Nick Caserio was named the Houston Texans general manager in early January of 2021. This wasn't the first time the Texans pursued Caserio for his current position, though.
Before the successful signing of Caserio in 2021, Houston had two prior failed attempts. The first of which ended with the New England Patriots blocking the Texans from even interviewing him. The second time tampering charges were filed by the Patriots due to the Texans' efforts to try and lure him to their franchise.
The third time was apparently the charm, though, in Houston’s pursuit of the former Patriots’ front office talent.
However, success didn't come immediately for Caserio. In the first two years of his tenure, Caserio's Texans won just seven combined games and cycled through two different one-year head coaches.
TEXANS 2024 SEASON: Full schedule | Predictions | Primetime games | 53-man roster predictions
That all changed in 2023 with first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Texans won 10 games this past year, took the AFC South crown for the first time since Caserio came to Houston and won a playoff game.
We now have a better picture of who Caserio is as a general manager, and even more so after his big 2024 offseason. NBC Sports’ Patrick Daugherty ranked all 32 NFL general managers based on coaching hires, player moves, draft picks and contracts. The ranks had added emphasis on recent success.
Here's where Caserio landed.
Where Texans GM Nick Caserio ranks among other NFL executives
Caserio ranked middle of the pack, coming in at No. 16 among the 32 current general managers.
Daughtery mentioned that Caserio was previously "biding his time" while acquiring future assets and making mild additions to the roster before this summer. He goes on to say that after the investments in Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud, and Defensive Rookie of the Year, defensive end Will Anderson Jr., Caserio has decided to push his chips in. Despite the mediocre ranking, Daughtery concludes that Caserio has gone from the hot seat to longevity with the Texans.
Nick Caserio finally decided to see what a real roster felt like," Daughtery wrote. "After years of biding his time accumulating draft picks and signing special teamers, Caserio not only struck for a franchise quarterback in C.J. Stroud, he traded up for a potential defensive linchpin in Will Anderson. Non-quarterback trade-ups tend to be one of the cardinal sins of team-building. If you’re using that capital on any position other than the most important one in sports, it better be a home run. Two rookie of the year awards later, and Caserio’s gamble is looking golden. Anderson and his DROY honors would be the headline for any other draft class, but it’s not any other draft class when you have a rookie QB perform like an instant superstar. Stroud was so good Caserio has already gone all in on his contract, acquiring Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon while handing out three $20 million-plus deals to defenders in free agency. It is whiplash inducing after Caserio’s maddeningly conservative pre-Stroud approach, but this is how you are supposed to do it. Wait for your moment and do not miss. No longer on the hot seat, Caserio could now be looking at a decade-plus leading Houston’s front office.
Upon arriving in the bayou city, Caserio was handed a first draft without a first or second-round selection. The franchise quarterback, Deshaun Watson was coming off of a career year and he requested a trade and later became surrounded by a scandal that would keep him as a healthy scratch throughout the entire season.
Caserio needed to find the right coaches, personnel, future quarterback and do it while getting the salary cap setup to invest in the future when everything became aligned. After 20 years in the Patriots organization filled with successes, Caserio had a complete rebuild on his hands following the Bill O’Brien era and Watson standoff.
Nick Caserio's most impactful moves as Texans GM
Deshaun Watson trade
To look at what Caserio has done through three full years as he begins his fourth – we need to start with the moment that set everything in motion. The handling of Watson set the foundation for the future of the franchise.
Despite Watson having ongoing civil issues surrounding allegations of sexual misconduct, facing a possible suspension and being due a massive new contract, Caserio was able to trade the disgruntled quarterback to the Browns for a haul. That trade helped him and Houston land some of their biggest stars.
Deshaun Watson trade, revisited: Full list of NFL draft picks from Browns-Texans complete after 2024 NFL Draft
Coaching hires
The season before Caserio’s arrival, the Texans went 4-12. In his first season in Houston, Caserio hired David Culley to lead the team. The Texans went 4-13 and were one-and-done with Culley. Lovie Smith was Caserio’s second hire as head coach and the team went 3-13-1 as Smith was also one-and-done with the Texans.
