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What's that? A brief respite from the world o' mock drafts? Why, yes, I would like that!
Bill Barnwell has you covered. For 29 of the 31 picks in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Barnwell has proposed a trade scenario. Three of those theoretical deals involve your Houston Texans. Would you be excited if any of these came to fruition on Thursday night?
14. Raiders trade 1-14 to Texans for 1-22, 3-85, 4-119.
Houston is likely in the market for a wide receiver across from superstar DeAndre Hopkins, but it won't be Treadwell, who has drawn comps to Hopkins for their similar skill sets. A more likely candidate for the Texans would be TCU's Josh Doctson, who might be on the board at No. 22, but I doubt that Houston wants to take that risk if they're seriously interested in the agile wideout. The Texans have fundamentally reshaped their offense by adding Brock Osweiler, Lamar Miller and Jeff Allen this offseason; they could complete the package by adding the gifted Doctson as a threat after the catch.
22. Texans trade 1-22 to Panthers for 1-30, 3-93, 5-168.
Although his team has been struggling with cap woes for most of his tenure with Carolina, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman has no qualms about trading up, having done so to acquire Devin Funchess last year. It seems like a bad idea given how thin Carolina's roster can be, but after three division titles in three years, Gettleman probably deserves some benefit of the doubt. Carolina was able to make it through the NFC with Michael Oher at left tackle, but Oher and Mike Remmers were badly exposed in the Super Bowl. They could very well trade up to try to grab a tackle such as Germain Ifedi in the middle of the first round here, or go after one of the aforementioned corners if they're still on the board. This is another basically identical swap (780 for 772.2) on the traditional value chart.
28. Chiefs trade 1-28 to Texans for 2-52, 3-85, 2017 fourth-round pick.
The biggest hole on Houston's offense, meanwhile, is at center. The Texans lost Ben Jones to Tennessee in free agency and never really replaced him. The best center available is comfortably Alabama's Ryan Kelly, but it's hard to see him getting by the Cardinals, who badly need a pivot, at No. 29. This is a lot to pay for a center, but if the Texans come away with a wide receiver at No. 22 and Kelly at No. 28, their offense would be set. The Chiefs lost a third-rounder over the Jeremy Maclin tampering scandal; this is a chance to get that pick back while waiting to draft front-seven pieces in the second round.
On their faces, the only one of those scenarios that's appealing to me is the hypothetical Texans-Panthers trade. Not surprisingly, that's also the only one of the three that sees the Texans acquiring additional draft picks instead of parting with them. The trades with the Raiders and Chiefs--especially the Chiefs--are too rich for my blood, at least in this vacuum before we see who's available at these respective spots, though I understand the logic behind them. What say you?