Are the Houston Texans Still Interested in Christian Hackenberg?

Even though Christian Hackenberg wouldn’t be the starter this season, it doesn’t mean that Bill O’Brien isn’t still keeping an eye on his former pupil.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column saying that the Texans should keep an eye on Hackenberg even though Brock Osweiler had come into the fold. Recently O’Brien praised the former Nittany Lion, saying:

"“He’s a very bright guy,” O’Brien said. “My second year at Penn State, he came in as a freshman, so when he got to Penn State, we threw a lot at him and he was able to learn it. It wasn’t everything that we’re doing in Houston or that we did in New England, but what we did throw at him, he learned it. Then he was able to execute it on the field and he was only 17 or 18 years old at that time. I think he’s really a guy that’s going to work hard at it, and he’s got a good ability to learn. He asks good questions, he watches a lot of film, he’s got a good future.”"

That quote indicates that there is still interest there. Of course, this time of year, teams say a lot of things they don’t mean in an attempt to force someone else’s hand. That’s draft month for you–copious smoke screens trying to sway another team into doing something. Read here for more to see if Hackenberg could still be in the Texans plans.

I still think it’s a good idea. You would have a good backup that knows the system and had success under O’Brien. At best this could end up being a Kirk Cousins type situation, where you have a good insurance policy in place in case something happens to the starter. With reports that he struggled in some of the pre-draft evaluation, Hackenberg might fall to the third or fourth round and be there for the Texans to take and not use a high pick on him.

Hopefully it won’t turn out like a Russell Wilson situation where the guy that got the big bucks, Matt Flynn, was beat out by the rookie from the middle rounds. That was an egg on the faces of the Seahawks front office for sure. But if Hackenberg delivered a Super Bowl to Houston, I don’t think ownership or the fans would mind. However, let’s hope that Brock Osweiler becomes the player that he was paid to be.