Rex Grossman (did i spell that right?)

<B>fyi, favre didn't go that high -- he was a fifth round pick.</b>

Sorry about any of those round listings that I f#$@ed up on. I was looking at the wrong column towards the end of my searches on a couple of them. I caught Brad Johnson when I saw your post, but I might have missed others. Here's the link to the page:

http://www.drafthistory.com/positions/qb.html

On there it says that Favre was a 2nd rounder, but it could be wrong. I have no idea how accurate that page is.

<B>A franchise QB might not be *necessary*, but wouldn't you agree it's still the single-most important position on the field? </B>

Haven -- Absolutely, I would think so. However, it doesn't seem to be the case in terms of on-the-field results. For whatever reason, having a franchise-QB hasn't created winning teams and more than random QB's. My only guess on this is that drafting a first-round franchise-type QB requires $$$, and in a league with a hard cap, maybe those dollars are better spent on multiple players. The alternative is to pay only proven QBs. (For example, STL didn't have to pay Warner until he proved to be a star player)

 

Two things I heard Charlie Casterly say on 610 that I continue to find intresting.

On how to build a Superbowl winning team:
(paraphrased)

"You need two things- a defense that can stop people and a star quarterback"

On drafting for need vs talent:
(paraphrased)

"You have to take the most talented guys and not waste any picks. Last year, in our mock draft, we would have taken four running backs, and I'm fine with that."

 

The other thing:

You used to be able to draft a young QB and let him develop. Can you do that anymore? If you get 'your guy' and let him learn for two years, your o-line can suck no problem.

But, I don't know if you can let a guy just sit and develop in the NFL anymore.

 

Haha Ric. I didnt mean to outline an entire draft for the Texans. I was just naming some of my favorite players in this draft.

McKinnie is in my opinion the best player in this draft. there is no doubt that he should be picked first overall by the Texans.

Ed Reed is awesome, Crouch is too good of a football player not to make an impact in the NFL same with Major.

 

Favre was a 2nd round pick of the Falcons in the 1991 draft (33rd overall).

 

well... damnit all to hell! i wrote an article about this a year and a half ago, and i had him down as a fifth rounder.. where did i get that, i wonder? anyway, sorry, he was indeed a second rounder.

 

oh, sorry.

i'd prefer they trade the pick, but there's no question, he's probably the safest pick.

i have my doubts about reed; i think buchanon's the best player in that secondary... regardless, safety is one of the easiest positions to fill, so i only want to see reed wearing battle steele red, or whatever, if he falls into the third or fourth round (which he won't).

crouch could help a team, i think, but not an expansion team. he took a pounding thursday night, and looked as if he'd been thru the ringer, so i'm not sure he'll be physically able to play consistently at the next level.

applewhite's a good kid, but so was josh heupel. i doubt he sticks with a team when camps breaks, though... with expansion, some teams might be needing to replenish some lost depth -- i think applewhite would be a wonderful guy to have on your team. (but so was josh heupel...)

 

Josh Reed from LSU is awesome too. But yes, Bryant McKinnie is the safest pick at this point. Remember how much success Jacksonville had with Tony Boselli? He's an all-pro now.

Still trading the pick is a very intriguing possibility. This team will have a lot of holes, and it would be nice to fill two spots rather than drafting a "franchise QB" and having him sit two years. People have been suggesting that we trade the pick and get rOUy Williams and Rocky Calmus. I don't see Calmus going earlier than 3rd round, but Roy is an animal.

As a UT fan though, the ideal scenario would be trade the pick for the rights to Mike Williams and Quentin Jammer. Has anybody considered this?

 

Where's <b>JohnnyBlaze</b>? The kid at NC State, Philip Rivers, looks terriric. Who is Josh McKinlely?

 

Ric- I would prefer that the Texans keep the first two or three first rounders and not trade down. I cant really explain why. I think its better to start with 3 super studs then 6 good players, espcially on an expansion team.

I agree that I dont want the Texans to draft Ed Reed. He will probably be nabbed up by the Ravens to replace Woodson. What really got me to liking him was a halftime speech he made against Boston College i believe. It was on ESPN. I think he can be a good leader in the locker room.

Crouch is tough. He may get banged up running the option, but thats different than what he will be doing in the NFL.

Realistically, Major will be better off staying on at UT in some position. But some part of me still hopes he can suprise everybody and become a great NFL QB. Do you not hope for that???

