What's needed? A lot
Put it this way: Two years ago this month, the Texans faced draft week in desperate need of offensive line help, particularly at left tackle.
They also needed a receiver and secondary help, weren't quite sure if they had the playoff-caliber running back they wanted, and had no idea what was going to develop at linebacker.
Today, the Texans face draft week needing help in the offensive line, particularly at the left tackle spot. They also could use a receiver to complement Andre Johnson. They're thinking they might need help at defensive back behind Dunta Robinson and 34-year-old Aaron Glenn.
They like Domanick Davis but aren't sure if he's the kind of running back who can carry a team to the playoffs.
And most startling, they'll enter 2005 having released two of their three leading tacklers from a year ago, linebackers Jamie Sharper and Jay Foreman.
Does that sound like a playoff team to you? Me neither.
Let's not go so far as to say the Texans are starting all over again. This club has taken some legitimate steps toward the postseason.
But don't take another sip of the Kool-Aid just yet.
Feel free to believe this club has hit its first plateau, where the arrow on the flow chart isn't steadily climbing but has evened off. Certainly, the Texans' prospects could use a jolt.
Given that the Texans did not make a splash with a big name on the free-agent market and the only real impact player they even tried to woo was offensive tackle Orlando Pace, they could use a high-profile draftee.
They also could use an overall draft that is more than what general manager Charley Casserly has said it will be.
Casserly knows his stuff, for sure, and has hit his share of gems. Robinson, who will be the lock-down corner of coach Dom Capers' dreams for years, was a beautiful pickup.
But this spring Casserly has continually said he does not expect to gain a starter with the 13th pick in Saturday's draft. Neither does he expect a starter, even in a complementary role, with the second-round pick.
The prevailing opinion is that the best the Texans can hope for is a young player with potential to develop.
To that I would say: Why?
The Texans practice in a bubble. They shouldn't live in one. There should be higher expectations.
There certainly are starting positions up for grabs on this club. There certainly are holes to fill. There's a need for impact playmakers, and what the team has now is something less than the finished product that's ready to take the field.
This is not the strongest draft class in history, of course. There are many uncertainties and unknowns among the top available college players.
Maybe that's why the Texans are aiming low, trying to soften the blow just in case their 2005 picks are busts.
Don't buy it. This could be the most important draft of the Texans' brief history.
After all, there's only one way this team will even sniff at a playoff run in 2005, which has been the hope from the start.
The decisions this club makes cannot just seem golden because we're all wearing Steel Blue sunglasses. They actually have to be golden.
...
Reaching for a LT will help them out a lot, especially one who won't play his rookie season since he's not strong enough or good enough of a run blocker to play OG his rookie season and he will likely not beat out Wand for the starting LT spot since replacing one rook with another is a bad idea"... 
