Texans general manager – Page 2

Texans GM Nick Caserio says draft trade creativity is a ‘two-way street’

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says that it takes a similar organizational mindset across the NFL to be creative with draft trades.

The 2023 NFL draft set the record for most trades during the three-day even with 43.

The Houston Texans were the first team to get the ball rolling when they dealt with the Arizona Cardinals to move up to take Alabama defensive end Will Anderson No. 3 overall on Day 1.

By Day 3, the Texans were working with the Philadelphia Eagles with three trades. According to general manager Nick Caserio, the trades the Texans made throughout the weekend was an understanding of other franchises.

“I think you try to have an understanding philosophically about different organizational philosophy, the propensity to maybe move when you make a trade,” Caserio said. “We made the trade with Philly, and Philly made the trade with Detroit as well for a 2050 fourth round pick, or whatever it was for [DeAndre] Swift.”

The Texans were able to make the trades they were thanks to finding willing partners and also advertising themselves as being willing to listen to anything.

“Some teams are, I would say, more willing to move and to be creative than others,” said Caserio. “It’s okay. It just depends whatever your philosophy, whatever floats your boat. I think it’s probably a two-way street. I think anybody that looks at our organization knows that we’re literally open for business probably 24/7. So if there’s a trade or someone to consider, they’re going to pick the phone up and call because we’re going to at least think about it.”

The profiling of teams is part of the draft process. In the final week before the draft, the Texans were making calls to see who would be willing to move up or back in the first round.

Said Caserio: “I would say that’s probably the biggest thing, have an understanding of kind of who’s willing to move, what’s your propensity to move? How often have they done it? Are they less inclined? We actually look at this and study this before the draft. So we kind of do an overview of the decision makers in each organization. We look at the trade history, their draft history, some of the things they’ve done, maybe some of the trades that we’ve executed with them. We even go back to my time in New England dealing with certain teams.”

With a framework in mind of who is willing to be creative and who isn’t, the Texans are able to quickly make trades throughout the draft.

“You kind of know who are those teams, and you kind of know some other teams that are like they literally won’t move or pick up the phone,” said Caserio. “It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong. It just means that’s what they believe in philosophically. So it kind of gives you an opportunity to be creative in different situations. If it makes sense, you do it. If it doesn’t, you keep them moving.”

The Texans’ nine-man draft class matches their 2022 total, marking the first time since 2013-14 that Houston has had consecutive draft classes with at least nine players.

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Texans looking to keep flexibility with offseason roster

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says the team is looking to keep some spaces open on the roster to provide for flexibility.

The Houston Texans had one of their biggest draft classes with nine selections in the 2023 NFL draft.

With such a collection of draftees, it would appear the Texans are on their way to filling out their entire 90-man roster. However, general manager Nick Caserio said after the draft that the team wanted to keep some spots open for flexibility.

“I think with the draft we ended up with, call it, 76, 77 [players on the roster],” Caserio said. “That would leave a dozen-ish or so spots. Probably get 10 or 11 [undrafted free agents], so maybe leave a few spots for whomever. This way if there’s an opportunity out there, whether it’s now, whether it’s next weekend, or whether it’s throughout the course of the spring that we feel we could fit, then you leave yourself some flexibility.”

Caserio indicated that the Texans “likely won’t go all the way to 90 [players on the roster] today.”

The Texans will get some flexibility with one roster spot. Defensive lineman Adedayo Odeleye, who is their international developmental player, will now be a part of the team but not count against their roster.

Said Caserio: “We theoretically can add 91 players because he’s one extra; probably leave ourselves a little bit of flexibility here in the event there’s an opportunity to add a player we think could help.”

Having open roster spots to work with would allow the Texans opportunities to bring in veterans to bolster positions that take attrition throughout training camp.

Nick Caserio believes consistent action will fix Texans, not one good draft night

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio believes staying consistent is what will turn the team around, not just having a good draft night.

The Houston Texans won the first night of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Texans solved their franchise quarterback woes by taking Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick. Houston then packaged their No. 12 overall selection to trade up and grab Alabama defensive end Will Anderson with the No. 3 overall pick via the Arizona Cardinals.

No one can fault Clutch City sports fans for feeling as though the rebuild is complete, even though their franchise still hasn’t won more than four games since 2019.

