2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 15
With just two weeks to go, the NFL playoff picture is starting to get clearer. The Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots, and Raiders have already punched their playoff tickets while the Chiefs, Steelers, Falcons, and Giants are considered near locks by the forecasts at Five Thirty Eight.
Here’s a look at where the draft order stands for the teams not currently slated to make the cut (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
1. Browns 0-14
2. 49ers 1-13
3. Jaguars 2-12
4. Bears 3-11
5. Jets 4-10
6. Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-10
7. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-9
8. Chargers 5-9
9. Cardinals 5-8-1
10. Bengals 5-8-1
11. Panthers 6-8
12. Saints 6-8
13. Bills 7-7
14. Colts 7-7
15. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-7
16. Redskins 7-6-1
17. Titans 8-6
17. Ravens 8-6 (Note: The Titans and Ravens are currently knotted up in terms of both record and strength of schedule. In all statistical likelihood, the SOS logjam will be broken by the end of the season.)
19. Texans 8-6
20. Buccaneers 8-6
Texans To Start Tom Savage At QB
Is the Brock Osweiler era already over in Houston? Moments ago, Texans coach Bill O’Brien announced that Tom Savage will be the team’s Week 16 starter. 
“[We] feel like Tom Savage gives us the best chance to win,” O’Brien said (via NFL.com) “… There’s a lot for him to improve on, but I thought he threw the ball well yesterday.”
Next up for the Texans is a Week 16 contest against the Bengals. O’Brien did not indicate whether Savage was guaranteed to start in the final game against the Titans, so the door could potentially open again for Osweiler.
Savage entered Sunday’s game against the Jaguars when the Texans were down 13-0. From there, he led Houston to a 21-20 victory in a game that may have decided Gus Bradley‘s fate in Jacksonville (for what it’s worth, the Jags claim that Bradley would have been fired regardless). Savage finished 23-of-36 passing for 260 yards. He didn’t thrown for a touchdown, but he didn’t have any interceptions either.
With two games to go, the 8-6 Texans hold the AFC South tiebreaker over the Titans. With so much at stake, the Texans are going with the quarterback that they believe gives them the best chance to win.
Osweiler signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Texans prior to this season. If Savage proves to be the better QB the rest of the way, Houston will have an interesting situation on its hands in March.
Texans Bench Brock Osweiler
Down 13-0 to the Jaguars in the second quarter, the Texans have benched quarterback Brock Osweiler in favor of Tom Savage. Osweiler, signed to a four-year, $72MM contract in the offseason, had completed just six of 11 passes for 48 yards and two interceptions during today’s contest.
[RELATED: Texans Activate Brennan Scarlett]
Whether or not the switch is permanent is unclear, and could depend on how Savage performs for the rest of the game against Jacksonville. Head coach Bill O’Brien will surely address the issue following the game, and speak as to whether Savage will lead the Texans for the remainder of the season. Despite Osweiler’s poor play, Houston has still posted a 7-6 record has a 45% chance of making the postseason (per Football Outsiders), so the choice of starting quarterback still has major implications for the 2016 campaign.
Osweiler, 26, has been on the worst QBs in the NFL this season, as he’s completed less than 60% of his passes while averaging 5.8 yards per attempt and tossing 14 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Given that he received $37MM in guarantees under the terms of his deal with the Texans, Osweiler will be extremely difficult to release before 2018. Theoretically, Houston could make him a post-June 1 cut next offseason, but the club would take on $19MM in dead money and wouldn’t realize any cap savings.
Savage, meanwhile, was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft, so he’s spent his entire career in Houston under the O’Brien regime. He played in two games during his rookie campaign, completing 10 of 19 attempts, but hasn’t seen any action since.
Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft
When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.
“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.
Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.
“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”
Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.
Here’s more from Breer:
- Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
- The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
- Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
- Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”
Texans Activate Brennan Scarlett
As expected, Brennan Scarlett will be rejoining the Texans this weekend. Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston reports (via Twitter) that the organization has activated the rookie linebacker from the injured reserve. To make room on the roster, the team has waived cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz. We learned earlier this week that Scarlett had been designated as the club’s injured reserve/return player.