 

i'm confused -- do you mean their first rounders over the next two or three years, or...? the texans only have one first rounder in 2002, and it's the first overall pick.

and i disagree about 3 super studs vs 6 good players. here's my thinking: the vast majority of an expansion roster will be cast-offs, has-beens, never weres, etc. there might be an impact player or two in the expansion draft, and there will be two or three solid free agent aquisitions, but after that, the talent drops off a cliff. it's the nature of the beast.

in that light, with 22 starters, do you want to add three that can play to the above mix, or 6? specifically, this draft has five studs, and none come question-free (peppers, henderson, mckinnie, bryant and pearson). after that, there's a drop-off in talent, but not a steep one -- it's actually a very deep draft. therefore, i'd rather pick, say, 4 or 5 of the top 60, than 3. i'll settle for williams over mckinnie or pearson if he comes with... the 40th best player (by virture of trade). see where i'm coming from? williams + the 40th best player helps you more than mckinnie by himself, imo.

think of it like this: as of right now, the texans have 43 holes to fill...

ehhhh... granted, he likely won't be exposed to the same degree... but he'll also be playing against faster, bigger and stronger competition. so he might not get hit as often, but he'll get hit harder.

i think crouch, who i like, has a limited nfl future. great, great, great college QB. but so was tommie frazier. btw, i read this morning he may sign with the CFL, which would be a perfect place for him to land at this time.

sorry, not really. i went to a&m, so i have zero emotional involvement in major applewhite. i think he, like crouch, is a great college QB, but i don't think he has a future in the nfl. he's too small and too slow -- he'll be ripped apart.

 

<B>a top-tier QB is tons more valuable than a top-tier OL simply because there are fewer QB's to go around...my translation -- if casserly thinks carr or any of the others are top-tier, they will be texans</B>

I agree with this, but there's a flipside. Picking a OL is less risky. If you pick a star OL, you can be pretty sure he's going to be good-to-great in the NFL. If you pick a star QB, he's as likely to suck (Leaf) as be good (Manning). When you're making that kind of a $$ investment, I guess it basically becomes high-risk for high-reward vs. low-risk/low-reward decision.

 

I think trading down is the best thing to do, the NFL draft is probably one of the best drafts in all of sports at finding gems in the later rounds. It always seems 50/50 that a top 10 pick will end up turning into a "superstud". I'd much rather turn 3 picks into 6 picks because I feel my chances of finding a superstar are greater with 6 picks compared to 3.

I would never draft a QB in the top 3 unless he's a guy that can run and pass, like a Culpepper/McNabb/McNair/Vick type. If you want to draft a pocket passer, you could just do that in the other rounds.

I question if we can get much value for our pick though since this draft doesn't have many definite #1 in the draft prospects, so then I'd draft McKinnie just because linemen seem less likely to be busts...

 

agreed, and there's more, too -- 1) he's going to be cheaper, even if he picked #1 overall; 2) his career, on average, will last longer; 3) most importantly, most OL taken high in the draft are projected to be LT's (the line's most important spot). if he flames out there, you can always move him to RT, or G... if a QB flames out, you're stuck with a bad QB. and a fat contract.

 

The Texans will need veteran leadership in their first year, something a rookie QB just cannot bring (unless you're a 28 year old rookie). We need a Trent Dilfer-like presence here (say all you want about him, but Dilfer just wins). Unfortunately, that veteran QB will be running for his life, while getting sacked like 10 times a game. I nominate Dilfer (or Jeff George for the pure pleasure of watching him squirm). Is Randall Cunningham a free agent? Can he still run? We could also trade for an up-and-coming QB as well, like Pennington, Bouman, Palmer, etc.

Right now, I see the Texans blowing a lot of smoke around to confuse other teams in regards to who they'll draft. In the end, though, I think McKinnie's name will be called first. Expansion teams should always start with the O or D-line, unless a clear-cut talent like Michael Vick is available to be drafted. Capers did a decent job of this with Carolina. His first 5 first-round picks:

Kerry Collins, QB (1995)
Tyrone Poole, DB (1995)
Blake Brockermeyer, OT (yeah, UT) (1995)
Tim Biakabutuka, RB (1996)
Rae Carruth, WR (1997)

In his first year, he traded the first pick to Cincinnati and ended up addressing QB, defense, and offensive line, all in the first round. (And, yes, Jacksonville and Carolina were given more picks than they should've gotten that year). In subsequent years, he scooped up the best running back and, er, best wide receiver on the board.

Jason McKinley, I do believe, was the QB for the Houston Cougars and declared for the draft last year. He went undrafted. I think I still have some photos of him from the Hula Bowl last year (he never made it into a product, though).

 

The problem with plaing a young QB on a incredibly bad team is that they might develop "Jim Everett Syndrome". It's sort of a QB shellshock from getting sacked every time you go back to pass 'cause you have no O line and no running game to make the D honest.

Everett was sacked to much early, that later in his career, you could see him getting rid of the ball when he heard the phantom footsteps comming at him, but early on this was not the case and he probably could have been much better if developed slower and behind a better line.

 

Ok this is what the Texans will do

#1 pick-McKinnie or they trade down pick up some more picks and get Julius Peppers

in the 2nd rd they can pickup there Qb they hope to have as their "franchise" qb, cuz none of the Qb's are franchise qb's like a vick or maybe even a Breese, in later rounds secure there Offense

In free agency there will be some very good players

#1) the Jags have to cut alotta their players so the texans can prob get kevin Hardy (pro bowler) for about 3.5-4.5 mill a season.

Rob Johnson looks like He will be cut by the Bills, maybe get him or try and get someone like Shaun King(shouldnt be too much)
at WR, there will be plenty of em in FA and in Expansion draft

this is what i think Texans will do

 

There will be alot of players that are Free Agents

the Qb situation will be adressed for sure and they wont draft one in the 1st rd

They will get one through a Trade or Free Agency