Texans First 5 Draft Picks Played in Senior Bowl

Nick Caserio is nothing but consistent

The annual draft pool consists of around 450 athletes from across the country. The players with four or five-star ratings coming out of high school and played in the SEC or BIG10 are well documented. However, art of the NFL Draft is finding budding talent from lesser-known programs who can develop into the next great athlete.

Teams must hone this art to properly identify, curate, and QA talent. This process is what defines great organizations in the league and can make or break teams.

For the Houston Texans under the Nick Caserio regime, there are several trends starting to appear. Last year, I identified six Draft Strategies and Habits that Caserio abides.

1. Double-up on positions of need

2. Trade up to select the player he wants

3. Even distribution between offensive and defensive players (with a skew to offense)

4. Prioritize starting potential over special teams players

5. Preference for Big-Time Schools and Programs

6. Selecting Team Captains

This year was no different. Jaylin Noel, Jaylin Smith, Woody Marks, Graham Mertz, and Luke Lachey were all team captains. All draftees were from Big 12, BIG10, or SEC. We all know how much Caserio traded up this year.

Another new trend was identified; Caserio met with each of the first five players at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Higgins, Ersery, Noel, Smith, and Marks all had private meetings with the Texans. Incredibly, the first five picks from the Texans draft all played for the National Team.

Round 2, No. 34 – Jayden Higgins, WR – Iowa State

Round 2, No. 58 – Aireontae Ersery, OT – Minnesota

Round 3, No. 79 – Jaylin Noel, WR – Iowa State

Round 3, No. 97 – Jaylin Smith, CB – USC

Round 4, No. 116 – Woody Marks, RB – USC

The Texans also brought the left tackle in for a Top 30 Visit. So too was Jaylin Smith. For their newest QB, they met with him at his Florida Pro Day.

No initial research shows if the Texans had exclusive access to the team throughout the weekend, but good thing the National Team won handily.

Key Plays from the Senior Bowl:

• Jayden Higgins caught a long TD on a double pass the first drive of the game
• Woody Marks only totaled seven yards on five carries, but hauled in two nice catches for 17 yards
• Jaylin Noel had two drops on touch catches

Though early in the draft process, the Senior Bowl allows for intimate meetings, which Nick Caserio took full advantage of this draft cycle. Compare this to the highly publicized Top 40 Visits right before the draft.

The biggest downside is that the Texans tend to overdraft players relative to their value. Since they close the books on several top prospects early at the Senior Bowl, they have an inaccurate evaluation of the league’s projection on where they should be drafted. Players such as Jaylin Smith and Woody Marks were both considered reaches by analysts. While Houston ensures they get “their guys”, they tend to overpay relative to the league’s evaluation of them.