General manager Nick Caserio is still well aware of where the organization is still at, even amid the optimistic moment.

“I think one thing that’s going to be important is for whoever we draft tonight, and then the future days here, is they have to earn the respect and the trust of their teammates, and they haven’t really earned anything to this point, or they’re certainly not entitled to anything,” Caserio said. “So I think we’re excited about the opportunity that’s in front of us. It doesn’t mean really anything at this point. We know that our opponents and the teams in our division, they’re going to add good players as well. All we can do is focus on the Texans and what we’re trying to do.”

Caserio didn’t want to downplay the excitement of the fans, who were ecstatic at the team’s official draft party. However, Caserio pointed out, “I think they’ll be more excited when we win games.”

The Texans are still in Phase 2 of their offseason workouts. Glimpses of a complete team won’t flash as a mirage in the Houston heat until May during organized team activities.

“I think this is about just repetitive action over the course of time and being consistent,” said Caserio. “We’re not going to solve anything in one draft, one player, one night. It’s going to take a series of actions over time with the right people, with the right mindset that believe in the things that we’re doing, that believe in what we’re trying to build, and then hopefully that will manifest itself on the field when we actually do play.”

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Should Texans trade into Round 2, the move is simply player driven

If the Houston Texans get back into Round 2 of the 2023 NFL draft, it will be a result of wanting to take a player they can’t afford to miss.

The Houston Texans do not have a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The Texans used the pick as part of a package to move up and take defensive end Will Anderson No. 3 overall on Thursday night. The Arizona Cardinals have No. 33 overall in Round 2.

The Texans will still be active on Day 2 of the draft from Kansas City as Houston has picks 65 and 73 overall available in Round 3.

General manager Nick Caserio would not rule out the possibility of Houston moving back into Round 2, but such a move would be based on the players available.

“So we have 65 and 73 and then the two fours, the fifth, the three sixth, the two sevenths,” Caserio said. “We have a little bit of flexibility. [Thursday night] we’ll go back and kind of see what’s left, understanding there’s probably going to be another 30-ish, 35 players that are probably selected before we pick. Could we move from 65 into the second round? That’s a possibility, but that’s going to be player driven.”

Caserio said the Texans have earmarked players that they prefer. However, they also know that during the process of not having a second-round pick means they could lose players by the time they are able to pick in Round 3.

Said Caserio: “That’s the reality of it. We’re going to lose players along the way. I think, in that general range, kind of how we have the players graded relative to their value and potentially what their role could be, we think there will be an opportunity to add some players to our team that we’ll be happy to have in the building.”

The Texans were able to obtain the Cardinals’ Round 4 selection at No. 105 overall. Houston has the preceding selection, which means they could build a package with one of their third-round picks to get back into Round 2.

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Nick Caserio says collaboration at the heart of Texans’ draft process

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says that collaboration is central to the organization’s decision-making during the NFL draft.

DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio talk all the time.

However, it isn’t simply the new coach and third-year general manager who will be running the entire draft for the Houston Texans starting April 27. The three-day event represents a culmination of all of the data and insight the personnel and scouting departments were able to retrieve and mine about the 2023 draft class.

Caserio joined “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on April 20 to talk about the collaboration that goes into producing a draft class.

“What we’ve done essentially over the course of the spring is we’ve accumulated a lot of information during the fall and in the all-star game process and relied on our scouts for us to to get through the amount of heavy lifting,” Caserio said. “So, they’ve kind of compiled everything. They have their evaluation. We rely on everybody’s evaluation, their information. Then we involve the coaching staff, get their evaluation of the player, how they see the player.”

Although Caserio proverbially turns in the draft card to the league, the decision is not his alone to make; there is a degree of democracy involved.

Said Caserio: “So, what we have to do is take a lot of information, distill it down, and then really the people are involved in the decision-making have, I would say, pretty constant dialogue and discussion. Because in the end it’s a collective decision. It’s not one individual decision. One person is not making a decision. We want to make sure that we’re comfortable with whatever decision we make for the entire organization, and everybody is going to have their perspective.”

When disagreements occur on a player, the key is to present the argument as such where constructive dialogue can help arrive at a beneficial compromise.

