What in the Hell are the Texans Thinking?
/This past Labor Day weekend featured one of the more wild trades I have seen go down in the NFL in my lifetime. While it doesn't have the name recognition that the Khalil Mack trade had last year, it was still pretty nuts.
And no, I am not completely talking about the Jadeveon Clowney trade to Seattle. But, I do want to touch on that real quick. This was a very lopsided trade, in favor of the Seahawks. I cannot believe all they had to trade was a few guys that they were going to cut and a third round pick for Clowney. Clowney is a top notch defensive end, and that is such a light return. Clowney is going to make Seattle a solid defense again, and may even make them a possible contender. He doesn't do as much as Mack to the Bears did, but still, the Seahawks got a top tier defensive lineman for next to nothing.
I want to talk about what the Texans did the very next day. This will stick with me for a good while because of how insane a deal they pulled off, in not such a great way. The Texans, one day after trading Clowney for peanuts, gave Miami what seems like a million first round picks for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills. The amount of picks the Dolphins got for these 2 guys is akin to what the Thunder got this offseason for all the trades they pulled off. I have zero doubt in my mind who won this trade, and it is the Dolphins by a good long mile. Look, Tunsil and Stills are solid players, but they are not worth that amount of picks.
The Texans essentially mortgaged their future because they think they have a window for a title now. They don't. I think the Texans are good, and I like that they got a solid tackle to help protect Deshaun Watson, and another receiving weapon in Stills. These 2 guys will help the Texans do exactly what they did last year. They will win 10 or 11 games, the AFC South, and most likely, have an early-ish exit from the playoffs. The Texans, even with these moves, are still not on the same level as the AFC's top teams. The Patriots are still better. The Chiefs are much, much, much better. I still think the Colts can contend with the Texans in their own division because they have a good, young defense. I think the Ravens are just as good, if not better, than the Texans. And, if they somehow beat the Patriots or Chiefs, and make the Super Bowl, the NFC has so many teams better than them right now. The Rams, Saints, Bears, Vikings, Seahawks and maybe even the Packers, in my opinion, are all better than the current roster the Texans have. I get that they most likely heard the talk last year about how they could not protect Watson, and that Clowney wanted out and wouldn't sign the franchise tender. But these were some poor decisions made by the front office, and Bill O'Brien. This should prove to anyone who may still think that he is a solid coach and evaluator of talent that maybe, they were wrong. Bill O'Brien has not done anything of note really in the NFL, and yet he is given carte blanche by this franchise to make these horrible decisions. Why? What has he shown to them that they trust him so much with the future of this team? I want them to be good because I really like Watson and Deandre Hopkins. But, a guy like O'Brien is just there to seemingly blow it up.
Like I said, I think the Texans will be fine, but not of note now, or in the near future of the NFL. These trades were odd and kind of dumb, but that is Bill O'Brien for you. Oh well.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Ty usually thinks that NFL trades are some of the most boring and pointless sports things ever. Except for that one time.
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