Could the Patriots Get Houston's 1st Round Pick for Nick Caserio? Yes, Please.
I have to confess that as soon as the Houston Texans announced they were dropping their extremely tampery pursuit of Nick Caserio, I figured the story was pretty much over right then and there. That the Texans were going to quit luring him into their primered van with candy and comic books, put the zip ties back in the glove compartment and drive away from the playground. And on our end, there was no work left to do other than wait for the professional rock throwers in the Patriots media to claim Caserio wants out and the team has had to rip up the carpeting in the offices and replace it with the grated floor from a meat processing plant from all the bad blood. (Thanks for stepping up, Ben Volin.)
But wait. There’s more. Possibly. Today Tom E. Curran has some interesting speculation that this might not be over. That the Texans are too far out over their skis on this one. That they had no viable plan other than having former Pats Morality Coordinator Jack Easterby go to Mr. Kraft’s house for the ring party and pull the old “Does this napkin smell like chloroform?” trick on Caserio. So that they’re desperate enough to possibly swing a trade. A very, very expensive trade. For them:
The Texans, according to Houston oracle John McClain, will divvy up the workload between head coach Bill O’Brien, executive vice president of team development Jack Easterby, director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan and senior vice president of administration Chris Olsen. …
What’s the Texans’ recourse? They can wait, keeping the seat warm for Caserio. … They can make another run at Patriots Director of College Scouting Monti Ossenfort, who the Patriots blocked them from speaking to in January of 2018. Or they can keep up their pursuit of Caserio with a trade.
The possibility of that happening remains alive for another few weeks before training camp begins.
What would it cost? The Patriots’ asking price would have to be a first-rounder.
OK, I like Caserio as much as the next guy. He clearly has a grasp of the right fits for this system. For every swing-and-a-miss in the draft like Dominique Easley, he’s hit home runs, like putting together the best guard tandem in the league with 3rd and 4th round picks:
He’s acquired core guys like Kyle Van Noy off the clearance rack. Found diamonds like Malcolm Butler and JC Jackson sitting in the Take a Penny, Leave a Penny dish that is the UDFA market. And if you’re not excited to see what his last two draft classes will do, a WebMD search will probably confirm you are dead.
So the last thing I want to see is Caserio calling the shots in Houston. Actually, make that the second to last thing. The very last thing would be him going to Houston next year for nothing. Every man has a price. And if the price for Caserio is Houston’s 1st rounder? Count me in.
If the last two decades have taught us anything, it’s that no one in New England except the coach and quarterback are indispensable. Half the executives in the league came through Foxboro at one time or another, and the Dynasty rolls on. Belichick has thrived without Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff and dozens of others. Why should we assume Caserio is the one he can’t live without?
And besides the obvious value of adding another 1st rounder to next year’s haul, I love the poetic justice of, on the occasion of Belichick’s 20th draft in New England, finally getting back the pick they had to give up to get him from his Jets contract in 2000. So they promote from within. Elevate one of Caserio’s assistants or some director of pro scouting or someone to the head job, and gift him with two firsts to build his part of the Dynasty with.
More than anything, I love the idea of totally taking advantage of the Texans’ desperation and the Patriots complete control over this situation. The Texans have been getting abused by the Patriots since they came into existence (the Pats are 10-1 against Houston by a combined score of 357-209), so why stop now. Again, if they keep Caserio, I’m fine with it. But if they can get Houston’s first for him? I’ll take the controls of Air Kraft One and fly him there myself.