Was Tony Hollings The Worst Draft Pick Ever Made By The Houston Texans?

As you'd expect from any NFL team, the Houston Texans' draft history is littered with failures. There's never any guarantee a college player will be who you project him to be on the professional level, so busts are inevitable. NFL.com's Jim Reineking recently took a look at all four AFC South teams and gave his opinion on the best and worst draft pick each franchise has had (and did an admirable job refusing to count the Houston Oilers' history as part of the Tennessee Titans analysis). You can probably guess who he decided was the Texans' best draft pick, what with the historic production through five seasons and the three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.

But Reineking's call on the Texans' worst draft pick? You may disagree with that conclusion.

Worst pick: Tony Hollings (2003 NFL Supplemental Draft, Round 2)

The lowdown: The Texans forfeited a second-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft in order to get Hollings. Burning such a high selection on Hollings was a curious decision at best. Hollings was a defensive back in his first two seasons in college at Georgia Tech, and then moved to running back but played in just four games before a suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Due to academic issues, Hollings entered the 2003 supplemental draft. In three seasons with the Texans' Hollings started only one game, gained 149 yards and did not score a touchdown.

I don't know about you, but I clearly remember being excited about the Hollings pick when it was made. Joy  in the immediate aftermath of a draft selection is, of course, no precursor to greatness, as we've learned all too many times. Still, even with the benefit of hindsight, I don't think I'd go so far as to call Hollings the worst pick the franchise has ever made. There are too many other players I'd consider to be far more horrendous selections.  Indeed, our own BFD declared three other players to be bigger draft busts than Hollings back when he looked at the situation several years ago.

Here's Pro Football Reference's complete list of every draft pick your Houston Texans have ever made. Who, if anyone, do you think was a more awful pick than Tony Hollings?