With the First Pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...
the Houston Texans select...???
The Texans have a one-game "lead" over the Jets, Packers and Niners for the #1 overall pick in next spring's NFL Draft going into Week 13 of the 2005 season. According to John McClain's NFL Notebook in Sunday's Houston Chronicle, the Texans are scheduled to play the easiest closing schedule (.350 opponents' winning percentage), with the Jets and Niners slotted at third and fourth easiest. It may all come down to a true Bottom Feeders Bowl in Week 17, when the Texans visit San Francisco to close out the season.
The Texans survived a scare Sunday, barely managing to blow a 24-3 halftime lead to prized Harvard alum Ryan Fitzpatrick and the St. Louis Rams in overtime. The Texans remaining schedule is as follows:
12/4: at Baltimore
12/11: at Tennessee
12/18: Arizona
12/24: at Jacksonville
1/1: at San Francisco
There's no reason to believe that the Texans will win any of their remaining road games, so the only real potential for a victory down the stretch would be either a home win over Arizona or the Niners tanking more severely than the Texans in Week 17. Assuming that the Texans do in fact live up to their potential and finish 1-15, obtaining the #1 pick in the 2006 Draft, how should they use it?
[Let me preface the following by admitting my belief that the Texans' downward spiral is most directly the responsiblity of Dom Capers & Co., for the mere fact that, in general, the same roster was significantly better in 2004 than in 2005, so that Casserly cannot be fairly blamed for those same players terrible play in 2005. Additionally, I maintain a fairly positive outlook for the Texans. I think that a stellar 2006 draft, focused on the neediest of positions, could vault the Texans right back in the direction of .500 or better in 2006. I have been told that this belief is grounds for immediate referral to the local mental institution.]
My preference would be for the Texans to trade the #1 overall pick in a Eli-for-Rivers-like swap, obtaining a 1st round pick around somewhere between the fourth and sixth slot overall in 2006, a 2nd or 3rd rounder in 2005 and an additional 1st round pick in 2006. (Note: The Chargers received the #4 overall pick in 2004, a third-round pick in 2004 and the Giants' first and fifth round picks in 2005 for Eli Manning, the #1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.) No matter who you prefer to blame most significantly for the team's drastic decline in performance in 2005, there is little doubt that the Texans are apparently multiple quality players away from competing for the playoffs, such that they could greatly benefit from obtaining additional high-round selections.
The positions that demand priority, in my opinion are: pass-catching tight end (Mercedes Lewis from UCLA, David Thomas from Texas, and Leonard Pope (Jr) from Georgia), playmaking wide receiver (Sam Hurd from Northern Illinois is my mid-round sleeper pick), playmaking linebacker (A.J. Hawk or DeMeco Ryans with the 1st round pick), and a hard-hitting safety so that Marcus Coleman can finaly be put out to pasture and to help prevent opponent tight ends from setting career highs on a weekly basis (Greg Blue from Georgia would be ideal). A couple of other wild-card names for future reference: Georgia OG Max Jean-Giles, Oklahoma OG Davin Joseph, Lousiville DE Elvis Dumerville.
The Texans have a one-game "lead" over the Jets, Packers and Niners for the #1 overall pick in next spring's NFL Draft going into Week 13 of the 2005 season. According to John McClain's NFL Notebook in Sunday's Houston Chronicle, the Texans are scheduled to play the easiest closing schedule (.350 opponents' winning percentage), with the Jets and Niners slotted at third and fourth easiest. It may all come down to a true Bottom Feeders Bowl in Week 17, when the Texans visit San Francisco to close out the season.
The Texans survived a scare Sunday, barely managing to blow a 24-3 halftime lead to prized Harvard alum Ryan Fitzpatrick and the St. Louis Rams in overtime. The Texans remaining schedule is as follows:
12/4: at Baltimore
12/11: at Tennessee
12/18: Arizona
12/24: at Jacksonville
1/1: at San Francisco
There's no reason to believe that the Texans will win any of their remaining road games, so the only real potential for a victory down the stretch would be either a home win over Arizona or the Niners tanking more severely than the Texans in Week 17. Assuming that the Texans do in fact live up to their potential and finish 1-15, obtaining the #1 pick in the 2006 Draft, how should they use it?
[Let me preface the following by admitting my belief that the Texans' downward spiral is most directly the responsiblity of Dom Capers & Co., for the mere fact that, in general, the same roster was significantly better in 2004 than in 2005, so that Casserly cannot be fairly blamed for those same players terrible play in 2005. Additionally, I maintain a fairly positive outlook for the Texans. I think that a stellar 2006 draft, focused on the neediest of positions, could vault the Texans right back in the direction of .500 or better in 2006. I have been told that this belief is grounds for immediate referral to the local mental institution.]
My preference would be for the Texans to trade the #1 overall pick in a Eli-for-Rivers-like swap, obtaining a 1st round pick around somewhere between the fourth and sixth slot overall in 2006, a 2nd or 3rd rounder in 2005 and an additional 1st round pick in 2006. (Note: The Chargers received the #4 overall pick in 2004, a third-round pick in 2004 and the Giants' first and fifth round picks in 2005 for Eli Manning, the #1 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.) No matter who you prefer to blame most significantly for the team's drastic decline in performance in 2005, there is little doubt that the Texans are apparently multiple quality players away from competing for the playoffs, such that they could greatly benefit from obtaining additional high-round selections.
The positions that demand priority, in my opinion are: pass-catching tight end (Mercedes Lewis from UCLA, David Thomas from Texas, and Leonard Pope (Jr) from Georgia), playmaking wide receiver (Sam Hurd from Northern Illinois is my mid-round sleeper pick), playmaking linebacker (A.J. Hawk or DeMeco Ryans with the 1st round pick), and a hard-hitting safety so that Marcus Coleman can finaly be put out to pasture and to help prevent opponent tight ends from setting career highs on a weekly basis (Greg Blue from Georgia would be ideal). A couple of other wild-card names for future reference: Georgia OG Max Jean-Giles, Oklahoma OG Davin Joseph, Lousiville DE Elvis Dumerville.
posted by Scott | 10:18 AM
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