The Houston Texans finished 9-7 last season largely thanks to a Herculean effort from J.J. Watt. Although veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick managed to throw for 2,483 yards with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 12 games, his play faded down the stretch and the Texans fell out of the playoff hunt in the AFC.
Ryan Mallett and Tom Savage are intriguing options under center, and Brian Hoyer can bring a steady hand to the position this year, but none of them appear to be a long-term franchise guy. As a result, head coach Bill O'Brien may be looking at the top quarterback prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Although it's nearly impossible to accurately project draft slots and picks this early, getting an idea of which players are being valued at certain positions is a worthwhile exercise. According to Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated, Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook may be highly valued by the Texans in next year's draft.
"Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota may still have gone 1-2 in this year's draft even if Cook had declared, but there's little question the Michigan State product would have been QB3," Burke wrote. "How high he climbs in 2016 depends on if Cook can keep improving, especially in becoming more comfortable when things break down around him. As is, he's a 6'4" QB with a nice arm and the moxie to perform in crunch time."
Cook has been linked to other QB-needy teams such as the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets. But the Texans have a lot of solid pieces in place and could compete immediately given an upgrade under center. Cook definitely qualifies.
The senior signal-caller completed 58.1 percent of his passes last season while throwing for 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. In two years as a starter at MSU, he has yet to throw double-digit picks.
Scout love his confidence and swagger. As Burke mentioned, at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he has the necessary size to play the position to go along with solid mobility. Plus, he comes from a pro-style offense. But Cook will have to improve his footwork and mechanics this year. He needs to tweak the small holes in his game if he wants to become the first Spartans quarterback drafted in the top-40 picks during the Super Bowl era.