The undrafted rookie out of Stanford was a revelation through the preseason and the first month of the season. In five games, the linebacker only compiled five tackles, but coaches noted the 23-year-old’s “size and aggressiveness.” Furthermore, as our own Dallas Robinson pointed out, Scarlett was widely regarded as one of the team’s best pass rushers throughout the preseason. In total, Scarlett played 29 defensive snaps and 63 special teams snaps before being sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Scarlett’s activation is especially impressive considering the other names sitting on the Texans injured reserve. As Dallas pointed out, J.J. Watt, Braxton Miller, Jaelen Strong, Derek Newton, Kevin Johnson, Nick Martin, and Devon Still are all out for the season, and Scarlett’s activation means these players will remain on the injured reserve. While the linebacker was presumably activated because he was the healthiest of the bunch, it’s still impressive for an undrafted rookie to be so highly regarded by an organization.
Scarlett will join a crowded linebacker corps that already features Whitney Mercilus, Brian Cushing, Benardrick McKinney, John Simon, Max Bullough, Akeem Dent, and Brian Peters. Simon missed last week’s game, which perhaps necessitated the activation of Scarlett. Mercilus is also struggling through a back injury.
Shabazz has bounced around the league since going undrafted out of West Chester in 2015. The cornerback spent the 2015 season with the Colts and Buccaneers, and he spent the majority of this season with the Steelers. The 24-year-old was cut by the organization in early December, and he was picked up by the Texans only days later. Shabazz ultimately played in one game with the Texans.
Texans Designate LB Brennan Scarlett To Return From IR
The Texans announced today that rookie linebacker Brennan Scarlett has returned to practice and been designated as the club’s injured reserve/return player. Houston now has three weeks to place Scarlett on the active roster, or else he will remain on IR for the remainder of the season.
[RELATED: Texans Place Braxton Miller On IR]
Scarlett, an undrafted free agent out of Stanford, played in five of the Texans’ first six games this year before being placed on IR, posting 29 defensive snaps, 63 special teams snaps, and one tackle during his brief stay on the Houston roster. As John McClain of the Houston Chronicle details, Scarlett was one of the Texans’ best pass rushers during the preseason, and Houston coaches are high on him thanks to his “size and aggressiveness.”
The Texans have a lengthy list of players on injured reserve, but Scarlett’s designation as the club’s return player means they’ll all be staying put on IR for the rest of the year. J.J. Watt, Braxton Miller, Jaelen Strong, Derek Newton, Kevin Johnson, Nick Martin, Devon Still, and others won’t see the field again until 2017.
Texans Work Out Two O-Linemen
- The Texans tried out a pair of offensive linemen in guard Sean Hickey and tackle Jason Weaver on Wednesday, according to Caplan (Twitter link).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/16
The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: Marvin Hall Jr.
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Ryan White
- Cut: OL Kevin Graf
Buffalo Bills
- Signed OLB Greg Townsend Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Josh Shirley
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Zac Brooks
- Cut: RB Terrell Watson
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Laurence Gibson, WR Tevin Jones
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: FB Austin Johnson
Texans Place Braxton Miller On IR
The Texans have placed rookie wide receiver Braxton Miller on injured reserve and promoted fellow pass-catcher Wendall Williams from the practice squad to the active roster, the club announced today.
[RELATED: Texans Place Jaelen Strong On IR]
Miller, a third-round pick out of Ohio State in the 2016 draft, didn’t make much of an impact during his first season in the NFL, and injuries certainly played a factor in his lack of contributions. Hamstring issues limited Miller earlier in the season, and now it’s a shoulder ailment that’s ending his season for good. In 10 games this season, Miller played primarily as a slot receiver, and managed 15 receptions for 99 yards and one touchdown. The 24-year-old also returned three kickoffs and one punt, and played 32 special teams snaps in total.
Williams, 26, signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Cumberlands this spring. After being waived at final cutdowns, and spending a few weeks with the Jets’ practice squad, Williams has spent most of the year on the workout circuit.
Brian Cushing Playing With Broken Bones In Back
- Brian Cushing‘s been playing with multiple broken bones in his back in his eighth Texans season, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. “There’s two fractures in my back, but those are things you have to push through,” Cushing said. “Obviously, it’s painful, and I’m not able to get as many reps as I want in practice right now, but I’ll be out there Sunday with my team. I’ve missed a number of games with season-ending injuries, and I don’t want to miss any more time, so as long as I can walk, I’ll be out there.” The 29-year-old Cushing played at least 14 games in 2014-15 but saw his ’12 and ’13 slates end early because of ailments.