What will the Texans take with their second pick?

With the draft just a week away, & since we know who they're going to take with the first pick, I was wondering what position they'll target with the first pick of the second round.

If they're able to (or believe they will be able to) sign Trotter, then I don't think they'll be looking for a linebacker with this pick. However, if they don't think they can get Trotter, then I think they'll go for a stud linebacker with the pick.

If they're able to get Trotter, then I think they'll go for the best available WR or defensive lineman with the second pick. I won't even try to name a specific player, because of all the draft day trades that usually occur.

Any thoughts on what position they'll take with that pick? Or, will they trade it?

 

Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding! Ottomaton wins the guessing game. It does appear that they are just going after the best player available at the time. Let's just hope that they don't draft 4 running backs. Here's the latest article on their draft strategy.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/robertson/1368154

For first draft, team's strategy simple

By DALE ROBERTSON
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

As NFL drafts go, the 2002 edition figures to be on the puny side, which means the Texans got lucky. Their charmed existence continues. They picked the right year to commence picking.

Why? Because they can do no wrong Saturday and Sunday. Good crop or bad, it's the easiest draft Charley Casserly will ever oversee.

In their embryonic stage, the Texans are only hoping to satisfy a broad spectrum of wants, not fill myriad picayune needs. They have so many of the latter they can safely focus on the former. It would be silly for Charley's "War Room" crew to believe every hole can be plugged by the college boys over one little weekend. And to be sure, they don't.

So Casserly is free of the crushing burden of expectations, both his and, presumably, yours. He knows the Texans can't win now. You should, too, and judge his choices accordingly.

"If you're not going to make the playoffs," he said, "what difference does it make how many games you win? We'll be trying very hard to win, but that's not our No. 1 objective when it comes to making our draft decisions. The idea is to build a strong nucleus we can go forward with."

Casserly held an informal draft rap session Monday to give the Houston media an overview of his philosophy and to lay out his agenda. It was easily digested. The plan couldn't be more simple, in contrast to the drafts he'll be prepping for in three or four years. Then the team will be chasing a postseason berth -- and the fans' hot breath will be on the back of his neck, demanding same.

"We absolutely do not care where they play," the Texans' general manager said of the chaps he will choose with the first 13 choices in the franchise's history. "We're looking for the best players available."

And there happens to be a sufficient number of them to get flush-faced and giddy over when you aren't job-saving frantic to find, for example, a cornerstone inside linebacker. That apparently is the leanest spot in a lean year and a position at which the Texans happen to be woefully understaffed.

But forget Jeremiah Trotter, OK? At his asking price, Jeremiah will be a bullfrog before he will wear the Texans' bull on his helmet.

The very best player the Texans will take is, of course, David Carr, the strong-armed, good-looking, clean-living Fresno State quarterback who will be the No. 1 pick overall. The matter was closed two weeks ago when Casserly announced the organization favored Carr hands down over Joey Harrington. Contract talks began immediately, and the deal is expected to be finalized Wednesday.

Just for fun, the Texans should formally sign Carr under a goal post -- in the grand tradition of Billy Cannon, the Oilers' first glamour pick -- during Saturday's fan party in the Astrodome.

The QB debate surely will continue on jabber radio, but so be it. The Texans are way done weighing their options. Carr's the guy, whether he turns out to be a Toyota or a Lexus. In their collective view, he's a can't-miss winner, if not necessarily a guaranteed future Hall of Famer.

After David? No telling. But the odds, based on the quantity of quality at the respective positions, favor Houston's first selection in the second round being a wide receiver, a running back or a guard.

The Texans need all of those, in bulk. Repeat after me: The Texans need everything. Even the three positions at which they were able to lay a formidable foundation in the expansion draft -- offensive and defensive tackle and cornerback -- can each use more depth.

Since the expansion draft went as well as it did, Casserly insists the college draft becomes gravy, that the Texans could go compete today with the people already on the roster. In truth, they remain desperately short of what Charley called "playmakers," and all else being equal, that is the direction they will look as often as possible.

Their second pick (No. 33 overall) should be used on somebody who will catch Carr's passes and then do interesting things with the football afterward. Thanks to the many flypaper-fingered underclassmen who opted to swap their textbooks for the big bucks, it's a tasty crop. The Texans could even trade down and get a player they really like.

Would they consider it? Well, duh.

"We will be very flexible," Casserly insisted, "about moving up or down."

He would move sideways or in circles in exchange for extra picks, being of the opinion you can't have too many in the Texans' fledgling stage of evolution. While Casserly expects to wind up using his full complement of 13 picks, he will be disappointed if he hasn't, via trades, accumulated a couple of extras for next season in the process.

Charley intends to do more of the same a year from now because, in the Texans' third draft, they will revert to having only the standard single pick per round. Such also would be the case next spring were they to inadvertently wind up in the playoffs this fall.

That's right -- they must be careful. Winning straight from the chute would be a heady experience, but it wouldn't be worth losing all those extra choices. Casserly's methodical development plan doesn't offer instant gratification as an acceptable substitute for living happily ever after.

 

With all the secrecy that goes into picking prospects, do you really think they would tell him? The last reports I'd heard, the Texans wanted to upgrade the guard position. You're right, they could easily acquire a good offensive lineman on the second day. They need playmakers at WR, TE, FB, LB, DL, & Safety, before they add more depth to the OL. However, Casserly was quoted, that he would take the best available athlete, & if that just happens to be a guard, well, then it's a guard.

 

I read this in the Chronicle over a month ago. It was just a 2 line blurb, but it was there. I believe that the blurb was directed at upgrading through free agency, so I just assumed that the same thought would apply to their draft picks. I'd provide a link to the story, but it's no longer available & would require a fee to access the archives.