Nick Caserio pulled off a decent draft in his second year as the Houston Texans’ general manager.
Rather than cleaning up the mess left by a doubled-up coach and general manager who discarded draft picks like peanuts on the floor at a Texas Roadhouse, Caserio collected picks throughout the past year and parlayed them into specific packages to take targeted players. The Texans’ nine-man draft class wasn’t so much about quantity as it was quality with deliberation and care given to each selection.
According to Ryan Wilson from CBS Sports, the Texans’ draft class was the 18th-best over the 2022 NFL draft. Wilson’s best value pick for the Texans was third-round linebacker Christian Harris from Alabama.
There was some pre-draft buzz that Christian Harris could find his way into the first round, so it was a shock when he was still available early in Round 3. Harris ran a 4.44 40 at the combine with a 34.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump, and that athleticism showed up on tape too. He’s explosive coming downhill, either in run support or pressuring the quarterback, and has the fluidity to cover wide receivers in the middle of the field.
Somehow the Miami Dolphins’ four-player draft class was ranked higher than the Texans at No. 15. Even the New Orleans Saints’ five-pick draft class was higher at No. 13.
Caserio told reporters on April 30 when the draft concluded that “grades are meaningless,” and that it is now in the hands of the players to decide whether they were good selections.
“Ultimately, the player’s performance will dictate whether or not he is a good player, he is not a good player,” said Caserio. “If it doesn’t work out, okay, we’ll move on from that player and go find somebody else. That’s our job. That mindset and that thought process is going to permeate our building for as long as I’m in charge.”
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