The Houston Texans are in a favorable spot to rebuild their team with two first-round picks at Nos. 3 and 13 overall in the 2022 NFL draft.
However, general manager Nick Caserio says the scouting department has been focused on the totality of the draft class with as much attention spent on players who may go undrafted as the prospects who are perfect for their first-round selections.
“The most important is as much depth and understanding of the entire draft at every position as possible, even down to the players that you don’t think are going to get drafted,” Caserio said. “I say we spend as much time on that group probably as anything including the top of the draft.”
Part of what led Caserio to take this approach is a historical look at the best players at their respective positions and where they were taken in the draft.
“I was actually looking at some of the better players league wide, some of the better players at their positions,” Caserio explained. “So, you look at guys like [Travis] Kelce, you look at guys like [George] Kittle — one guy was a third-round pick, another guy was a fifth-round pick. Austin Ekeler, I’d say, one of the better backs in the league wasn’t drafted. Marques Colston — this is going back and date myself — but New Orleans, all-time leading receiver. He wasn’t drafted. Everybody wants to talk about [Tom] Brady, but forget Brady for a minute. Joe Thuney was a third-round pick. I’d say the reality — Stefon Diggs, there’s another guy that’s a fifth-round pick. So, I’d say our job is to understand the depth of the draft top to bottom.”
There are positions in the draft that will go more quickly than others, but Caserio chalks it up to “supply and demand.”
Said Caserio: “Some positions, just by supply and demand, are going to have more players at those positions than others. So, it doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of good players; it just means certain positions — receiver — maybe they have more players, but just because they have more players doesn’t mean that they’re all created equal.
“So, okay, that player, that position versus another position, okay, maybe if we pick this player here but there’s supply at this position, a little bit less, so, more inclined to take this position now or vice versa. So, I would say try to not pigeonhole yourselves.”
The Texans had a five-man draft class in 2021, Caserio’s first draft with the team. However, Houston appeared to have clear intent on who they drafted and did a decent job of not pigeonholing themselves. With six selections in the top-110, Texans fans are anxious about what picks Caserio will make with his strategy of not getting pigeonholed.
