"I don't think it'll come to me in a dream,'' quipped O'Brien, holding court at the AFC head coaches media breakfast on Day 3 of the league's annual meeting. "It might come to me in a nightmare. ... I don't think it's an easy decision. But we'll make a good pick.''
Houston has 11 picks (thanks to three compensatory selections awarded Monday) and a lot of options in this draft, and there's little time to waste in preparing for the haul that O'Brien hopes is on the way...
"I do think it's a deep draft and it has a lot to do with all those young guys coming out, all those juniors,'' O'Brien said. "We have 11 picks, and you can really set your team up for the future by doing your due diligence in this draft. Which is what we're doing. We're working on it, and I think we're going to have a really good draft.
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Though everyone wants to talk quarterback with O'Brien, the former Patriots offensive coordinator and Penn State head coach, that may not necessarily be where Houston starts its selection process. The more I listen to O'Brien, the more I'm starting to believe passing on a QB at No. 1 overall is truly in play for the Texans. I'm not predicting someone other than a quarterback is the end result, but it's a possibility. O'Brien consistently reminds anyone who asks about the quarterbacks in this year's draft that there are more than just the three consensus top-rated passers to choose from, those being Manziel, Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater and Central Florida's Blake Bortles.
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"It's important to note there's a lot of quarterbacks that are winners, that have played well [in this draft],'' O'Brien said, toward the beginning of his hour-plus session with reporters at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grand Lakes. "You've got A.J. McCarron and [Zach] Mettenberger and Garoppolo. [Pitt's Tom] Savage, we were at his pro day. You can go right down the line. There are a lot of guys who can play quarterback.
"I don't [see a lot of separation among the quarterbacks]. I see strengths and weaknesses with every one of these guys, and I don't see where there's two or three guys that are just light years ahead of the rest of these guys. McCarron and Mettenberg, those guys played in the SEC. So did Johnny. That's a tough conference. They won a lot of games in the SEC, so they must have been doing something right. It's a very intriguing position [in this year's draft class].''
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"No question,'' said O'Brien, when I asked him if Wilson's and Kaepernick's success was a reminder that quarterback-needy teams do not have to invest at a first-round level. "Obviously we're not ready to sit down as a staff and say what we're going to do, but the more I study these guys, I see a lot of guys with experience and production in college. There are a lot of quarterbacks I've watched that are decent players.''
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"I think it's very, very difficult for a guy to play quarterback as a rookie, right away,'' he said. "To expect a guy to go in there and play right away against a Rex Ryan defense is very, very difficult. But at the same time, you better be ready to do it, because you never know what might happen. If it ends up being a guy's got to play as a rookie, then that's what he's got to do.''
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O'Brien said he was "sure we'll have something in mind maybe a week or two in advance'' of the draft, but the process of arriving at a selection at No. 1 will "be a while.''
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"With all due respect to the fans of Houston ... if we start asking the fans about who we should draft, I'll be sitting next to you at the next game,'' O'Brien said to a reporter.
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• On the first thing he looks for in a quarterback?
"To me it's really two things. The guy has to be able to throw the ball accurately and a guy has to have intelligence. He has to have a quick mind. He's got to be able to process things in two or three seconds.''