New Houston coach Bill O'Brien reiterated Monday that the Texans will draft one quarterback -- and "maybe two."
Frankly, drafting two quarterbacks is not an outlandish thought at all. Indeed, the Texans should snag two.
The first reason: It's not exactly as if Houston is brimming with stars at the position. The Texans recently signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to go with holdovers Case Keenum and T.J. Yates. That trio isn't going to scare anybody (unless, maybe, a Texans coach or fan), and no way are any of those guys considered the long-term solution.
The second: Houston is not far removed from a great 2012 season (12-4). The Texans have some legitimate stars on each side of the ball and have solid depth overall, meaning this team can afford to take two quarterbacks even though it has three veteran signal-callers on the roster.
The third: O'Brien is a quarterback guru of sorts, and this draft is brimming with quarterback talent. Don't look at his time with New England; he was the quarterback coach and coordinator there, but he arrived after Tom Brady already was established as one of the best quarterbacks in league history. Instead, look what he did in the past two seasons at Penn State, where he turned journeyman Matt McGloin into an NFL player in one year, then helped Christian Hackenberg become the best freshman quarterback in the nation in 2013. Having O'Brien work with two young quarterbacks with potential would be a good thing.
Owning the top pick -- and having 11 picks overall -- obviously gives the Texans some flexibility, as there is the potential for a trade down. If they keep the No. 1 pick, which seems likely, their selection sets the tone for the draft: Do they grab a quarterback early, or do they turn to South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney?
O'Brien's style of offense fits best with a dropback passer, which would seem to mean UCF's Blake Bortles or Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater would be the quarterbacks who could go No. 1. O'Brien's offense doesn't seem a good fit for Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
The quarterback depth in this draft means the Texans could take another signal-caller in the fourth, fifth or sixth rounds; they have a combined six selections in those rounds, and quarterbacks such as LSU's Zach Mettenberger, Georgia's Aaron Murray, San Jose State's David Fales, Pittsburgh's Tom Savage, Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas, SMU's Garrett Gilbert and Ball State's Keith Wenning could entice O'Brien. Having two young quarterbacks who can play is a huge positive in the trade market.
One thing to consider: It seems more likely that the Texanswould take two quarterbacks if they bypass one in the first round. If a quarterback goes No. 1, all the attention should be focused on him to get him ready to play. If your first quarterback comes in the second or third round, that wouldn't necessarily be the case.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
