Agreed.
If they don't start, they didn't "fill" the position. That's a fact.
If Tytus Howard doesn't start THIS year, we wasted pick #23, no matter how he pans out long term. Sure, I'll be thrilled if these guys become perennial All Pros. Sure, I think Howard has more potential UPside than Dillard, but he also had the lower floor. The Texans need to keep Watson upright and unharmed as priority one. Given how horrible the blocking was last year in every phase of the game, if the Texans didn't get guys who could immediately improve the line in both FA and the Draft, they've failed. The premier talent(s) you have on the other side of the ball have peaked and have a short time remaining in which they will be effective. The best all around QB you've ever had is one hit away from retirement, just like other QBs, the difference is...you know you surrounded him with bad protection and have had a chance to fix it. Hell, I thought the Texans could overcome the loss of Duane Brown. They haven't even come close yet.
Gaine has yet to get a "grade" from me, other than FA (which isn't supposed to be "long-term potential" pickups). He's had some good ones, and some head-scratchers...about par for a average GM.
O'Brien has enough tape to warrant evaluation. I wouldn't use your word choices above to describe him as a whole, though he's certainly made some idiotic/stupid/foolish "decisions" on occasion. Some words/phrases I would use are "stubborn", "failure to adapt", "misuse of talent", "boxed into his own system", etc. O'Brien knows jack-all about Defense, so he's had the best in the world handling it for him. That part is a plus. He has taken the Offense into his own hands and refused to hand the play-calling over to an OC, which in turn has gotten him overwhelmed with handling the overall stuff like timeouts, challenges, etc. That part is a negative. We're his first stop as an NFL Head Coach. We're his second stop as a Head Coach period. I want the outside-the-box guy I saw when it was all going to hell in Watson's 2nd start against New England. I don't want a guy who looks like he's in over his head.
I think he needs to take a couple of these to heart: