Draft day decision makers: Houston Texans
The Houston Texans draft is run by General manger Rick Smith. Smith has been the GM of the team for the past six years, and while he has not done as a great a job on draft day as his predecessor, his draft classes have been pretty solid. From 2007 to 2009 every first round pick has started immediately. His 2010 draft class gets a pass for the moment as many of those picks were made for the future of that team. Smith runs the draft but likely leans heavily not only on his scouting staff but his head coach, Gary Kubiak, as well.
Smith has a rather interesting football history. He played for Purdue and later coached there and before coming to the Texans after serving as a coach and in the front office of the Denver Broncos. He has been known to use high draft picks on guys from small school and smaller BCS schools. However, he does not pass up a big school stud when appropriate.
In all he has run five draft classes for the team. In that time they have made 31 draft picks. Of those 26 are still with the team, six are legit starters, but only one has played in a pro bowl. All in all it feels a little under average, but that may be due to the overall under average performance of this team recently.
Related Links:
- Houston Texans War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com
