If we'd stop getting people talking about how the Texans should have traded up to get Alex Smith 2.0, I'd stop pointing out the obvious, that the Texans didn't want him. I get tired of reading about it too.
If you keep bringing up the same old tired arguments they are going to keep getting discussed. Those 2 players are completely irrelevant to the Texans forum, yet we keep having people bring them up over and over and over again.
The point of me even bringing up bridgewater wasn't to encite some debate. Tbh, I don't care anymore. What's done is done. I don't like what they did, and I'm well aware me voicing that I didn't like it won't change anything. I only brought Bridgewater up because I'm referencing that in general, I haven't seen enough evidence to let me believe that the Texans would trade up in the draft if they liked a prospect. I feel like they are the kind of team that would rather let a prospect fall to their pick, and if they aren't satisfied, trade back.
They moved up for Nix last year. Rick Smith definitely prefers to trade down, because he's a collector. He loves to draft a bunch of guys late in the draft and then brag when one of them makes the teams as a special teamer.
It depends on how much they like a pick. I'm fully convinced that if they really liked someone they'd trade up for them but they aren't going to trade up for someone that they don't have strong feelings about. What I was merely pointing out is that Bridgewater wasn't an example of the Texans not trading up for someone they liked, it was an example of the Texans not trading up for someone they wouldn't have even drafted if they had fallen to them. Fans liked him a lot more than the team did.
Can I offer a counter/thought I've never seen anyone offer, let alone seemingly consider: what if the Texans were 1,000,000% set to pick TB at #33 and... the Vikings blindsided them by unexpectedly dealing for #32? Who saw that coming? Remember, Minnesota could have drafted him at #9; they didn't. In fact, that they thought they had to jump to 32 might very well be because they saw the Texans sitting there at 33 and assumed (knew?) Bridgewater was on Houston's radar. So let's forget whether they Texans should have, or would have, drafted Teddy Bridgewater - they were sitting at #33 with Seattle picking #32... if they really and truly wanted Bridgewater, they probably couldn't believe he was about to fall into their laps at #33. So why in H-E-double-hockey-sticks would they trade a single asset, let alone multiple assets, for a player they're literally 10 minutes (+, you know, roughly, 10 hours, or so) away from getting FOC? If you want to gripe that they didn't take him 1.1... well, seems like a silly argument. (Again, the Vikes passed on him at 9.) But this idea they should have clairvoyantly dealt up one spot... It feels like a remarkably unfair argument built on a big ol' pile of hindsight. I mean, it's kind of like arguing, "Man! We should have traded up to get Andrew Luck. Stupid Texans!!" The Vikings made an aggressive move - and for all we know, it may have totally caught the Bridgewater-wanting Texans off-guard. The Texans only literal chance to draft Bridgewater was 1.1. They only "passed" on him once.
I think if they were as high on him as his fans are/were then the Texans would have traded up for him once he hit the 20's. In the minds of Bridgewater fans he's the next coming of Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers. If the Texans thought that way, they'd have traded up. This all boils down to fans being upset that the team wasn't as high on their draft crush as they were. A good example of this was Arthur Brown. Remember how crazy people went about that guy? Lance Z went on the air talking about how Ozzy Newsome "drank our milkshake" by trading up in front of us for a guy that ended up being a draft bust.
Teams trade up one spot all the time. At the very least you tell Seattle to let you know if someone is trying to trade for the pick so you get a chance to better the offer. As the draft unfolded last year, twitter was exploding with "Holy cow, the Texans are about to get Clowney AND Teddy." It was obvious that if ANYONE else wanted Teddy, they couldn't risk letting him fall to #33 due to our QB situation. (Not saying we would have absolutely drafted him there, but no one would have been surprised.) I hope the answer is we didn't really want him. If our front office isn't smart enough to realize that any other team who wanted Teddy would try to get in front of us, that is more worrisome to me.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> were in attendance of Indiana’s pro day.</p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/582674867713019904">March 30, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> showing interest in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TCU?src=hash">#TCU</a> cornerback Kevin White. <a href="http://t.co/AQAw58UTTf">http://t.co/AQAw58UTTf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLDraft?src=hash">#NFLDraft</a></p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/582919296046657537">March 31, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Duke Johnson on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> list of prospects met during the draft process. <a href="http://t.co/fi9a7SP1NJ">http://t.co/fi9a7SP1NJ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash">#NFL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hurricanes?src=hash">#Hurricanes</a></p>— State of the Texans (@SOTTexans) <a href="https://twitter.com/SOTTexans/status/582919521981235201">March 31, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>***6 new names added*** to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> draft prospect workout/meet list. <a href="http://t.co/4iXsnEwlxU">http://t.co/4iXsnEwlxU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLDraft?src=hash">#NFLDraft</a></p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/582920661925941248">March 31, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So, with the mock drafts I've been seeing lately, I have to ask - Do you take Mariota if he's there at our pick?
Don't know what mocks you're looking at, but there is no way he's there. Absolutely no way. If he is, yes. :grin:
I'm noticing Duke get a lot of comparisons to LeSean McCoy. He could end up a very productive RB worthy of a 2nd, and a possible steal if snagged in the 3rd.
Mariotta at 16? Hell I'd be tickled pink. But he won't last past 5; I think the Redskins would happily trade down for more pick and teams that want him won't want the Jets to take him at 6. The Titans might at 2.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a> talked to @ Sr. Bowl. “<a href="https://twitter.com/JamesWalkerNFL">@JamesWalkerNFL</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hurricanes?src=hash">#Hurricanes</a> Phillip Dorsett just wowed the crowd with his 40-yd dash. may have been sub-4.3.</p>— PDS (@PatDStat) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatDStat/status/583278669629521920">April 1, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>