2015 NFL Mock Draft: Former Houston Texans General Manager Takes Swing, History Suggests Horrendous Miss

It's unfair to say that former Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly single-handedly piloted the Good Ship Texan into the depths of Hades during his reign of terror at Reliant NRG Park, but it's entirely fair to reason that he had a sizable hand in the Texans' floundering from 2002 to 2006. A large part of that failure was due to--you guessed it--the NFL Draft.

Here's a link to the Houston Texans' entire draft history. Here are the drafts Charley Casserly managed (despite Casserly still being GM for the 2006 NFL Draft, we're not including that one in this exercise, as it was widely understood that Casserly was not the one in charge of the room that weekend; he was on his way out, as witnessed by his resignation a few weeks afterward).

2002 NFL Draft
1-1: David Carr (QB--Fresno State)
2-33: Jabar Gaffney (WR--Florida)
2-50: Chester Pitts (OT--San Diego State)
3-66: Fred Weary (G--Tennessee)
3-83: Charles Hill (DT--Maryland)
4-99: Jonathan Wells (RB--Ohio State)
5-136: Jarrod Baxter (FB--New Mexico)
5-153: Ramon Walker (DB--Pittsburgh)
6-173: Demarcus Faggins (CB--Kansas State)
6-190: Howard Green (DT--Louisiana State)
7-229: Greg White (DE--Minnesota)
7-261: Ahmad Miller (DT--UNLV)

2002 Supplemental Draft
6-1: Milford Brown (G--Florida State)

2003 NFL Draft
1-3: Andre Johnson (WR--Miami)
2-41: Bennie Joppru (TE--Michigan)
3-67: Antwan Peek (LB--Cincinnati)
3-75: Seth Wand (OT--Northwest Missouri State)
3-88: Dave Ragone (QB--Louisville)
4-101: Domanick Williams (RB--LSU)
6-192: Drew Henson (QB--Michigan)
6-214: Keith Wright (DT--Missouri)
7-217: Curry Burns (DB--Louisville)
7-233: Chance Pearce (LS--Texas A&M)

2003 Supplemental Draft
2-1: Tony Hollings (RB--Georgia Tech)

2004 NFL Draft
1-10: Dunta Robinson (CB--South Carolina)
1-27: Jason Babin (OLB--Western Michigan)*
4-122: Glenn Earl (SS--Notre Dame)
6-170: Vontez Duff (CB--Notre Dame)
6-175: Jammal Lord (DB--Nebraska)
6-200: Charlie Anderson (LB--Ole Miss)
7-210: Raheem Orr (DE--Rutgers)
7-211: Sloan Thomas (WR--Texas)
7-248: B.J. Symons (QB--Texas Tech)

* For the opportunity to select Jason Babin, the Texans traded their 2004 second, third, fourth, and fifth round picks to the Tennessee Titans for the No. 27 pick in the first round and the Titans' fifth-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

2005 NFL Draft
1-16: Travis Johnson (DT--Florida State)
3-73: Vernand Morency (RB--Oklahoma State)
4-114: Jerome Mathis (WR--Hampton)
5-151: Drew Hodgdon (C--Arizona State)
6-188: C.C. Brown (SS--Louisiana-Lafayette)
7-227: Kenneth Pettway (LB--Grambling State)

With such a strong and pronounced track record of draft success, it makes total sense than a business entity would employ Charley Casserly for the purpose of draft analysis.

/pauses for effect
//coughs
///looks down at floor
////sighs

What's more, if there's one thing Charley Casserly knows, it's drafting for your Houston Texans.

/mentally notes that draft history above doesn't include Casserly's decision to trade second and third round draft picks in 2005 NFL Draft to the Raiders for Phillip Buchanon
//feels blood pressure starting to rise

So let's see who Casserly has the Texans taking in his latest mock draft for NFL.com, shall we?

16. Houston Texans: Nelson Agholor (WR--USC)

The Texans want a wide receiver or cornerback. Look for a trade-up here to get one.

I see. The Texans allegedly want a WR or a CB and may trade up to get one. So sure of this is Casserly that he doesn't have Houston trading up to get a WR or a CB. He has them staying put and selecting a wide receiver many (but not everyone) believe is a second day pick.  With Todd Gurley (who Casserly writes is "the best player in the draft"), Danny Shelton, Landon Collins, Kevin Johnson, and Jaelen Strong, among others, still available.

Well, I'm sold. Casserly does know what to do with that sixteenth pick in the draft. That's where he snagged Travis Johnson back in '05.