Houston Texans: Retread quarterback need not apply

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair has been adamant this offseason that the team needs to draft a quarterback and not sign a veteran cast off

Want some good news Texans fans? The Houston Texans may finally be drafting a quarterback after all! After dealing with a conveyor belt of retread veterans, apparently team owner Bob McNair has had enough.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans boss is done signing veterans that other teams have given up on and feels the position is a must have during the 2016 NFL Draft.

"“They want to draft [a quarterback] in the first round. They’re tired of using retreads,” McClain told Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7 blog, which ran the story on Thursday. “They played five this year, started four. Last year, they played four and started three. So they need a quarterback, and they want one that they can develop.“Nobody is saying anything publicly except Bob McNair. Three times he’s talked about, ‘We need a quarterback. We need to draft a quarterback.’ … They have not ruled out anybody, but I don’t think they’re going to be signing or trading for a veteran unless they determine the quarterbacks that they would have a shot at [in the draft] are going to be too pricey to get.”"

McClain states the fact that there have been four different guys lining up under center in each of the past two seasons, an issue that would lead most teams to an awful record. Instead, the Texans have still managed to go 9-7 in each of those two seasons.

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That can be seen as a positive, but also a negative when thinking about drafting. The negative is that Houston now owns the 22nd pick in the draft, which makes grabbing a top quarterback nearly impossible without moving up, which would be extremely costly.

The positive is that the team is really good outside of quarterback if they were able to drop back-to-back winning seasons despite the dysfunction and instability at the most important position. This means that Houston can survive sending a huge package to climb up and draft a quarterback they truly love.

The top three prospects are North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, Cal’s Jared Goff and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch. If Houston grades all three similar they can most likely wait to see which one falls and strike after the first couple have been selected.

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If there is one they feel is head and shoulders above the other, it may be time to package more than a few early round picks over the next two-to-three seasons and get the guy they feel can be the face of the franchise for years to come.