There were a lot of good questions on Facebook this week when we opened things up for the Dear Drew video. Therefore, I decided to answer a few more in the written form.
Thanks a lot.
Love,
Drew
Alejandro Mazal: Dear Drew, If we begin the season with Tom Savage as our starter and he gets hurt, who would start for the Texans? Brandon Weeden or whichever rookie we end up drafting?
DD: The Texans haven't said whether they'll draft a quarterback or not. (I think they will.) But let's roll with your scenario. I think Weeden would likely be the first guy off the bench if Savage is a starter and he goes down because of injury. He's played, started, and won in this system before. I think a rookie would need a little more time.
Derwin Jordan: Dear Drew, What would be your dance if you had the chance to score a touchdown for the
Houston Texans?
DD: No dance: I'd do the Lambeau Leap celebration and run/jump into the stands.
Joe Cardner: Dear Drew, When does the pre-season schedule come out?
DD: There's not an official date yet, but it's almost always in mid-April. Last year the NFL announced the schedules on April 14. The year before that, it came out on April 21st. Over the last 10 years, the latest the schedules were revealed was April 23rd. In 2007, the schedule release was April 11th. The average release date over all those years was April 17th.
Alfredo Portillo: Dear Drew, Do you think Bill O'Brien got the new Rick Ross CD?
DD: I'm guessing that's a no, but I bet he'll have some Ross tracks playing this spring at OTAs.
Audrey Owen: Dear Drew, Do you think we'll actually draft a quarterback this time around?
DD: I do, and I could see it happening as soon as the first round. The Texans haven't drafted a QB since 2014 when they picked Tom Savage in the 4th round, and the only time they've taken a quarterback in the 1st round was in 2002 with David Carr.
Dan Flores: Dear Drew, When will the Houston Texans Cheerleaders pick their guest fan judges? Throw in a
good word for me too! #HTCTryOuts2017 #HTCSuperfan
DD: Dan, they'll make the announcement this Monday, March 27. Good luck.
Mike Ledesma: Dear Drew, Do you think Tyler Ervin will be our return specialist this year? Or do you think we draft one?
DD: I think you'll see a lot of what you saw last year: Ervin and Will Fuller splitting punt return duties, and Ervin sharing kickoff return opportunities with Akeem Hunt. As a rookie, Ervin was 8th in the NFL in punt return average with 9.7 yards per. Pretty solid work for a guy in his first year, who was injured and didn't play in four games. He had a punt return of 13 yards or more in seven of the 12 regular season games he played last year, and his longest went for 57 yards in Week 10 at Jacksonville.
Fuller, meanwhile, averaged 15 yards per punt return, largely because of a 67-yarder he took to the house against Tennessee in Week 4. He also had four other games where he logged a punt return of 12 yards or more.
Special teams coordinator Larry Izzo has options with those two returning, and receiver Braxton Miller might wind up seeing some chances to return as well.
Ramiro Rodriguez: Dear Drew, I feel left out Drew! Left out! Seeing all the other teams sing free agents, seeing other teams fans excitement when a great free agent gets signed to their team!
DD: Chill, Ramiro. Over the course of NFL history, many of the best teams did little during the early part of free agency. Early in free agency last year, the Texans added quarterback Brock Osweiler and running back Lamar Miller, as well as linemen Jeff Allen and Tony Bergstrom. Osweiler is now in Cleveland.
Leslie Coleman: Dear Drew, Any chance Davis Webb comes back to the Lone Star State as a Houston Texans QB? If so. What are odds he's our Second round pick?
DD: Yes, there's always a chance. But I can't see the Texans spending a first round pick on him. Some Draft/NFL analysts have said Webb might sneak into the first round. Perhaps it could happen, but I don't see it happening with the Texans. As a second-rounder, that makes more sense. But based off what I'm hearing/reading, Webb won't be around when the Texans pick in the second round.
Derwin Jordan: Dear Drew, what's Vince Wilfork's status on retirement?
DD: All Derwins are entitled to get two questions answered, as long as the questions aren't idiotic. This is a solid question. After the Texans playoff loss at New England, Wilfork said he was in all likelihood finished playing football. The nose takcle has not officially filed any papers, and isn't under contract with the Texans either. He's probably done, though. Wilfork is living in the Houston area now, and enjoying the time off.
Derwin Jordan Dear Drew,
What would be your laugh or dance if you had the chance to score a touchdown for the Houston Texans?
