Let's make one thing very clear before we start discussing the loss of draft picks via trade: if you come away with a franchise quarterback, there is almost no price too high to pay. The Texans did that this offseason when they acquired Deshaun Watson with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
But it does warrant mentioning that, when time comes around for the 2018 NFL Draft, the Texans could be watching the Cleveland Browns select a pair of pretty nice players with selections handed to Cleveland this offseason.
Here's the draft order following Monday night's victory by the Ravens in Baltimore:
Yes, that's right. The Texans currently qualify as a bad enough football team that they would be picking No. 8 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. That selection will be owned by the Browns, however, because of the Watson trade, which saw the Texans give up a future first-round pick in exchange for the No. 12 pick last year.
But wait, there's more. The Texans also traded with the Browns when the new league year first opened, dealing away Brock Osweiler and his mammoth nightmare of a contract along with a second-round pick in exchange for, well, nothing. The Texans wanted to dump Osweiler's salary and the Browns wanted to get draft picks, so the deal happened.
Right now that pick would land squarely in the top-40 range (the eighth pick in the second round would be exactly the No. 40 overall pick, but there are likely alternate picks involved here because of similar records).
Don't get me wrong, the Texans would make this trade in a heartbeat:
Jabrill Peppers, No. 8 overall (2018), No. 40 overall (2018), Roderick Johnson and Brock Osweiler for Deshaun Watson and Carlos Watkins.
That's basically what the swaps this offseason worked out to be. But the Texans are still a team that needs some depth and some help.
This year's crop of draft prospects does not look quite as good as last year's overall draft class, but that No. 8 pick could easily end up being a pretty good quarterback as well. The Browns are currently squatting on the No. 1 and No. 8 overall picks, plus the No. 33 pick and the No. 40 pick. They could come away with a monster haul as a result.
But, then again, we've seen the Browns hold a bunch of early picks and do nothing with them before. It would be hardly shocking to see them whiff multiple times in the first round.
This is the plan they wanted to enact, however, and it's working. The Texans could end up suffering some down the road because of depth at certain positions. But they ultimately have their franchise quarterback on the roster, and even though the price is going to look steep come May 2018, it should all be worth it if Watson is healthy.
