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Most pundits seem fairly certain that the first two picks of the 2016 NFL Draft will be Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. After that, it's anyone's guess as to what happens. Thus, while we can flap our gums about who the Texans should take with the 22nd overall pick, we don't even know who's going to be available. That inherent truth is one of the things that makes mock drafts so maddening. By their very nature, it's impossible to put together anything that resembles an answer key.
And yet, we devour them anyway. Despite the fatal flaw that lives inside every mock draft, some analysts even go so far as to construct seven rounds of mockery, with each pick sure to be more wrong than the one before it. Fox Sports' Peter Schrager is one of those intrepid souls. If you want to see what Schrager has projected for all 256 picks in 2016, click here. With regard to your Houston Texans, here's what he predicts for Houston's first round selection:
22. Houston (9-7): Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia
I'm told by a lot of folks around the NFL that Joseph is a first-round pick. Houston would be a great fit. Their safety position could use a kickstart. Joseph, coming off an injury, could be electric.
If nothing else, I give Schrager credit for thinking outside the box and resisting the urge to mock a wide receiver to Houston here. Then again, would the Texans really pass on Laquon Treadwell, Corey Coleman, and Will Fuller for Karl Joseph? There's no doubt the team needs help at safety, so I suppose it's simply a question of how good the braintrust believes Joseph can be and/or how much of a drop-off there is from Joseph to the next safety on the board.
Before you weigh in with your thoughts on the merits of Karl Joseph to Houston, here's the rest of Schrager's mock for the Texans:
52. Houston: Sterling Shepard, WR, Oklahoma
85. Houston: Quinton Jefferson, DT, Maryland
119. Houston: Rashard Higgins, WR, Colorado State
159. Houston: DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech
166. Houston: Sterling Bailey, DE, Georgia
195. Houston: Daryl Worley, CB, West Virginia
Of course, there's no way the Texans will actually make those seven (7) selections. It's unlikely they make even two, and asking for one of those picks to be accurate is almost surely asking far too much.
Nevertheless, what do you think of that theoretical haul? Keeping the fallacy of instant draft analysis alive, what grade would you immediately give the Texans if they actually came away with those seven players this weekend? Hit the poll below and discuss amongst yourselves.