'The Conversation': Inside Texans' Game Plan at NFL Scouting Combine

The Houston Texans value getting to know underclassmen at the Combine.

As much as the measurables factor into drafting decisions, the opportunity to meet with players face-to-face at the NFL Scouting Combine is high on the priority list for Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio.

And it’s even more valuable with underclassmen in the NFL Draft. ... and maybe more important when you're the Texans, with the Nos. 2 and 12 overall picks in the April selection process.

“You really haven’t had an opportunity to interact with them anywhere else,” Caserio said during a recent Texans Radio interview. “It’s a first opportunity to sit and have a conversation like this.”

Underclassmen, for the most part, were unable to participate in postseason all-star games with seniors. So NFL scouts weren’t able to see them practice and in action at games such Senior Bowl and the Shrine Bowl.

And since NFL teams have limited time with all players at the Combine, Caserio finds it important to interact in a more informal setting. Getting a chance to sit down and get to know a prospect is the goal.

“Our approach is to make it more conversational with the player,” Caserio said. “Not have them walk in a room with 50 people and a camera. You want to just have a conversation. It’s not necessarily background related. It’s more football related.”

Of course, the performance and medical reports will be part of the evaluation process. The Texans value speed, agility, strength and health concerns, just as every team in the league does.

But the process begins at the Combine, starting next Tuesday, as well continues in individual workouts and campus visits. Gathering that information will inform draft grades, along with the interview process.

Some of those interview questions, according to Caserio, could be: “How did you arrive at this point?” and “What are some of the things that you did from a football standpoint?”

So the Combine is just the start, especially with underclassmen.

“Understanding that there’s going to be more follow-up work we’re going to have to do on a majority of the players that we even visit with there,” Caserio said.

The Texans own 11 picks in the upcoming Draft, including the second pick.

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