“We’ll talk, we’ll regroup, we’ll get everybody’s input,” Caserio said. “How do they factor into the kicking game? What is their role on defense? What’s their role on offense? How do you see the player? I’d say maybe this group sees a player this way. We see him maybe a little bit differently. But in the end we want to arrive at the end point that we all feel comfortable with. And whenever we make the decision, we’re all on-board and we’re all supportive of what we’re trying to do because we want the player to succeed, because if the player succeeds, the team is going to succeed. And the team is going to succeed — if the team succeeds, then that’s better for everybody involved.”

The Texans have 12 picks in the draft and have the most capital of any team.

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Texans should consider the Steelers as trade partner for No. 12 overall pick

If the Houston Texans are looking to shop the No. 12 overall pick, they need to consider the Pittsburgh Steelers as trade partners.

The Houston Texans’ possession of twin first-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft presents an opportunity to address needs and also increase draft capital.

At No. 2 overall, the Texans could comfortably take a franchise quarterback. At No. 12 overall — obtained via 2022 offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns — the Texans can shore up other positions of need or possibly trade back and pick up more selections.

According to Bill Barnwell from ESPN, a deal the Texans should consider making is sending their Nos. 12 (Round 1) and 104 (Round 4) overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their Nos. 17 (Round 1) and 49 (Round 2) overall. Moving up five spots would help the Steelers cut the New York Jets and New England Patriots in line to take one of the draft’s better tackle prospects.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, while now-retired Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert rarely moved up in the first round, this is Omar Khan’s team now. It’s fair to start with the idea that Khan will behave the same way as his former boss, but Brian Gutekunst took over the Packers from Ted Thompson and immediately started trading up. The Steelers have an extra second-round pick after sending Chase Claypool to the Bears, which might make a move easier to swallow.

Incumbent left tackle Dan Moore was pushed into the starting role prematurely as a rookie in 2021, and he has ranked 66th out of 77 qualifying tackles in pass block win rate over his first two seasons while committing 15 penalties. Moving up for Paris Johnson Jr. or Peter Skoronski would net the Steelers a blue-chip prospect to protect Kenny Pickett while turning Moore into experienced depth to help deal with more injuries up front.

The Texans could still find value at receiver midway through the first round. They may be a little ahead of where TCU wideout Quentin Johnston is slated to go, but they would nevertheless be in the neighborhood.

Houston would also have an extra second-rounder to build a package to get back in Round 1 or move back and keep mining draft capital.

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GM Nick Caserio outlines Texans’ final preparation for 2023 NFL draft

Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio told @sportsradio610 how the last week will go as the team prepares for the 2023 NFL draft.

The 2023 NFL draft is less than a week away.

The draft in Kansas City represents one of the most optimistic moments in the past three years for the Houston Texans. With their twin first-round picks starting at No. 2 overall in a quarterback-heavy draft, the Texans can find their new franchise quarterback and use the remaining 11 picks to put the finishing touches on the roster.

General manager Nick Caserio visited with “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] April 20 and talked about the last week of draft prep.

Here is a look at how the final week before the draft will unfold for the Texans.

Nick Caserio says Texans are willing to trade with other AFC South teams

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says the team is willing to trade with their fellow AFC South rivals in the 2023 NFL draft.

Maybe the Indianapolis Colts could get the quarterback they want in the 2023 NFL draft.

General manager Nick Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] April 20 that Houston Texans have no philosophy against trading with other teams in the AFC South.

“We’ll trade with anybody,” Caserio said. “Just philosophically, if it’s the best thing, if it matches up, and you feel comfortable making the trade, then we’ll go ahead and do it.”

Caserio even referenced how good business sense overcame a sense of rivalry even when he was the New England Patriots’ director of player personnel from 2008-20 after having served in a variety of roles since 2001.

“We made some trades in our division even going back when I was in New England,” said Caserio. “So, if you start to take that philosophy, again, it’s a little bit narrow minded, so, again, ultimately, if it’s the best thing for your team, then you’ll deal with whatever comes along with it. So, you can’t eliminate anything, and I would say we’re pretty open-minded organizationally. I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but I’d say we’re definitely open-minded, we’ll always listen. We’re not going to eliminate anything.”

The Colts are quarterback-needy and picking No. 4 overall. So are the Las Vegas Raiders (No. 7 overall) and even the Tennessee Titans (No. 11 overall). All these teams would have to do to move ahead of the Colts would be to work out a deal with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 overall.

