The Houston Texans didn’t impress the Draft Wire with their five-man draft class.
In an instant reaction piece, Draft Wire managing editor Luke Easterling gave the AFC South champions a C grade. In a follow-up piece, Easterling explained why Houston got a so-so grade.
The chief complaint is that the Texans traded away receiver DeAndre Hopkins and didn’t net a first-round pick out of the trade with the Arizona Cardinals on March 16. That automatically disqualified them from having a great draft, even with their selections getting off on the right foot by taking TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock.
For Easterling, the Texans really kind of went back into the slump after the third round when they picked up a cornerback.
That’s as good as it got for the Texans this weekend, though. Jonathan Greenard is a solid edge defender who impressed at the Senior Bowl, but waiting until the fourth round for a corner proved to be way to long. Penn State’s John Reid is decent, but not immediate starter material, and that’s what Houston needed at a key position.
If a team wants to upgrade at cornerback, they should do it with a premium pick, something in the top-100. When a team just drafts a cornerback in the fourth round and beyond, they are essentially picking up a camp body or special teamer. It is seldom that these cornerbacks at that late in the draft class manifest into top flight talent.
North Carolina offensive tackle Charlie Heck and Rhode Island receiver Isaiah Coulter were picks that Easterling endorsed.
The dearth of draft picks on the part of the Texans was due to coach and general manager Bill O’Brien’s belief that rookies are going to have a hard time adjusting to the pro level due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the NFL’s offseason programs. Even if that is the case, having a five-man draft class could prove costly a couple years down the road when the Texans need quality depth to arise from their own roster to replace talent hitting the free agency market.