Texans Lovie Smith Excited For Draft Picks After Watson Trade

Although he is happy the saga is over, Houston Texans' head coach Lovie Smith is thrilled about the picks obtained in the deal that sent Deshaun Watson to the Browns.

HOUSTON —When most teams move on from a top-tear talent, the future for the organization appears bleak. But for the Houston Texans, their future appears promising. 

The Texans traded Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns and received a massive haul of draft picks in the exchange. Houston's coach Lovie Smith is happy that the Texans can move forward beyond the year-long Watson chaos. It's a situation Smith witnessed from afar as the Texans' defensive coordinator in 2021.

But departing from the disgruntled quarterback isn't what made Smith excited about the trade. With a pair of first-round picks entering the 2022 NFL Draft, Smith is intrigued by what the Texans can become.

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Lovie Smith

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Lovie Smith

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Lovie Smith and Nick Caserio

"In our case, we won four games last season, and that is not enough," Smith said during his interview with Marc Vandermeer at the NFL Owners' Meetings on Tuesday. "So how do we get better? One way is to improve the talent level on the roster. And Getting more picks this year will help a lot."

The Texans have spent the previous few weeks attending Pro Days and meeting individually with some of the top talents entering the draft. The Texans have scouted and held meetings with draft prospects Treylon Burks and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.

Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson

Both players are prime examples of what the Texans are looking for during the draft. Houston can build around second-year quarterback Davis Mills by selecting Burks, while Gardner's stature is the ideal cornerback for Smith's system. The Texans can accomplish both feats at pick No. 3 and No. 13.

"Sometimes divorce is a good thing," Smith said. "It's good for us and good for Deshaun. Now everyone can get a sense of what we are going forward with, and who we are going forward with."