Nick Caserio shared about the Texans NFL Draft strategy on Saturday morning.
Without giving away who Houston will select later this spring, the Texans General Manager explained the club's philosophy when it comes to picking. Houston has 10 picks in this year's Draft, with five coming in the Top 80. The third and the 13th overall picks are the first two of those selections.
"We go through it vertically and kind of position the players accordingly," Caserio said. 'It's value of the player relative to what we think the role is going to be."
Caserio and the personnel staff are hard at work prepping for this year's draft. Many of them, along with Head Coach Lovie Smith, have been on the road at various college pro days over the last few weeks.
As far as evaluating the college players, and where to slot them, Caserio shed a bit more light on how the team thinks.
"Realistically, the grade that we assign to that player, you're probably saying by the second year, 'Here's what we think it's going to be,'" Caserio said. "Let's say you think, 'Okay, No. 62 is a third tackle or swing tackle with potential to be a starter. If you evaluate that player, when you draft him, wherever you draft him, the expectation is going to be able to perform at that level, wherever that is, hopefully by the second year. Stack the board vertically, put the players accordingly, and then we'll work horizontally and we'll go across positions and say, 'Okay, what player makes the most sense when we have the opportunity to pick?'"
He was quick to point out that "it's not necessarily about specific players, it's just about finding the right fit for what we're trying to do."
Caserio, who engineered multiple trades during last year's draft, might be willing to deal the third overall selection, or any of the 10 total picks.
"We'll look at everything," Caserio said. "Again, it goes back to what are you moving away from and what would you get in return. You always have to be prepared to pick a player regardless of position. We'll be ready to pick a player whenever that is."
The first night of the Draft is Thursday, April 28 in Las Vegas. Houston hasn't picked a player in the first round since selecting OL Tytus Howard in 2019.
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