Rotoworld Ranks The 2019 NFL General Managers

This is Brian Gaine’s second offseason as general manager of the Houston Texans. Last offseason, he did a spectacular job with the limited cap space and hampered draft capital to improve the roster; many of the players he added last year were integral to last season’s AFC South Championship.

This offseason...I don’t know, man. He is either smarter than all of us, a mad genius who is building for the future, or he just pooped the bed. I really don’t know. We will have to see how it all plays out. Anyways, Gaine has fallen further in the listing I keep under my bed that I reevaluate every night while I tell my heart to be still in the sticky air.

That’s a private list. Subscribe to my Patreon to see it. Rotoworld’s list of NFL general managers isn’t. This is where they rank Brian Gaine:

23. Brian Gaine, Texans

Brian Gaine was hired to be coach Bill O’Brien’s friend as much as anything else. The Texans had grown weary of O’Brien butting heads with ex-GM Rick Smith. It was mission accomplished in Year 1, with Gaine nabbing Tyrann Mathieu in free agency before overseeing a picks-poor draft. Despite having zero selections across the first 67 slots, Gaine still managed to come away with starting safety Justin Reid at No. 68. Some of Gaine’s other gambits — like throwing money at the second tier of free agent offensive linemen and hoping something sticks — were less successful. None of Zach Fulton, Senio Kelemete and Seantrel Henderson were an asset. Gaine had more to work with this spring, using top-55 picks on a pair of tackles and a cornerback. Still mostly anonymous, it could be another year or two before Gaine establishes a real identity working alongside the domineering O’Brien.

Hmmmm. Close. Sounds about right.

What do you think? Is there you would have Gaine? Do you feel better or worse about him as the Texans’ GM after this offseason?