The Texans’ 2015 season is on the rocks. J.J. Watt has remained excellent, but a cocktail of scheme flaws on defense, inept coaching, and the NFL’s worst quarterback situation (arguably) have torpedoed the hopes of a talented squad. Houston only has one choice, and that’s to make an effort to lose as many games as possible so they can have the quarterback of their choosing in the 2016 NFL Draft.
This course of action is risky, but they may wind up as an elite team if they strike gold.
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The problem in Houston is not talent. Watt is the best defensive player in the game, Jadeveon Clowney, the No. 1 overall pick in 2014 is showing flashes of athletic freakishness, and Pro Bowl-caliber talents such as Brian Cushing and Johnathan Joseph lurk elsewhere. On offense Arian Foster is still around, and DeAndre Hopkins is looking like one of the best wide receivers in the league.
That means that a competent quarterback, and possibly new coaches in these players’ ears, could quickly turn the ship around. The risk in this scenario, of course, is the 2016 talent pool at quarterback. There are no Andrew Lucks in this draft class. The top-3 QBs are projected to be California’s Jared Goff, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones..
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Goff has upside, but hasn’t convinced doubters that he’s for real by knocking off elite competition. Cook struggles with accuracy, something head coach Bill O’Brien has probably had his fill of with Ryan Mallett, and Jones’ inexperience has shown itself this year. Although Ohio State is unbeaten, Jones hasn’t proven he’s clearly the best quarterback on his own team, let alone in the draft class.
Still, Goff and Jones in particular have the type of ceiling that can prove transformational to a downtrodden NFL franchise. In Houston, the framework is already in place to help one of those guys succeed right away, a la Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, or Mark Sanchez once upon a time with the Jets. The question is whether the glut of talent already there will allow Houston to lose enough to make it happen. So far, they’re proving they’ll oblige.
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