The Houston Texans didn’t impress the commentariat with their picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The latest the dog-pile the first draft class of the Bill O’Brien as general manager era was Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, who gave the AFC South champions a D.
The Texans now have holes all over their roster as Bill O’Brien continues to do whatever the heck it is that Bill O’Brien does, and with all the awful trades and deals, the Texans were going to have to nail this draft on all levels to make up for it. This, they did not do. Second-round defensive lineman Ross Blacklock is a great athlete in need of technical proficiency who could have Javon Hargrave-level upside over time, and Florida edge-rusher Jonathan Greenard is an interesting project, but nobody else really pops off the tape as a serious force in the near term. Once again, we have to wonder what exactly the Texans are trying to accomplish.
This is frailty of O’Brien’s philosophy. He approached the draft as roster building for the 2020 season, and part of that philosophy is to believe that rookies are going to have a harder time adjusting to the game because of the inefficiencies in practice time and study time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, load up on veterans and only go for talent in the first five rounds of the draft.
The problem with that thinking is those five rookies will someday become the heart of the Texans rosters 2021-26 at the latest. What if the Texans only have one pick to show from this class? It could cost the Texans in subsequent free agencies as they have to use their comfortable salary cap space to acquire contributor level talent.
As much as some Texans fans despise O’Brien’s philosophies, Houston is hoping he is right and Farrar’s grade is wrong.