Official 2017 NFL Draft - Round 1 Thread

[HPF Bob]

What a bunch of Debbie Downers! Heck, right up the road is a fourth-round QB who played his college ball at the Aggieland of Missi-friggin-sippi and he's able to dominate the NFL. Not that I expect such a perfect storm here but O'Brien can dumb down the offense for Watson in Year One and gradually add back in the playbook. BTW, how did we look with that QB from Hah-vuhd?

If someone told me you could rid yourself of Brock Osweiler and draft a Heisman runner-up QB, all it would cost you is two 1sts, a 2nd, a 6th and perhaps some self-respect, I would have asked what else was on the menu.

Would it have been better to keep Ozzie on the roster one more year and eat $17 million but keep all our picks?

Would it have made more sense to sign Kaepernick for a year and concentrate on rebuilding the OL while developing a QB like Davis Webb?

I'm just pointing out some options here. It's too late to change anything now but I'm okay with Watson at QB for our future. I just wish it hadn't cost so much to get there. At least it wasn't Mahomes.

So, all right, we've mortgaged the 2018 draft. Let's make the most of this one and move forward.

[Joshua]

I'm fine with it.

The price was steep but it is the going rate to move up that far. The last couple of years has shown that the overall team is good enough that we will likely be drafting somewhere in the 20s for the foreseeable future. Any QB that falls into the 20s will have considerable warts. Hell, between the current style of play in college and players leaving early, virtually every QB has significant questions about them. So, we had 2 choices- (1) stand pat and draft an extremely warty QB in the late 1st/2nd/etc. and hope you know something no one else does (read: get very lucky) or (2) move up for one of the better, yet still somewhat questionable, prospects. I just don't see any other realistic options for them drafting a QB in the next couple years. They chose path 2 and the cost for that is a 1st next year. Now we wait and hope Deshaun pans out.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

So, all right, we've mortgaged the 2018 draft. Let's make the most of this one and move forward.

I think this is what hurts the doubters. No first and second round picks in 2018. And if the Texans have done one thing well in the Rick Smith years, it has been their ability to nail first round picks. All of them are still on the roster, all the way back until his first one, Amobi Okoye.

But for all the first round success over the years, the Texans have zero hardware to show for it. It's now a QB league, a passing league. And all the extra #1s sitting on the roster that don't play QB will keep getting the Texans into the playoffs but not to the last game of the season. The Texans have tried long enough to win without a QB.

Another 9- or 10- (or 11...) win season in 2017 would mean a similar scenario for the Texans in the 2018 draft... picking in the back half of the round. So if this mystical college QB were available, the one that played in an NFL-style in offense while possessing impeccable accuracy, cannon-fire arm strength and natural-born leadership, then the team would have to mortgage three drafts to move up to #1 to get him, assuming a team sitting at #1 would even answer the phone call to talk about trading down 20+ picks.

[Arky]

Well, after doing some research, the 17 INTs went along with 41 TDs. I can live with the 41 TDs. (Reminds me of the old Mae West line: "6'7", huh? I don't care about the 6', let's talk about the 7").

41 TDs, 17 INTs is better than a 2:1 ratio. For his career, Watson was 90 TDs and 32 INT's and that is almost a 3:1 ratio. He's a passing fool. At the very least, he should be able to dink and dunk with the best of them (certainly better than Oz).

He's got much to learn. Obviously, the NFL is way different than college but he sounds like a baller so he should be able to adapt. Just hope that they develop him constructively....

[Arky]

As for the 2018 draft, teams have survived something like this before. Losing the 1st and 2nd picks hurt but that can be worked around by drafting well in the other rounds and free agency. If they do it right, it can be reduced to just a small blip on the long term radar....

[nunusguy]

Watching a presser on NFLNet with Watson's intro to the city and he's gonna be wearing jersey # 4 according to the report so I'm gonna count that as a good omen since it's not gonna be, whew, # 8.

[bikerack]

I was reminded of the old Bill Parcells rules for selecting a QB...

1. The quarterback must be a senior. . .because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback
2. He must be a graduate. . .because you want somebody that takes their responsibilities seriously.
3. He must be a three-year starter. . .because you want to make sure his success wasn't a fluke and to know that he has been "the guy" for a significant period of time.
4. He must have 23 wins. . .because big numbers don't mean a whole lot if you don't win.

1. Watson was a junior.
2. He did graduate...
3. He was a 3-yr starter but his first yr was cut short by injury.
4. Clemson won 38 games in his 3 years...even when you take out the ones he was injured for, it is over 23.

[Joshua]

Originally Posted by bikerack

I was reminded of the old Bill Parcells rules for selecting a QB...



1. Watson was a junior.
2. He did graduate...
3. He was a 3-yr starter but his first yr was cut short by injury.
4. Clemson won 38 games in his 3 years...even when you take out the ones he was injured for, it is over 23.

That quote just shows how much the football landscape has changed in the last 20 years. I'm not sure we'll ever see a QB at a powerhouse school satisfy this criteria again.