The Houston Texans need to find a quarterback this offseason, but they should try hard to do this through free agency rather than the NFL Draft.
The Houston Texans need a quarterback. You know it, I know it, the Texans know it. The closest thing this franchise has had to a consistent starter at quarterback was Matt Schaub, and we all saw how he fell apart in his final season with the team. There’s no putting it off anymore, Houston has to find their quarterback of the future soon or risk their elite players at other positions moving on to greener pastures.
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With an elite playmaker in DeAndre Hopkins and arguably the best defender in the league J.J. Watt leading a top-tier defense, Houston has a team that is ready to compete. They showed that last season by forcing their way into the playoffs with a stellar second half of the year, but they were completely dismantled by Kansas City (30-0) in the postseason.
Sure that wasn’t all on Brian Hoyer, but his five turnovers (4 interceptions and 1 lost fumble) in the loss to the Chiefs pointed out the glaring need for better quarterback play.
Now its the offseason, and we all have to imagine that Houston’s No. 1 priority is scouting out possible candidates to be their quarterback of the future. Free agency starts in a few short weeks, and then we’ll see if there’s anyone available in the open market that could be Houston’s new starter. If they can’t find someone there, they’ll turn to the NFL Draft, and that could be their plan anyway.
The problem is, Houston needs to be in win-now mode, as counterintuitive as it seems. I’m not saying that they should mortgage all their assets to get a Super Bowl ring, but it seems like this team as been in “rebuilding mode” since they joined the league in 2002. They’ve made the playoffs three times in five years though, but the only team they’ve beaten is the Cincinnati Bengals who haven’t won a playoff game since they beat the Houston Oilers in 1990.
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Houston is right there on the brink of competing at a high level, and its time to stop building a team and start winning. Bringing in a young rookie quarterback who will need a few years to develop is not the team’s best bet. There is often 1-3 years of training/development before a young quarterback realizes his potential, and Houston can’t wait that long. They’ve already waited 14 years.
No, Houston needs to be extremely aggressive at on March 7th when they’re allowed to begin negotiations with impending free agents. They also need to be willing to not target only players that have a history with head coach Bill O’Brien. Neither Ryan Mallet or Brian Hoyer fulfilled expectations, and its pretty clear that O’Brien targeted them because of their mutual history in New England.
Yes, that means Houston should probably stay away from Christian Hackenberg in the Draft.
In fact, I think they should stay away from all of the quarterbacks in this season’s draft. There’s no surefire starter and there’s few enough top-tier options that Houston would probably have to trade up from their No. 22 spot to get one. That isn’t worth it, given that it would be tough to hand the reins over to any of 2016’s upcoming rookie quarterbacks and feel confident in their ability to produce.
A late-round flier on a developmental quarterback is fine, but Houston should be actively trying to address the position in free agency, and I think there will be a few options out there.
I wouldn’t expect (or recommend) either Kirk Cousins or Brock Osweiller to receive franchise tags from their teams, and while they will probably command a price higher than they deserve, it would be worth it for Houston to pay it.
My favorite idea: Robert Griffin III (if he’s released by the Washington Redskins as expected). He’s already got a great fanbase in the Houston area and may come for cheaper than you’d expect if there’s limited interest around the league.
The only reason Houston may get away with not signing a top free-agent QB would be if they feel confident in Tom Savage‘s development. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy, but the team has liked what they’ve seen from him in limited action. In fact, House of Houston’s Brian K. Patterson says he’d love to see Savage as the 2016 starter. I don’t know if I’m as eager as Mr. Patterson is, but I’d rather the team give Savage a shot than spend a high draft pick on a quarterback who’s just as unknown as Tom.
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Ultimately, I think Houston’s best bet will be to do everything they can to grab one of the top free agent quarterbacks. Even the likes of Sam Bradford or Ryan Fitzpatrick would offer better play under center than we saw for much of this year, but I wouldn’t rely on those guys into the future. Hopkins and J.J. Watt have been carrying this team alone for two years now, and it would be nice to get them some help.