The third time was the charm as Ryans was hired as the third coach in three years by Caserio. Ryans led the team to a 10-7 regular season record with a Wild Card win in his first season. The one-year turnaround landed Ryans second in coach of the year voting due to a tie-breaker.
Ryans and the winner of the award in 2023, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski each tied with 165 points in the voting. Stefanski won on the tie-breaker of first-place votes with 21 to Ryans’ 20.
Caserio didn’t find success in his first two hirings at the position but has hit a home run with the addition of Ryans.
MORE: Houston Texans crack ESPN's top-10 NFL Football Power Index
Texans draft history
In Caserio’s first draft with the Texans, he took quarterback Davis Mills at pick No. 67 in the third round and wide receiver Nico Collins with the No. 89 pick. The Texans didn’t have a first or second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft. It marked the second time in four drafts that Houston didn’t pick until round three and the third time in four drafts without a first-round selection.
Collins just received an extension as the star of Caserio’s first draft in Houston. Mills gave Houston 26 starts in his first two seasons before giving way to Stroud. His rookie season in which he completed 66.8% of his passes for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions displayed the potential that led the Texans to select him.
Day 3 of Caserio’s first draft class didn’t land any finds as the Texans used three picks in the fifth and sixth rounds to select tight end Brevin Jordan, linebacker Garret Wallow and defensive tackle Roy Lopez.
MORE: Texans players on the hot-seat in 2024 and 2025
The following draft Caserio used his first pick at No. 3 overall on cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. The Texans had a second selection in the first round that they used on offensive guard Kenyon Green. The second round saw two more picks by Houston with the additions of safety Jalen Pitre and receiver John Metchie III.
The Texans finished off Day 2 of the 2022 draft by trading up to select linebacker Christian Harris. The following day, Houston used their fourth-round pick on running back Dameon Pierce. In the fifth-round, they drafted defensive tackle Thomas Booker and tight end Teagan Quitoriano. Caserio finished his second draft with the selection of offensive tackle Austin Deculus.
Stingley Jr. has played phenomenally and betters his physique yearly to improve his chances of staying on the field. Green and Pitre haven’t played to their potential to date but each head into a prove-it year this season. Metchie III has had to battle just to get on the field and his best football is ahead of him.
Harris has been a find for the Texans in the third round. Pierce is looking to bounce back after he got out the gates quickly as a rookie only to disappoint in his sophomore season. Quitoriano and Jordan from the class the year before have been serviceable tight ends on the roster but neither may see a second contract in Houston.
Caserio’s third draft class in Houston was a memorable one. He selected Stroud at pick No. 2 and then traded up to pick No. 3 to select defensive end Will Anderson Jr. As exciting as it may have been on draft night, the immediate return on investment provided continued joy throughout the year as the duo won Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards.
In the second round, Caserio traded up for center Juice Scruggs, then finished Day 2 with the third-round selection of receiver Tank Dell. Day 3 saw five picks with defensive end Dylan Horton (4th round), linebacker Henry To’oTo’o (5th), center Jarrett Patterson (6th), receiver Xavier Hutchinson (6th) and safety Brandon Hill (7th) rounding out Caserio’s third draft class.
Most recently Caserio traded out of the first round in the 2024 draft. The move back into the second round saw the Texans take defensive back Kamari Lassiter. Houston also picked up a future second-round pick in the trade out of the first round. The Texans would go on to trade a future second-round pick to the Bills for receiver Stefon Diggs.
Caserio drafted offensive tackle Blake Fisher later in the second round before selecting defensive back Calen Bullock in the third to wrap up Day 2. Day 3 saw six new additions to the roster with tight end Cade Stover (4th), linebacker Jamal Hill (6th), running back Jawhar Jordan (6th), defensive end Solomon Byrd (7th), defensive tackle Marcus Harris (7th) and offensive guard LaDarius Henderson (7th).
It’s too early to tell much about the 2024 draft class other than Caserio did a great job to come out with an extra pick to acquire the veteran, Diggs, along with drafting key areas of needs and depth with his early selections.
They say it takes three years before you finally get a decent read on a player that was drafted. That turned out to exactly be the case with Collins as he had his breakout year last season. Caserio lacked ammunition in that first draft but still found a long-term piece without a first or second rounder in the class.
