The offseason is now in full swing here at NRG Stadium.
As we wrote yesterday, there are some key dates for fans to keep up with over the next couple of months. As we turn to draft season, the majority of those events will circle around the next crop of prospects, as there are several opportunities for fans to learn more about players who will enter the National Football League next season.
In the spirit of those dates, I figured it made some sense to let you know our coverage plans as well. Over the past two years, we've really expanded the offseason events we make it out too, in an effort to give you a firsthand pictures of players that might end up Texans in April (the NFL Draft is April 28-30 this year). So, here's a rough list of what (and who) you can expect from HoustonTexans.com over the next month or so.
Now, this list isn't the only stuff we'll cover obviously, but a grouping of the events we'll cover LIVE. That's the difference.
Senior Bowl (January 25-29)
We will be off to Mobile to cover the first real event of the NFL draft season. Myself, John Harris and Joe Amaral will chronicle the week long preparation leading up to post-season game. Harris, our draft guru, will interview tons of players on site (with Joe's help), while I'll give you a behind the scenes look of what it is like to be there on social media. There is a good chance a player participating in this event will either be selected by the Texans or play against them next year. Here's your first chance to get a complete scouting report.
Pro Bowl (January 28-31)
Drew Dougherty drew the short straw (Jay McDevitt will assist), as he'll be off to Hawaii (tough break Drew) to cover this year's Pro Bowl. DeAndre Hopkins is the lone Texans representative (J.J. Watt bowed out due to injury), so look for a daily report on Nuk's experiences at his first Pro Bowl. You never know what will happen out in Hawaii, as we learned last year when Watt decided to try his hands at field goal kicking. Should anything like that happen, Drew will be all over it. Plus, we might even get a #DearDrew from Hawaii. Can't beat that. Can you surf Drew?
NFL Combine (February 23-28)
This is the crown jewel of the offseason, and HoustonTexans.com will be out in full force to cover it. The multi-day day athletic competition (more like measurement perhaps) takes place in Indianapolis, and will likely feature all the biggest names from this past year of college football. Marc Vandermeer, Deepi Sidhu, Drew, John, Jay and Jesse Clark (for social) will all be there.
40-yard dashes will be run, bench presses will be tracked and press conferences will commence. They'll be radio shows (and podcasts), along with written and video content. This will also be the first time Texans head coach Bill O'Brien and General Manager Rick Smith will speak to the media since the end of the season, so you can expect to see that live on the website. News always emerges from this event, so we'll leave no stone unturned.
So, despite there being no games on the field, at least you have a few things to look forward too as the clock turns to February. As a reminder, we'll cover all the events above on our social media channels, so make sure you are following us on all of our platforms. You can find those social accounts below.
www.twitter.com/HoustonTexans
www.facebook.com/HoustonTexans
www.instagram.com/HoustonTexans
Snapchat: TexansOfficial
