Of course that matters. BPA is oversimplified because what you're saying is common knowledge. It's like if I'm going to the store for the best "shirt" - if a blouse happens to be the best shirt the whole world knows I'm not buying it.
That's my point. When people on message boards resort to the old "Best player available" mantra it's worthless. team needs and positional values matter to the point that countering a suggestion with "No, just take the BPA" is ridiculous. It is incredibly rare for a team to actually make a decision based solely on BPA formula.
Well...I kind of was operating under the assumption that QB is an exception. Obviously a quarterback is a position you take if you get the opportunity, especially if you're the Texans. I don't see any QB that will be worth taking where we're at barring a draft-day fall, though. I was simply stating that saying "draft early for defense" is not the way to go about it. Don't lock yourself into a mindset going into the draft.
Defense is pretty good and we don't have any major defensive FAs this year. Do need inside linebacker though.
With all due respect to the OP, I think the exact opposite should be the plan. It just makes more sense to me to add quality vets to the D to maximize JJ's prime and grow the offense organically through the draft.
Honestly, the first round is a wildcard. Could be any of the following: QB, RB, OL, DT, DE, Safety, TE, or even a WR (Braxton Miller). If you've noticed, I've listed more positions than I've left off. That's because we're a wildcard, basically. If there's not a quarterback we rate highly for value (which there probably won't be), we most likely wait until the second round for Hackenberg.
Thats very true . I would like to see Strong get more reps next season. Has 4.4 speed but was in OB's doghouse for some reason
The mock drafts I've seen (taken for what they are worth) all agree with me- you see Defense Front-Seven dominating. These players can be projected and are the safest in the draft. OL, on the other hand, are easier to find as FAs (although you have to pay up, of course). I still believe only a WR or RB could tempt the Texans in the first round, as this is not (yet) a rebuilding team willing to have over the keys to a rookie QB. I'm intrigued by the elite WRs who are dropping in mocks towards the bottom of the first. Guys like Coleman. And of course the Texans will think about Elliott, as I said. But I see zero chance they draft a QB in the first round, or even second (TE must be addressed at an early stage).
You must've slept through the Arian Foster era; he was one of the best RZ running backs I've ever seen.
If the Texans draft a QB in Round 1-2 they are officially going into Rebuild mode. Not saying that's a bad thing, at all. In fact, may be the best call. But I doubt they make it.
Not necessarily true. They could draft someone in the second, sign a free agent for a two year deal or so and let the rookie sit. Or they could draft a rookie and let Savage start while the rookie gets acclimated (or Hoyer, god forbid). They could draft Hackenberg with the hopes of O'Brien coaching him up and starting him from the get go (which is what will happen, IMO). This team has too much talent to be considered a rebuild, no matter what they do. A rookie coming in will most likely be better than Hoyer, and Hoyer and a random group of guys got us to the playoffs. When it's all said and done, I think Hackenberg rises, we draft him as a slight reach in the first, and he starts from day one. Just because he's not the top QB in the draft doesn't mean he can't start right away. Look at Russell Wilson. People will complain if and when we take Hackenberg in the first round, and some of us will laugh because people are predictable. Then, those same people will be his number one fan when he's rookie of the year and leads us to the playoffs. The thing with Hack is that his biggest problem, his footwork, is nothing more than a regression because he was playing in a bad system. He's worked with Whitfield and Jordan Palmer since the season ended. Between that and O'Brien, his footwork will be fine. Just as it was his freshman year. Hackenberg may not be going high in mock drafts, but NFL scouts realize he was in a terrible system (I don't think Franklin lastsore than three more years at PSU) for him, and they respect him for what he did for that program. He was willingly the face of that program. He was the captain of a sinking ship, and, almost by his own efforts, got the ship afloat again. NFL scouts respect that more than mockers will account for.
Wilson had something else going for him- his legs. I think a pure dropback passer as we are talking here (Lynch an exception) takes a bit more time to play for a playoff-aspiring team. Wilson's job was to hand off and buy time with his legs. Plus, there were scouts very high on Wilson. If the Texans draft a QB in the first 2 rounds he will be projected to start for them. They wasted the Savage pick (as they wasted many other picks, of course) and don't want to do that again.
He will not be projected to be the starter, he will spend at least one year as a backup learning the system. Christian Hackenberg might be the exception.