The following draft Caserio had his early selection and utilized it on Stingley. This will be a telling third year for the entire 2022 draft class. Stingley Jr. could make Caserio look like a genius as he ended last season playing on-par with the top in the league at his position.
Drafting Harris made it two second-straight years of finding a gem in the third round for Caserio. Green, Pitre, Metchie and Pierce are “to be determined” like with Stingley Jr.
The 2023 class was a work of art. Besides the back-to-back selections of Stroud and Anderson Jr., the Scruggs pick should be huge for the Texans. Then Caserio made it three straight years with third-round hits when he selected Dell. It’s early but to date, nothing of note has come from the Day 3 picks in his draft classes.
Caserio finds the bullseye on third-round picks. It should make fans feel good about the Bullock selection. He’s found cornerstone pieces in three early first-round picks. He needs Green and the second-round picks to really come on to show consistently, solid drafting Rounds 1-3. Day 3 picks are much less likely to hit but you’d like to see a couple of these guys really develop into “finds”.
Trades & free agent signings
In his first year with the Texans, there weren’t any big signings. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins was added on a one-year value deal. There were a lot of 1-2 year, roster-filling signings. Even the trades were minimal with additions like offensive lineman Marcus Cannon and defensive end Shaq Lawson.
The next year he had two more value signings in cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Blake Cashman. Cashman rebuilt his career with the Texans before cashing in with the Vikings earlier this offseason.
Last year, Caserio upgraded the running back position with the addition of Devin Singletary. He added upgraded veteran receivers with Robert Woods and Noah Brown. At tight end, the signing of Dalton Schultz was a major upgrade as was the trade for right guard Shaq Mason.
Caserio did well to pair Collins at defensive tackle with Sheldon Rankins in free agency. In-season, the waiver claim for defensive end Derek Barnett was a value addition with Barnett starting the last four games of the regular season and the Wild Card game in which he totaled 3.5 sacks.
The hiring of Ryans and his staff, along with the quick ROI on the 2023 draft class turned the Texans around in one season. Now that the Texans had a team to compete with salary cap space to make moves, Caserio dialed it up to maximize the two-year window of Stroud’s rookie contract before he’d become eligible for an extension.
Caserio traded for Diggs, running back Joe Mixon and special team stud Ben Skowronek. He signed defensive end Danielle Hunter, defensive tackle Denico Autry, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson.
He also re-signed receiver Noah Brown, tight end Dalton Schultz, defensive end Derek Barnett, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn and several key special teamers to go with the three-year extension for Collins.
Summary of Caserio's tenure
When evaluating Caserio as a general manager, you have to factor in everything he inherited and how his plans have come to fruition. If the grading emphasizes recent success, then listing Caserio middle of the pack seems a bit harsh.
Caserio walked into a rough situation with Watson in his first year as Texans general manager. That could have sunk a lot of general managers in their first season. Caserio held, never panicked or giving in to the calls to sell cheap. Rather, he flipped the quarterback for a massive haul of picks that helped set up the current title window the franchise finds themselves in.
If you’re going to knock Caserio the areas most likely are his first two coaching hires and lack of finding a gem on Day 3 of the draft to date. It’s true that from time-to-time general managers can find a steal on the third day of the draft. However, it’s not the bread and butter of their roster construction or weighted nearly as heavily as first-round picks and even second and third-round selections.
Those second-round picks of Pitre, Metchie and Scruggs hurt Caserio’s resume as does Green as a top-15 pick. All four of the quartet have time to salvage their value concerning where they were selected.
What Caserio has done in the third round in each draft should provide him with the grace from analysts to give him the benefit of the doubt until Year 3 returns are in on the second-round selections and Green.
Lastly, if grading Caserio with extra consideration given to how he’s done most recently, I’d leave you with this:
- Reigning OROY
- Reigning DROY
- 1st-year HC hire lost HC of the Year award by 1 tie-breaker vote
- 2023 11 total wins matches 3 previous years combined
- 1st Year OC retained after heavy HC interest
- 1st Year QB coach retained after heavy OC interest
- Has one of the top special teams and coach
- Blue-chippers at the most important positions
- Maximized the next two years of Stroud’s contract with calculated upgrades
Are there truly 15 current general managers with better bullet points boosting their resume with current success, offseason savviness and future expectations?
