2018 Onward: Turning the Houston Texans Into a Winner

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

I don't like this Draft that much, frankly, it's the weakest Draft I've ever seen. There is decent talent at the top, but basically nothing worth picking late.

Which leads to an interesting trade strategy. Here are the picks
1st (4)
2nd (36)
3rd (68)
4th (100)
6th (164)
7th (196)

Next season: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th.

Normally I'm all about trading down, but the bottom of this draft is SUCK. That being said, I'd still like to trade the 4 down a few spots if possible to get more picks. I might trade those lower end picks to try to pick twice in the 1st or 2nd.

Here is my Day 1 board.

#	POS	Name	Comparison	Grade
2	QB	Trent Rakestraw	Palmer	WANT
3	QB	Cody Withers	Bulger	WANT
5	LT	Mike McMichael	Clifton	Maybe
6	LT	Matthew Kent	J. Thomas	Solid
7	WR	Dominc Jordan	Calvin Johnson	WANT
10	HB	Darius Stallworth	Alexander	Maybe
13	WR	Tammrick Ford	Joe Horn	Solid
14	QB	Jeremy Suvak	Dilfer	Solid
15	TE	David McCooley	Shockey	Maybe
16	TE	Markeith Jacobs	Vernon Davis	Solid
18	CB	Angelo Bailey	Dunta Robinson	Maybe
19	WR	Anthony Revis	Housh	Solid
20	CB	Trevis Bush	Springs	Solid
26	LT	Aaron Carpenter	Staley	Maybe
27	FS	Patrick Gamble	Griffin	Solid
31	WR	Dex Dargan	Chad Johnson	Solid
32	WR	Derricus Nance	Muhammad	Maybe
34	CB	Jay Jay Williams	Dre Bly	Maybe
44	SS	Devron Ward	Huff	Maybe
54	QB	Antrelle Lynch	McNair	Maybe
60	LT	Ray Martin	Walter Jones	Solid
63	OLB	DeVaughn Ramsey	Thomas Davis	Maybe
68	QB	Michael Pridemore	Michael Robinson	Maybe
77	CB	Jason Feely	Shaun O'Hara	Solid
88	G	Rob Freelander	Steinbach	Solid

If Rakestraw were to fall to #4, I'd take him for sure. But I doubt it will happen and won't trade up. Withers has a weaker arm, but still 94 POT and could start right away. Oddly enough, Suvak, compared to Dilfer, has a 91 POT. Noodle arm but decent otherwise apparently. The other two QBs are speedsters who suck at passing, still worth a mention.

At WR, Jordan is the stud, but I would be perfectly solid with Revis (90 POT) or even Ford. (87 POT but still a good talent set, both he and Revis are possession guys) Dargan is a late 1st guy with 87 POT who also is all around solid and worth a look.

Jacobs at TE has a low potential (81) but that is because the game hates guys with low learning. Like his comparison, he's a FREAK, 93 SPD, 87 CTH. If I picked him he'd probably move to WR similar to the role Davis had in the past.

Corner may be a look, with Bush leading the way. GREAT physical talent, but dumb as a brick. If I go corner, he'd be the guy. Gamble at S is also a definite look, he'd be a great cover safety, if not CB. (88 POT at FS)

Only two guys even make my "Might take" list outside of the day 1 board. One is a MLB sleeper ranked 245, the other is a kicker. Very WEAK draft at the bottom. Should be interesting.

[milkman41]

Great to see you doing a chise again man, eager to see what you do with that draft.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Technical difficulties: The PS3 has decided that sound shouldn't exist at all. And switching to a different TV doesn't even read anything. Excuse me while I throw things at a wall.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

After day 1, the only word I can use to describe how I feel about the Draft is "disappointed' I've never been this frustrated or unimpressed by my Draft ability.

Seeing those above sentences, you wouldn't think that I would've gotten a franchise quarterback. That is the positive. Rakestraw went 1st as expected, followed by CB Angelo Bailey and FS Gabriel Jones (Jones is a super-uber mega bust, BTW)

To the 4th pick, only two teams were offering to trade, only one of meaning; the Eagles. The Eagles would've allowed me to move to the 7th pick, throw in a random pick later, and add a quarterback to my roster. A good balanced guy named Taylor Tannenbaum.

But after trying and trying, the Eagles weren't willing to sell Tannenbaum with the 7th, and then left negotiations. This left me stuck with the 4th overall pick. With the decision to make, I saw two choices. Either QB Cody Withers or WR Dominc Jordan.

In the end, the pick was made, and Cody Withers was welcomed in; the first time I've ever spent big on a QB. Withers is already great though, potential of 94 with already good accuracy, awareness, and learning. He'll be a great QB.

Next picked was TE Markeith Jacobs, the Davis clone, I was shocked to see him go this fast. Then a DE pick, a WR pick (Haddix, to my surprise, the speedster), LB, QB Lynch, and HB Stallworth.

Dominc Jordan was still available, the stud WR himself. I kept trying to trade in to get the guy, but couldn't find the spot. TE goes 11, a different WR, Ford, goes 12. Still trying. Carpenter (LT) goes 13, Gamble, the FS I loved, goes to the Chiefs. HB at 15. After trying my hardest, I saw that 16 was the breaking point.

The Chargers were up, and as hard as I tried, they just said "no." They took Jordan with the 16. At this point, the focus shifted to Trevis Bush, the only CB left that interested me. With secondary a major weakness, I wanted to move up to get him.

To pick 20, the Redskins were almost willing to take two players and a pick to get him. Almost. They said it just wasn't enough, and they took Bush, leaving not one guy in the secondary the rest of the DRAFT I felt worth taking. I swore loudly.

