NFL Draft Bust Vault: QB David Carr, Houston Texans
As he stood there with then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, David Carr was suddenly the face of a brand new team. A brand new organization in a town that was deprived of football. Long gone were the days of powder blue Oilers helmets and Bum Phillips trolling the sidelines with his Cowboy hat.
Houston turned their sights on the Texans, which was jump started by businessman Bob McNair. Being selected 1st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, Carr was now the flag bearer for the Texans. A young quarterback out of Fresno State full of potential. His 2001 senior season saw Carr make his undeniable impact on college football with 4,839 yards, 46 touchdowns and only nine interceptions and land fifth in the Heisman voting for that very same season as well.
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The expectations for Carr as well as the Texans were mighty low for the 2002 season and rightfully so. This was a team with a rookie QB, a rookie owner, and a roster full of cast-offs and unwanted players. The plan for the Texans to make consistent noise in the NFL was at the very least three seasons away. To say that initial season was rough for the young QB was being modest. Carr only completed 52% of his passes, 2,592 yards, with just nine touchdowns, 15 interceptions, while being sacked an insane amount of 76 times.
A team that was dead last in points scored at a poor 13.3 points per game to go along with a defense that surrendered 22.2 points per game.
The next season, Carr and the Texans received a gift in the form of the best Houston Texan to date, longtime receiver Andre Johnson. However, the boost in talent didn’t aid the skill set of Carr as he struggled in year two with only 2,013 yards, nine touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Carr reached the 3,000 yard plateau in 2004 (3,531 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions)
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Fast forward to 2006, Carr’s last season in Houston, the quarterback still didn’t make the much-expected progress as a franchise quarterback. The team decided to go in a different direction after the 2006 season. Carr only lasted 76 games in Houston as he started 75 of them, throwing for only 13,391 yards, 59 touchdowns, and 65 interceptions. Carr never experienced a winning season and only two seasons where he tossed for more touchdowns than interceptions.
The question still remains however: How much of the blame is credited to Carr?
The circumstances that surrounded Carr was somewhat similar to what Tim Couch experienced in Cleveland in 1999. A young, rookie quarterback with little to no talent, a leaky offensive line, but substantial expectations. Given the keys to a franchise with little direction. Although ultimately Carr wasn’t the right fit for the team, Carr was also presented with the taste of reality that the team was subpar at best.
Pop quiz: Which quarterback owns two of the top three single season sacked totals in NFL history? You guessed it. Mr. Carr with 76 (1st, 2002) and 68 (3rd, 2005). Eleven seasons as an NFL quarterback, Carr never reached the standards that are usually set for a quarterback selected first overall, even for an expansion team. An NFL bust although Carr was never even placed in a winning situation.
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