Brian Gaine expects a historic draft for Texans
Opinion // Jerome Solomon
Jerome Solomon , Houston Chronicle April 20, 2019
Last year, Texans GM Brian Gaine didn't have a pick in the first two rounds, yet came away with an impressive draft class.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Brian Gaine doesn't hold court often.
He isn't E.F. Hutton, but a little over a year into his stewardship of the Texans, the first-time general manager has said so little, that we must be excused for cupping hand to ear to gather sound, then parsing each phrase as if it were a constitutional amendment.
His predecessor Rick Smith wasn't particularly loquacious either. They both believe in the one-voice philosophy, and that voice for the Texans is the head coach.
But Gaine took center stage this week with a pre-draft media session that, while not a window to his soul, offered some insights into the thinking of the man charged with building a championship football team.
Let's get the parsing out of the way.
Gaine expects this to be a historic draft for the Texans.
The Texans have four picks in the first three rounds of the draft, which begins Thursday. Gaine is projecting player 1, 2, 3 and 4 - Nos. 23, 54, 55 and 86 overall — will be major contributors for the Texans.
"We hope, at some point in time, all four of those players would be starters or eventual starters," he said. "So, we have an opportunity here and we have every intention of getting it right, to potentially get four new starters in seven days' time."
Nothing wrong with setting goals. This one could be difficult to attain.
Should Gaine pull off something like Charley Casserly did in his last draft before Smith stepped in, the Texans will be in outstanding shape for years to come.
Casserly was working at the top of each round, not the bottom third, as is the case for Gaine, when he parlayed the reward for the Texans' 2-14 disaster in 2005 into four big-time starters, including three Pro Bowlers. That was accomplished with five top-100 picks, four among the first 66 selections.
The only other time the Texans walked away from the overdone annual rookie procurement with four legitimate starters was in the franchise's first year.
The Texans are not about to have a celebrated draft featuring the likes of Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, Owen Daniel and Eric Winston, but you have to admire Gaine's confidence. He sees his organization as one built to succeed.
If he picks the right players, he believes coach Bill O'Brien's staff will get the most out of them.
"First and foremost, I have a lot of trust in our player development process," Gaine said. "We have the apparatus in place, and I firmly believe that, from our strength and conditioning operation to how our coaches coach and how they develop (players) in the classroom, our player development entity, what we do in the café and the resources that are here for our players to develop and ascend.
"If they have all of the physical traits, I'm going to bet on the fact that if they have the right personal and football character, those two meshing with the physical qualities will allow them to reach their ceiling.
"In my mind, I'm thinking if I'm taking these players at least in the first three rounds, at some point we should be acquiring potential starters. Obviously, the earlier more emphasis, the latter being eventually at that stage. That's kind of how we think through those things."
With the holes in the Texans' roster, this draft is pivotal. Teams want to come out of free agency with a squad that can compete, at least on paper. That way, drafting for need is never in the discussion.
Gaine described free agency as "more of a needs-driven environment," but you couldn't tell that by the team's cautious approach to the free-for-all.
Thus, it is mid-April, and the Texans have obvious needs.
Good thing the season is almost five months away, because Deshaun Watson needs protection. Without question Andrew Luck and every other quarterback on the Texans' schedule would prefer they ride with the secondary as currently built.
Gaine claims the Texans will let the draft board do the talking, but don't be surprised at how often players at positions of need will speak the loudest when the Texans are on the clock.
Gaine says there are starting-caliber players at tackle and cornerback who will be available even into the third round.
Did I mention the Texans have four picks in the first three rounds?
How desperate might the Texans be at cornerback, where they lost veteran Kareem Jackson and oft-injured Kevin Johnson to free agency?
Gaine says in his draft projection, there could be starting-caliber cornerbacks available on Day 4 of this year's draft.
Yeah, I know, the draft is only three days long.
Give the man a break. He simply misspoke.
(That said, don't discount contributions from undrafted free agents the Texans will sign after the draft. Oh, how they could use Arian Foster.)
Gaine was speaking about Day 3 and the fourth round, a round in which the Texans do not have a pick.
Will he maneuver up into the round to fill a hole? Yes, he said, if a player he likes has slipped and can be had.
Maybe this will be where Gaine does championship-level damage.
After so many midround failures through the years, the Texans need to post more hits than misses.
A year ago, in a draft in which he had far less time to prepare, Gaine didn't have a pick in the first two rounds, yet left the proceedings with an impressive group of mid- and late-round rookies. Justin Reid, Jordan Akins, Keke Coutee, and Jordan Thomas made instant impacts.
Gaine didn't say much then either. His works mattered much more than his words.
Maybe four starters in the first 86 picks isn't such a ridiculous notion.
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Jerome Solomon
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Jerome grew up in downtown Acres Homes, Texas. He is a proud graduate of Mabel B. Wesley Elementary and was a basketball team captain at Waltrip High School, where he helped the Mighty Rams to a near-.500 record.
A math genius and engineering major in college, he's still working on this writing thing. He says that the three years he spent as an F.M. Black Panther probably played a more significant a role in the man he would become than the time he spent in college.
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