Texans' O'Brien says draft walk-off was in fun

[April 25, 2020]  Houston Texans head coach/general manager Bill O'Brien de-emphasized the moment Friday during the third round of the NFL draft when the television broadcast showed him walking away from his computer, apparently in anger.

With the Texans on the clock for the 90th overall pick, O'Brien was seen throwing his hands up and having a lively conversation with someone online. He then walked past his son, who was seated next to him, and exited from camera range.

On a conference call later Friday night, O'Brien said, "We were messing with the Zoom. We were messing on the Zoom with myself and (executive vice president of football operations Jack) Easterby and all the guys. No, nothing agitated.

"The camera is on the whole time. I don't know. We were just messing around on the Zoom. We're on the back patio here. We've done a lot of business on the back patio here over the last couple of months."

The Houston Chronicle's John McClain reported that O'Brien was upset because the Detroit Lions abandoned a proposed deal for the 90th pick at the last moment. The Texans wound up drafting Florida linebacker Jonathan Greenard with that selection.

Houston's only other pick in the first two days of the draft was the selection of TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock in the second round, 40th overall.

"We followed (our) draft board to a T," O'Brien said. "As it went down, it's hard to see a lot of good players going off the board, but when we had Ross there after the first round and then we had Jon Greenard there at 90, we felt good about the work that the scouts had done, the work that the coaches had done. We're excited about where we are right now."

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien watches play on the sidelines during the AFC Divisional Round playoff football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Greenard, who is 6-foot-3, 263 pounds, played three seasons at Louisville before finishing his collegiate career at Florida last year.

Regarding where Greenard might fit in, O'Brien said, "I think if you're talking base defense, I think he'd probably be at the outside backer, I think he'd be at a SAM. I think he'd be able to play at a SAM. I also think he could go to the open side and play a five-technique.

"He's got size, he's got strength. Then when you get to sub defense, it's just anywhere. You know what I mean? If we are in an odd front or an even front, where could he be? Could he be standing up? Could he be walking around? I think at his core he's an outside linebacker, but I do think he can do a lot of different things."

--Field Level Media

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