The other way to look at the drafts is we have 1 player who has exhibited pro-bowl caliber play. That's a 7% success rate! Will there be more in time? I'm sure there will, there is some talent in that group, and I believe a true desire to improve. But there is always more than one way to measure success. I mean with all those great draftees the Oilers took? They brought us how many Superbowls?
I'm going to assume you meant in our past three drafts (2006-2008). Based off of this, we have had two draftees play at a Pro Bowl csliber, Williams and Ryans. Williams was snubbed, and the world keeps spinning. Out of that draft, Winston has flashed the ability to play at a Pro Bowl level, as well as Daniels, but he will probably not make it due to the lack of depth at TE in the AFC. Okoye should mature into a Pro Bowl player as well, but he's likely a couple of years away. Let's not forget, however, that he was only 19 when we drafted him. Also, Fred Bennett has been garnering some lofty praise and KC Joyner said he could make a Pro Bowl with more snaps under his belt. Our drafts have been lambasted by pundits, but the players have been producing. I see no reason why this won't carry over to this draft.
This years number one pick? It can be argued that he is either "versatile" by the fact of the positions he has played, or that he had to be moved around because he has yet to excel at any position he has played. Giving up 8.5 sacs in college, that would probably double in NFL terms. He is a work in progress, and I hope for the best under the tutelage of Gibbs. Gibbs really gives a player his best chance at success. The running back? I have high hopes for this guy. I think we took him in the right place, and I believe he is more talented than his number show. What about the poker strategy in the draft?
From what I've gathered, Brown basically outgrew TE and was moved to RT where he stayed because Brandon Fyre was entrenched at LT. When Fyre was drafted by us, VT moved him to LT, where he was up and down. 8.5 sacks is a very deceptive stat, though, as most Texan fans will know. Remeber that we shaved 20+ sacks over one offseason by getting rid of Carr. It's unclear how many of those 8.5 sacks are Brown's fault. He is admittedly a work in progress, but Gibbs had him hand selected, so I'll trust in the man with 20+ years of NFL experience until further notice.
Sitting at 18 there are still at least five highly coveted players still on the board. Otah, Jenkens, Mendenhall, Flowers, and Talib. We got Jerry Jones turning green, and sitting by a puke bucket for fear of losing Jenkins. He has a fist full of draft choices, and has stated publicly he is in a trading mood. We hold a full house and we trade for a pair. Could we have done better? I think so. I believe every player we picked up is a developmental player. They may very well prove to be good or great players in time. Is that going to help us rise above mediocrity this season? Probably not.
Firstly, Flowers wasn't that highly coveted. If he was, he would have been picked before the 35th selection. Also, if Jones was so deadset on taking Jenkins, why wouldn't he have taken him at 22, the pick he used on Felix Jones? You think we could have done better in a trade, and that's fine. The fact is that the phone rang, and Rick Smith decided that dropping to 26 was the best place for us so that we could still get Brown. He was the target, and if we would have dropped down further than that, we would have lost him, since the Chargers and 49ers were both interested in him.
We have a tough schedule this season, and we are expecting better results than last year, playing against teams that actually picked impact players. I love the Texans, I hope for the best, but I don't like spoon fed pablum from a spin doctor either.Does anyone know why we added a fifth QB (other than being another Kubs pet project)?! I mean seriously.
Everyone has a tough schedule every season. I know "any given Sunday" is a cliche, but it's true. We lost to the Falcons and almost lost to the Dolphins last year. There are no easy wins in the NFL. Besides that, one impact player will not turn a franchise player around overnight. Focusing on the drafts in our division, the Colts didn't draft any "impact" players. The Jags traded up for Harvey, which is a move that I would be pissed about if I were a Jag fan. He was very off and on in college. Groves was a good prospect, and actually scares me more than Harvey. The Titans took Chris freaking Johnson in the first and had a lackluster draft after that. We improved our team more in the draft than any other team in our division. Does that add 6 wins to our record? Of course not.