Offseason analysis so far!

OK, here is what I make of what the Texans have done so far.

1) The resigning of Salaam and today's signing of Jordan Black mean that they are NOT looking at Levi Brown. The Texans STILL view Charles Spencer as their LT of the future. With those two guys in the fold they just bought themselves a year to see Charles Spencer is healthy to take over the position. It makes sense, b/c if Spencer IS your guy why spend a top pick on a LT?

2) The Ahman Green signing means the Texans are not going to go after Adrian Peterson, and at this point even if he were available at #8 by some miracle they would look trade down and make a MINT by picking up several picks.

3) The release of Eric Moulds tells me they will definitely draft a WR, and maybe they have their eye on the next Marques Colston later in the draft. I doubt it will be a first day pick unless a very highly touted player falls.

4) The David Carr situation is very interesting. I think they are pretty firm with their asking price (a 3rd round pick) and are holding out until a team gives them what they want. Smart move. Sure enough all of the FA QBs are flying off the market so Carr's value will continue to rise up until the draft. So the move might not be made until draft day. And wouldn't it be ironic if we used Carr to trade up at some point in the draft to draft a QB?

Oh, and it's interesting to note the DeMeco has replace Carr's picture up top!

So at this point it seems the Texans are setting their sights on one of 3 players for the #8 pick.

1) LaRon Landry - a GLARING need that has not been addressed yet. Now if Ken Hamlin is signed then that changes everything.

2) Brady Quinn - I think this might depend on when the Carr deal gets done. If it's before the draft this is a definite possibility, if not then I don't think so b/c if we take Quinn and still have Carr, Carr's value goes to ZERO with teams knowing we don't want him anymore.

3) Amobe Okoye - I think a much better prospect than Alan Branch. They would love to bring a young stud in here to help their franchise investment Mario Williams to make him shine and prove all the naysayers wrong. But this could also depend on where they want to play Weaver next season.

I personally think Quinn will be gone before the #8 pick. All this "he's dropping" talk is a smokescreen. So then to me RIGHT NOW I think LaRon Landry is our guy.

Most of what you say seems reasonable and well thought out, and I agree with it. I would also be happy if we drafted Landry at the #8 spot, but I have been really hoping we draft Okoye. He has been my top choice for a long time now simply because he has so much upside, and I agree he would be better than Branch for our 4-3 defense. At this point though, he has been flying under the radar and I don't here much talk about him. Don't know if the Texans would pick him or not. I would be happy with either Landry or Okoye. JMHO!

so far i would say our offseason has been a huge success...we didn't have the cap space to make a big splash which i think is a blessing in disguise...and the following moves have been really big for us:

Extending andre johnson to a six year deal is simply put huge for us...we didn't take a chance on andre voiding out of his contract and another team making him an offer we couldn't match...this was just too big of a move to be ignored

signing veteran players who didn't cost an arm or a leg was huge...while these aren't glamour guys in the league today they are guys who can play a role on this team and make this team a lot better without breaking the bank

we've cut down on the list of needs going into the draft...we are still looking at free agents...none of whom are going to be big names...but that's ok...limiting the needs of the draft is important...if we could ever go into the draft with no needs and be able to sit back and pick the BPA without risking the teams progress that would great...but that's not where we are

the only short comings in the off-season so far is the QB position...i think we all thought by now we probably would have either jeff garcia or jake plummer to challenge sage for the starting job but that's not the case...still i think sage would have been the best option overall for this team...i think the players react better to him

Pretty good analysis of the offseason so far. I like everything but the Quinn pick. I'm all about D on day 1.

Upgrading the Safety will be tremendous. Upgrading the defensive tackle to assist with Mario Williams - unstoppable.

I agree with a lot on this post.

I especially agree that we take one of the top 2 qbs if we can. And, if not, then we focus on one later (and I love the idea of using Carr to move up a few spots to take one - since Kolb/Stanton may go just before our 3rd rounder).

A few small differences in opinion:

I think they would take AD if he is there - team him with Ahman for a year then deal or cut Ahman. The trade down for a mint probably won't work because teams above us will try to do the same thing (if AD slips by Cleve, then Wash will probably deal down with someone like GBay). I would still try (even if we dont get much - but moving down a little and taking Landry or Nelson would work). I just don't think it will happen.

If they don't trade, I think they take a DL - whichever one slips. Since it generally take a DL two years to develop (sometimes quick DEs do well in yr 1 and sometimes a big DT takes 3 yrs even if he is a stud - so we can still hope and pray Johnson steps up), we will be in better shape next year and should be in great shape in two years if they do this.

I agree with some of your thoughts, but saying we are targeting the next Marques Colston in the draft is a bit silly. If people knew how well Colston would play, theres no way he'd fall that far. every team tries to find gems with late round picks

The next Colston could very well be... Jacoby Jones from Lane College.

I don't really believe in that saying, but... he fits the mold, and he is a good return man...

I think we are having a solid offseason, but I don't think that any of our FA moves so far will have any impact on the draft. I view the moves that we have made this offseason as an attempt to provide short-term solutions to the current weaknesses on our roster, which will provide us more flexibility to draft the best player (as opposed to biggest need) in the draft. The one position that we have not addressed so far is the defensive backfield, however, I think we have the best chance of getting Landry at 8 than either Person or Brown. That being said, if either of those guys are there at 8, we take them and the FA pick-ups will just ensure that we have depth at those spots.

I'm sure this has already been addressed on this point but why did the Texans sign Ahman Green? He's got nothing left. I've watched him play in Green Bay and his biggest season (1,800 yards 20+ TDs) was due to the offensive line.

That season Brett Favre was on and the Packers had one of the most formidable O-Lines in the league. Clifton, Rivera, Tauscher, Wahle, Flanagan. Favre barely got sacked all year. They also had Javon Walker and Donald Driver. The offense was totally stacked.

Green is much older now, and still fumbles alot. Plus if AD falls to the 8 slot the Texans can't take him because they have $8M tied to Green next season. Then in 2 years Green will have run completely out of gas and the Texans will need a new RB. Unfortunately there won't be a once-in-a-decade RB like AP available and they will have to settle for something like DeAngelo Williams. What is Rick Smith/Gary Kubes thinking???

I really hope the pick is Landry. He is a player who could come in and make an immediate impact in the secondary. Safety is a concern that really needs to be addressed.

there is no doubt that the draft will be the key to this offseason...like any year if they draft guys who fit the system and mesh well with the guys on the team then those players usually end up playing well...if they try and get a guy based on reputation or hype *cough brady quinn cough* then i all depends on how the player takes to coaching...and if that doesn't work then we're just another year behind schedule