Texans assistant coaches aren't just assistant coaches. In the late winter and early spring, they're also talent evaluators.
Head Coach Lovie Smith and many of his assistants have fanned out across the country the last few weeks attending college pro days. Smith has been to Georgia, Texas A&M, Michigan, Ohio State and Cincinnati, with some of his assistants accompanying him, and others attending different pro days.
According to General Manager Nick Caserio, the coaches' opinions are an important component of sizing up NFL Draft hopefuls.
"It's a huge part of it," Caserio said in a Texans Radio interview. "Our staff's done a great job over the last few weeks."
Caserio and the Texans currently own 11 picks in this year’s NFL Draft, beginning with the third overall selection. They have five in the Top 80, and seven in the first 108. Caserio explained what the assistants' duties are in the Draft preparation process.
"We've given them subsets of players to watch and evaluate independently from what we've done on the personnel and scouting side," Caserio said. "Now we have to combine those two. Because our vision of the player is maybe different from their vision of the player. So we just want to figure out why that exists and just bridge the gap a little bit."
After all, Caserio explained, the personnel side and the coaches need to be in union once a player is selected and a part of the club.
"Ultimately, when the player comes in the building, we all want to have a vested interest in that player," Caserio said. "You want to try to find the right people and the right players, and then just make sure that we see the vision the right way."
Caserio and Smith are in Palm Beach, Florida for the 2022 NFL Annual Meeting. Pro days will continue this week and next, and the Texans will continue getting set for the Draft, which begins Thursday, April 28 in Las Vegas.
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