Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller sign with the Houston Texans
By jonfox
The Houston Texans and more importantly Bill O’Brien decided to take a shot at contending on wednesday when they went out and locked up Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller as part of a total remaking of the engine of their offense. They had to shell out a lot of money and will be paying them on average 24+ million a season.
Whether it was smart to do will remain to be seen. Both were considered the best at their positions in free agency, but this move smacks more of desperation than anything else. The Broncos literally have no talent at quarterback now and despite having the money to meet what Houston gave Osweiler, they choose not to increase their offer past 16 million on average.
The Dolphins had decided to letting Lamar Miller walk long before he signed with the Texans. For some reason the prior and current coaching staffs just didn’t see in him something to build around at the price he was looking for. This could be a red flag, but considering the incompetence of the Dolphins(the current regime’s competency is still yet to be determined) this also could be a big mistake.
So how will this effect all the teams’ draft plans:
For the Texans: It would seem to free them up to go “best player available” in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Now they can use those picks on another wideout, a receiving tight end, an Inside backer or defensive line help for Watt. It also means that they won’t be looking to a rookie quarterback to not put more pressure on the rest of the roster.
For the Broncos: They were looking at defensive front 7 help in the draft but if they don’t make a move for a quarterback then looking for a new passer will be their target in the first round. This probably increases the price on Colin Kaepernick and Rg3 if the Broncos are interested in either.
For the Dolphins: They were planning for a post-Lamar Miller era, so how much this changes things is open for interpretation. They have Jay Ajayi, a relatively high draft pick from last season but he’s such an enigma that they’ll almost certainly be drafting another running back in the first 3 rounds.