Ranking all 6 NFL GM openings; Where do the Lions land?
By Jon Poole
5) Houston Texans (4-12)
- owner: Cal McNair
- head coach: Romeo Crennel (interim)
- projected ’21 cap space: $(-9,362,231) (25th in NFL)
- projected ’21 draft pick: no picks in the first two rounds, but 3rd in the others
The one glaring positive is the Texans have going for them is franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson. He’s 25 years old and playing the best ball of his life sporting the 2nd-best QB rating in 2020.
The glaring negative is in spite of that, Houston was still only 4-12 with really no building block talent on either side of the ball outside of Watson. Who’s $160 million extension kicks in starting 2022 too, btw…
To make things worse, the Texans project to have the 8th least cap space in 2021 with no draft picks in the first two rounds. Their 2020 class hasn’t shown much, if any, promise either.
Ownership: Unlike Jacksonville and Detroit, and more like Washington, Houston’s ownership has been in chaos since owner Cal McNair took over for his father. The presence of Jake Easterby, the interim GM without a personnel background who has had a suspicious rise to power and ear of McNair, is something I would imagine to be a deterrent for GM prospects.
Jack Easterby is interim GM till new GM hired. Just like Crennel is interim coach. Easterby will return to his role as executive VP of football operations. GM will have final say on personnel and answer to Cal McNair.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) October 7, 2020