Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft, joining a rebuilding team that could hold the No. 3 selection in the 2022 draft?
Or Davis Mills as the Week 1 starter in Year Two of Caserio?
Wherever the 4-12 Texans go from here, they will have options at the most important position in pro sports.
Look, I’m not trying to be overly optimistic about a squad that could again struggle to win four games next year. Thursday’s column was devoted to Houston’s NFL team potentially moving on from first-year head coach David Culley.
The Texans have to fix their entire offense, specifically the run game. The defense occasionally was better this season but still ranks last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, 29th in total yards and is tied for 26th in points.
Caserio has a ton of work to do and it’s easy to argue that Jacksonville, the NFL’s worst team (again), is currently in a better place than the Texans, even though two of the Texans’ four wins this season were against the friendly ol’ Jaguars.
But the Texans will have options at QB and it’ll be interesting to see how Caserio handles all of this.
He obviously has a vision for what he wants the rebuilt Texans to become.
New offensive coordinator? New HC? New starting QB, with Garoppolo or Mayfield battling Mills for the starting spot during training camp?
Mills has been better than expected, especially when you remember that he wasn’t supposed to play this season until the end of a lost 2021 campaign. But he’s also been as uneven as the Texans — he ranks 29th in adjusted QB rating, is tied for 26th in yards per attempt and is 25th in passer rating — and nothing should be guaranteed for the No. 67 overall pick next year.
Mayfield could reportedly be on the trade block. He’s partly in his current position because of a tackle that he was forced to make in Week 2, when the Texans were battling with the Browns in Cleveland.
The Texans just lost to the No. 3 pick in last year’s draft, as Trey Lance outperformed Mills during San Francisco’s recent 23-7 home win. Logically, Lance should receive the 49ers’ starting spot next season, which would make Garoppolo available on the open market.
With all the picks that should follow in a Deshaun Watson blockbuster, the Texans’ HC job should soon go from the worst in the NFL to a desirable one.
Caserio has 500 big decisions to make before Week 1 next year. Getting the QB call right — and refusing to settle for another wasted season — could go a long way in allowing the rebuilding Texans to bridge 2022 with a return to competitiveness in 2023 and beyond.
