And this trading of draft picks with Cleveland is going to set this franchise back a few years unless Watson becomes great and doesn't get the David Carr treatment.
Yeah, this didn't happen overnight. The organization has been making misstep after misstep since the Kubiak era. It's like they can't see further away than 10 feet. They keep players longer than they should and fail to recognize the slide. See Arian Foster. They had no contingency plan for his mounting injuries. During the Hard Knocks TC, even the owner said it after Foster pulled his hamstring - "every year Arian is dealing with some kind of soft tissue injury". That was in 2014. They didn't sign Miller until 2016 and then they don't even know how to use him properly.
Everybody knew the Texans were in very bad shape with their QB situation post Schaub. But they kicked the can around until 2016 before the went all in on Brock. Before him they toyed with Hoyer, Fitzpatrick and Mallett. There are fans on this board who say O'Brien has been ruining QB's. How in the hell did he ruin journeymen QB's in Hoyer and Fitzpatrick? Did he hide Mallett's alarm clock? Again, I don't mind if they go ahead and move on from O'Brien. He's a big part of the problem. The other big part of the problem is Smith. A GM is supposed to be the architect of personnel, shaping the franchise. He's always years from addressing issues on offense. How many years did AJ need a running mate before the Texans finally drafted Hopkins?
The Texans have been one of the worst offenses in the league going back to 2013. The organization has either made poor decisions or no decisions to help the offense. Braxton Miller looks to be a 3rd round bust. Fuller looks to be a 1st round bust - can't catch and his thin frame is shattered. The o-line is the worst I've ever seen. Lamar Miller is good for 2.5 yards a carry. The TE's are made of glass and can't block. They're wasting a roster spot on a player they never use - Jay Prosch.
And yes, selling Cleveland a second round pick, which is probably going to be an early pick to the Browns just to cover up a mistake looks just like another mistake from this front office.
The thing that really upsets me about this team right now, is the owner and GM seem to have amnesia. They already did this once before (different GM but Smith knows the history), putting all their eggs in a basket on a QB with nothing but dead weight to protect him. So far that was the biggest mistake this franchise has ever made and it looks the world like they did it again but only to a larger scale. Because now they don't even have the draft capital to make it right next year. Even Tom Brady wouldn't survive behind this o-line for 2 years.
