So draft grades I've seen run the gamut from several A's down to a couple B-, and everything in between. A lot of the segments talking about the draft the Texans got mentions in the positive category, teams that 'won' the draft or made a lot of improvement. I think most of the negatives I saw were related to trading up. Anderson, but others as well.
I think overall I'm pretty happy with the draft even if there's some places I think could have been done better. Went into Thursday morning still unsure who I wanted with #2, and for awhile I'd been leaning towards trading down. Though by the time the draft started I was leaning towards Stroud again, and soon as Young went #1 I was calling at the TV for them to take Stroud. I think what Stroud went through, that guy has to have a huge chip on his shoulder now. With our roster, would we have blamed an early 1st QB if he was less than enthused about the Texans taking him? But the way it went down, I don't know there was another player in the draft that it meant more to him that a team showed faith in him. I think what Stroud went through probably helped build some ties and loyalty to the team. I sure hope so, and I hope that helps with turning around the team and culture.
I do think they overpaid for Will Anderson in that to justify the cost he needs to be an All Pro, multi-time Pro Bowler if he's not a QB. But that said, I also see some other benefits though. The guy is said to be a big time leader of his team. And we need that in spades. Texans need to turn the culture around. Demeco can go a long way there, but he needs guys in the locker room too. If Anderson doesn't end up the next Von Miller or Khalil Mack, yeah we overpaid. But we still might have a lot of organizational benefit if he's just a good pass rusher but provides a lot of leadership and direction. Plus the stuff with Stroud to help there too. So overpaid, though with some possible extra benefits that don't make me feel quite as bad.
I like the two centers we took, especially the ND kid since he can play guard as well and hasn't given up a sack. Even if he doesn't develop into a starter he could still be a benefit as a backup who can play all three inside spots. I like taking multiple swings at a position of need when you can get someone late and have that kind of extra benefit. Though I kind of think trading up for Juice might have been unnecessary. I waffle here, a lot of places had him ranked later. But if they saw a drop off and didn't want to risk it, they had the ammo to go get him.
Which brings me to another point. A lot of picks I was noticing Houston were were taking someone in the analysts top 5 available, or the player was their top defender still available, or they thought he should have gone a round or two earlier. There are so many Texans drafts where those late round picks are just full of guys who look like afterthoughts in the publicly available analyses. I hope it means they ended up with some good value. Not that I want them drafting off TV analysts, but it's good to know they are seeing worthwhile things that others see instead of seeming to take flying leaps.
I really like the looks of Tank in particular. If Metchie is fully recovered, the two of them could really create some matchup pains for other teams, along the lines of when Welker and Edelman were playing together. Having defenders who can cover that kind of elusiveness, plus Tank's speed, could be a nice start on a rebuilt wide receiver corps.
To'oTo'o seems like the kind of later round guy that Demeco was able to turn into a quality starter in San Fran, so interested to see how it turns out.
Getting Anderson and Dylan Horton both was pretty smart given how many older players we have on 1 year contracts at those positions. Now at least we have two guys who have contracts for the foreseeable future. That's a good spot to exercise a 4th round pick I think.
The trade ups in general, a couple I think netted us guys who might have slid, and other times like Juice I'm not sure it was needed. I'm not a fan of using up draft capital just because you have a lot. If that's the case I'd rather trade more picks into future years. I did like getting the extra 3rd for next year to help make up for the Anderson trade, though it isn't likely to be a tremendous jump unless Philly does much worse than expected.
If I was grading it, I'd be in the B+/A- range. Going to call it an A- and acknowledge going with the higher grade is a homer decision.
