Texans have the flexibility to be aggressive in the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft
By Jair Lopez
With plenty of uncertainty in the secondary moving forward, the Texans have the chance to nab a talented defensive back in this years supplemental draft.
The Texans secondary isn’t as deep as in other years. Cornerbacks Treston Decoud and Kareem Jackson switched to safety. Andre Hal was unfortunately diagnosed with Hogdkin’s Lymphoma. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph isn’t getting younger and Kevin Johnson has struggled with injuries and will be a free agent in 2019. The Texans have plenty of incentive in adding a defensive back in a compentent supplemental draft class.
How does the NFL Supplemental Draft work?
All 32 NFL teams are able to participate in it, but they are not required to do so. The NFL supplemental draft has its own set of rules and it will be held on July 11. The order to the draft goes as follows:
Tier one:
The first pool of teams that get a chance to draft a player are those who had less than six wins.
Tier two:
Then it is the teams that had six wins or more but didn’t make the playoffs.
Tier three:
After them, the teams that made the playoffs have a chance to draft a player that fell to them.
(The Texans are in the first tier, so they’re in a favorable spot to land a talented player).
Cleveland Browns (0-16)
New York GIants (3-13)
Indianapolis Colts (4-12)
Houston Texans (4-12)
Denver Broncos (5-11)
New York Jets (5-11)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)
Chicago Bears (5-11)
San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
Oakland Raiders (6-10)
Miami Dolphins (6-10)
If a NFL team falls in love with a prospect in 2018, they place their bid (upcoming 2019 NFL draft pick). The player goes to the team with the highest bid. (Which goes to the team with the worse record).
Example
If the Houston Texans (4-12) and the Denver Broncos (5-11) were interested in the same player and offered the same round draft choice, the player would go to the Texans since they have the worst record out of the two of them.
However if the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, or Indianapolis Colts were interested in the same player and offered the same round draft choice, they would beat the Texans bid since they have a worse record.
Who makes for sense for the Texans?
Western Michigan cornerback Sam Beal. The Texans are playing with fire if they roll with their current group of cornerbacks. There isn’t much depth outside of Joseph, Johnson, and Colvin.
Beal is pegged by many to go as early as the the second round. The Texans have two second round draft choices in 2019, so they have the flexibility to forfeit their own draft selection and still have a (Seattle Seahawks) second round draft pick in 2019.