Of course, such a trade with Houston and the Colts would only work if the Texans didn’t want a quarterback at No. 2 and were confident the Cardinals weren’t going to take either Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson or Alabama defensive end Will Anderson with their own selection.

Said Caserio: “I think that’s sometimes a narrative that gets painted in whether it’s dealing with teams, dealing with different people, ‘well, they wouldn’t do that because.’ Well, not necessarily, so, when you’re in this league long enough, you’re ultimately going to deal with people all across the way and if it doesn’t work out the way you hoped initially, you’re going to have an interaction with somebody else. So, there’s no ill will. It’s all about business and it’s all about making good decisions.”

In the Caserio era, the closest the Texans have come to working with a divisional foe was in 2021 when Houston traded their 2021 fifth- and seventh-round selections to the Los Angeles Rams for No. 170 overall in Round 6, which at one time was possessed by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Texans GM Nick Caserio expects unpredictable Round 1 of 2023 NFL draft

Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio says that he expects for the first round of the 2023 NFL draft to be more unpredictable than people think.

Nick Caserio takes his draft information with a grain of salt.

The Houston Texans general manager joined “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] April 20 to talk about the state of the franchise heading into the 2023 NFL draft.

With a variety of draft rumors swirling about, Caserio explained how he processes the data.

“Some of this is grain of salt and you have to take it,” said Caserio. “Some may get more information than others. The reality is the people that have the information are getting the information from somebody. So, then you’re trying to reverse engineer why are they doing that. So, if you spend too much time doing that, you’ll spin yourself in circles. So, I would say trust the people you think have some semblance of an idea, and then the rest of it is a bunch of noise.”

Football fans can take it with their own grains of salt, but Caserio believes Round 1 won’t exactly go the way experts expect on April 27 in Kansas City.

Said Caserio: “I’ll say let’s see what happens this year, but I think this first round has the potential to be a little bit more unpredictable than people think. So, it’s really not about, okay, what a mock draft says or what somebody thinks, what matters in the end is what the team thinks, what they think is the best thing for their player, does that player fit what they want to do. It doesn’t matter where he was projected to go or what happened.”

The Texans have twin first-round selections at Nos. 2 and 12 overall. No doubt Houston will have some influence on how unpredictable Round 1 will be, especially since they may not be in the running for a quarterback with their highest selection.

“Ultimately, the team has to do what they think is in their best interest and not rely on some information on the periphery that may or may not matter,” Caserio said.

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Texans GM Nick Caserio says WR John Metchie has ‘made significant progress’

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says WR John Metchie has “made significant progress” as he endeavors to get on the playing field.

The departure of Brandin Cooks has draft analysts calling for the Houston Texans to take a receiver in the first round, but they may have an adequate replacement on the roster.

Former 2022 second-rounder John Metchie spent his rookie season away from the team as he battled leukemia. The 5-11, 187-pound wideout’s potential remains untapped.

Texans general manager Nick Caserio joined “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] to talk about where Metchie is in his recovery.

“John has made a lot of progress,” Caserio said. “I’d say not exactly sure — call it his status — but I’d say he’s made significant progress. He’s made significant strides. I mean, he’s worked his ass off, I would say, from the time he arrived and everything that he endured during the course of the fall. Can’t say enough about John about his attitude and his approach. I mean, I don’t want to use the word ‘rare,’ but what he’s done and what he’s endured physically, I mean, honestly it’s mind blowing. It really is.”

Throughout the Texans’ offseason program last year, Metchie was rehabilitating from a torn ACL sustained in early December 2021 when Alabama played in the SEC Championship Game. The Texans were being cautious with Metchie until training camp, but he was diagnosed with leukemia before camp.

Although Metchie has yet to contribute on the field, the 22-year-old has made an impression in the organization.

“John is as good of a kid, good of a person as we have this year,” said Caserio. “He’s made significant progress. I think the spring is about making sure that a player is physically ready to go for what he’s able to do on the field. Ultimately the most important thing is for a player to be ready for training camp. So, I’d say John has definitely made a lot of progress and is in a pretty good spot, and we’ll see how much progress he can continue to make here over the course of the spring.”

New coach DeMeco Ryans said at the start of the Texans’ offseason program earlier this month that he expects Metchie to be a participant.

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