When a Houston Texans fan takes a look at most mock drafts, they see their favorite AFC South club using the No. 12 overall pick to take a receiver.
Whether the wideout is TCU’s Quentin Johnston or USC’s Jordan Addison, the Texans use the extra Round 1 selection obtained via 2022 offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns to get their young quarterback a young receiver to grow with.
There is a question from the back of the classroom no one is answering: what if the Texans address receiver in free agency?
According to Aaron Schatz from Football Outsiders in collaboration with ESPN, the Texans should target Detroit Lions receiver D.J. Chark, who has a similar skill set to Brandin Cooks in Schatz’s view.
Chark can run both intermediate and deep routes, and he’s more of a field-stretcher than Meyers. Last season, he ranked 10th in receiving DVOA (value per play) among receivers with at least 50 targets.
If the Texans were to go this route, one would figure the Texans found a way to part ways with Cooks. Otherwise the receiving corps would be overloaded. When the Texans got to No. 12 overall, adding another wideout would also crowd the room as they would have Chark, Nico Collins, and John Metchie.
The same could be said for defensive end or cornerback. If the Texans are spending considerable salary cap dollars at one of those positions, presumably it takes them out of the running for that position in Round 1 of April’s draft.
Just like the draft, coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio have to work together to identify which players have traits the Texans want.
“It’s been a very smooth transition, a smooth process,” Ryans said on March 1 at the NFL combine. “Communication has been awesome working with Nick. We see the game the same way, which is great. We see the game the same way and see players the same. It will be really nice to continue to work with him.”
