Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy P
When the Texans drafted Okoye, I have to imagine that their best case scenario was that he'd develop quickly and have a longer span of "prime years" thus making him a bargain. However, realistically speaking it would only make sense to see this thing through to its natural conclusion. He has 4 more years before he becomes the magical age of 26 and he'll have 6 years of experience under his belt in order to build upon. Therefore, I wouldn't "give up" on this guy until he was 27 years old. Hopefully, he'll play at a pro-bowl level before that, but if not, it wouldn't make sense to cut bait before then.
As for Travis Johnson, you said it, his time is Now.
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I agree with your assessment of the Texans in part taking Okoye because of a possibility of a longer prime and I also agree with you that anyone who drafts a player like Okoye should be willing to stick it out until they get to the payoff barring complete bustitude (if he's on the bench two years from now, I can understand reluctance to see him through). I just don't know whether many GMs would stick by a player to his second contract if he hadn't lived up to expectations. Sometimes even skilled talent evaluators give up on "busts" too early because they're a reminder of failure to their fans. AJ Smith's decision to give up on Drew Brees and draft Phillip Rivers struck me at the time as that type of decision and, for once, I turned out to be right.
All that said, while it probably didn't come through in this thread, I am quite optimistic for Okoye's future. I'm just not sure the future is now yet, although as a fan I desperately hope it is because a breakout year from Okoye would have a huge impact on this D.