But there were still a few receivers I felt worth taking, namely Revis. Two more WRs went in front of him, getting to pick 30. I reasoned and reasoned with the Colts, trying to move up just a few spots. But they said no, and took Revis.

This left not one single player left available in day one that looked even remotely interesting.

Of course, the ability to move up easily finally appears after no one is worth taking. It gets to my pick, but I find no one worth picking, and I traded out to improve next year. The Bengals gave me a 2nd and 4th next year, plus a middling CB named Charles Knight. (80 OVR, nothing special, but still better than Bowman)

And I let the rest of day 1 play out. Like I said, disappointed. My WR group is still terrible. My secondary is still very flawed. Looking at free agency, Greg Jennings (76 OVR somehow) will probably be an add, plus Vernon Davis (!), so the WR situation could probably be fixed. But short of one sleeper DB in free agency (SS who I'd probably move to CB or at least FS), the secondary is in danger.

Oh well, at least I still got Withers. Here was round 1:

Pick	Player	Pos	Team			College
1	Trent Rakestraw	QB	Rams			Oklahoma
2	Angelo Bailey	CB	Panthers			Notre Dame
3	Gabriel Jones	FS	Seahawks			Virginia Tech
4	Cody Withers	QB	Texans			South Carolina
5	Markeith Jacobs	TE	Chiefs			Georgia
6	Durrell Jackson	RE	Bears			LSU
7	Napolean Haddix	WR	Eagles			West Virginia
8	Reggie Chambers	MLB	Falcons			Virginia
9	Antrelle Lynch	QB	Jets			Liberty
10	Darius Stallworth	HB	Steelers			Alabama
11	Renaldo Newton	TE	Patriots (From JAC)			Ohio State
12	Tammrick Ford	WR	Bengals			Florida
13	Aaron Carpenter	LT	Vikings			Wake Forest
14	Patrick Gamble	FS	Chiefs (From TB)			Washington State
15	Cornelius Holliday	HB	Titans			Michigan State
16	Dominc Jordan	WR	Chargers			Michigan
17	Jay Jay Williams	CB	Browns			Georgia Southern
18	Darnell Jefferson	CB	Cowboys			Maryland
19	Matthew Kent	LT	Jaguars (From NE)			Oklahoma
20	Trevis Bush	CB	Redskins			Kentucky
21	David McCooley	TE	Broncos			Miami
22	Mike McMichael	LT	Lions			Fresno State
23	D.J. Crumpington	DT	Bills			Clemson
24	Cornell Spann	HB	49ers			North Texas
25	Demorrio Willis	LOLB	Packers			Boston College
26	Jeremy Suvak	QB	Panthers (From BAL)			Tulsa
27	Antonine Florence	CB	Raiders			Michigan
28	Dex Dargan	WR	Cardinals			Texas A&M
29	Quentin McFadden	WR	Saints			Auburn
30	Anthony Revis	WR	Colts			Georgia Tech
31	Jamil Deas	LE	Giants			USC
32	Kameron Haley	ROLB	Dolphins			USC

Picks as of now:

3rd (68)
4th (100)
6th (164)
7th (196)
1st
2nd
2nd	CIN
3rd
4th	CIN
7th

I'll probably trade down, because frankly, I see only 3 players left ENTIRELY that I have interest in. Easily, the suckiest Draft I've ever seen on this game. There is a G, Rob Freelander, who I really like. He's probably going to go mid 3rd, so we'll see how that plays out. The other two guys are the kicker, Duncan, and a LB named Hibbert who will probably go sometime really late.

Well, here's to trying to stockpile picks next year. Ugh, this draft blows.

[milkman41]

Ouch, that sucks man.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

There were very few players worth going after in day 2, in my opinion. However, I was able to move down in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and ultimately got the few guys I wanted. I was forced into picking in the 6th and 7th, one choice was a guy I really wanted, the other was kinda eh.

Final Draft results:

Rd	Pick #	Name	Pos
1	4	Cody Withers	QB
3	17	Rob Freelander	LG
5	3	Jason Duncan	K
6	4	Dimitrius Hibbert	MLB
7	4	Dana Riggs	HB

Five players, that is just depressing. Oh well, here's the word.

Withers as I mentioned is the franchise QB. His only downfall is average arm strength, but he already has high 80's accuracy and awareness and good learning, with a potential of 94. He's probably good enough to start now over Thompson.

Freelander was the one later guard I liked, and I moved down to get him. He's a very balanced lineman who should stick around for a bit.

Jason Duncan is the kicker, like always, I love big legged kickers, with a power of 97, he has that. His accuracy is crap (84), but the best free agent had the same accuracy with less leg, and I think Serna was similar before trading him.

Hibbert was compared to no one and had very good all around ability for an unknown. He'll likely compare to Trey McNamara from my Dolphins teams, and with Beck's deal up at the end of the year, he might be starting by year 2.

Riggs was a RB compared to Jamal Lewis...nothing terribly special. He might not make the final roster.

My undrafted guys were Will Dutton, a meh DE. Tyler McCray, a decent WR perhaps (Muhammad comparison undrafted, not bad), Colton Randall, a punter. (Compared to Flynn, but had 93 power, which beat my current and free agent...we'll see how bad his accuracy is), Lamar Ball, an unknown CB, and Eric Maples, an unknown DE.

Could've been better, but could've been worse. My draft next year:

1st
2nd
2nd	CIN
3rd
4th	CIN
4th	BUF
5th	SEA
7th
7th	CLE
7th	BUF

Not quite as loaded, but much better than I started with.

[tbasket20]

im glad to c u start this up again...i enjoyed both your 49ers and dolphins dynasty. good luck turning the texans around!

[rdnk]

I've always found it tough to trade back into the first without giving up the house is more or less impossible. I've moved up once (Martin McPeek ) but it was like 8 spots, so it wasn't like you going from early second to mid first.