the second-round investments they made in tight end Bennie Joppru and running back Tony Hollings. Joppru has missed each of his first two years because of a groin injury, and Hollings also has battled injuries, playing in just 21 games in two seasons. "The grade is incomplete on those guys," Casserly said. "If you take a guy who has a history of injuries and he doesn't play, shame on you. If you take a guy who has never been hurt, and then all of a sudden he gets hurt, you just have to chalk that up to bad luck. Both of those guys have ability. "Tony has shown it, and Bennie has shown it on the practice field, and he's fine now."
This is definantly the 1st year i have no idea what the Texans are going to do with their #1. We don't even know what position/positions they're looking for. I'm starting to think they may just take te best available player on the board. The thing is, i'm guessing that to be a WR on the board.
