Houston Texans: Team never spoke to QB Derek Carr
With the Houston Texans set to face Oakland Raiders for just the second time since they selected Derek Carr, the QB says Houston never spoke to him pre-draft
The Houston Texans held the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and there was a lot of speculation about which direction they would go with that choice. They desperately needed a quarterback, but it appeared that the best pick would be defensive end Jadeveon Clowney out of South Carolina.
Clowney ended up being the pick, and Houston decided to put their search for a signal-caller on hold. Then the first pick in the second round came up, and again Houston was on the clock. This time they went with guard Xavier Su’a-Filo despite there still being a couple of quality quarterbacks on the board.
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One of those happened to go a couple picks later to the team Houston will face in Mexico City on Monday Night, the Oakland Raiders. The guy they selected was Derek Carr out of Fresno State and all he has done since then is complete 61.1 percent of his passes for 9,762 yards with 70 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
Carr has improved every year in the league and is having an MVP-worthy season in 2016. He has the Raiders playing great and sitting with a record of 7-2.
Many Houston fans might wonder how things could have turned out if the Texans did select Carr. However, the team may not have ever even considered him according to Carr himself.
“I didn’t think so, they didn’t even talk to me one time. So, I really didn’t think so. I would have loved to play for Mr. (Bob) McNair, and I say that just with respect.” Said Carr via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle when asked if he though the Texans may draft him. “I’m just trying to give a compliment to Mr. McNair. I love him. The city was great to myself and my family. We have nothing but respect for respect for that city and I have nothing but respect for Mr. McNair.”
The reason they didn’t draft him was clear. The first ever pick in Texans history went to Carr’s older brother, David Carr. The elder Carr was part of an expansion team which featured a terrible offensive line.
That line led to David Carr spending many years on his back from awful hits. He became gun shy and never materialized into the player he should have been.
Since that didn’t work out, Houston obviously worried about selling Derek to their fanbase. They shouldn’t have worried though, because the younger Carr is productive and that is what sells to a fanbase.
Houston fans will get a chance to see just what the team missed out on by worrying about mistakes in years past this Monday Night. They also get to see what happens when you miss out on a quarterback and then later overspend on one in free agency.