On paper, this was Nick Caserio's second NFL Draft while in charge of the football operation for the Houston Texans, but in reality, this was the first one where we could really see how Caserio would operate as the general manager of this football team. In 2021, Caserio was still operating with the horrific hand dealt to him by previous general manager Bill O'Brien, and the Texans didn't pick until the 67th pic overall and came away with just five players.

In 2022, the Texans and Caserio were operating with two first round picks and 11 picks overall heading into the weekend. After a lot of draft weekend maneuvering up and down the draft board — the Texans made a team record four draft weekend trades over the three-day event — the Houston Texans now have nine newly drafted players, and are now truly into the rebuild we all envisioned when Caserio arrived in January 2021.

Here are the nine players the Texans drafted over the weekend:

1st round (3rd overall) — DEREK STINGLEY, Jr., CB, LSU
1st round (15th overall) — KENYON GREEN, OL, Texas A&M
2nd round (37th overall) — JALEN PITRE, S, Baylor
2nd round (44th overall) — JOHN METCHIE III, WR, Alabama
3rd round (75th overall) — CHRISTIAN HARRIS, LB, Alabama
4th round (107th overall) — DAMEON PIERCE, RB, Florida
5th round (150th overall) — THOMAS BOOKER, DT, Stanford
5th round (170th overall) — TEAGAN QUITORIANO, TE, Oregon State
6th round (205th overall) — AUSTIN DECULUS, T, LSU

Now, a few thoughts on what will go down as one of the most significant drafts in the history of the Houston Texans franchise:

Nick Caserio operating with a full arsenal was fun to watch operate
I guess if I were summarizing my overall feelings on this draft weekend, it was fun to watch an adult in charge of the Texans' draft weekend operation. Caserio did a really good job of identifying talent, and using the draft capital he had accumulated to maneuver to the right spots on the board to snatch it. We have no idea if all of these players will work out, but Caserio was very obviously prepared and had a plan coming in.

The only spot where I came away disappointed in the outcome was early in the second round, where it appears that Iowa State running back Breece Hall could be the pick at the 37th overall selection, and the Jets hopped over the Texans to snag Hall. Of course, the Texans did just fine, drafting Jalen Pitre out of Baylor, but Hall would have been an electrifying addition to the offense. Overall, though, great job by Caserio.

The Texans' draft had a "pedigree" flavor to it
There was very little reaching going on in Caserio's draft when it came to pedigrees and backgrounds. There were no players who had toiled off the radar for four years at an FCS school or even a Group of Five school. The Texans drafted nine players, all from Power Five conferences, and six of them were from the juggernaut SEC, including two players apiece from LSU and Alabama. In fact, their first pick (Stingley) and last pick (Deculus) were both part of LSU's national championship team in 2019.

The reason this is important — there will be very little projecting how these players will do against NFL competition. The closest thing to the men these young guys will see on Sundays in the NFL is in playing Saturdays in the SEC. Also, I am a huge subscriber to the "when in doubt, draft Alabama guys" theory.

There seemed to be a theme to each day
I will steal this take from my cohost on the Texans' draft coverage this weekend, Texans sideline reporter John Harris, who is probably the most astute evaluator of the draft that I know — each of the three days seemed to have its own theme when it came to drafting players.

On Day One, the first round of the draft, the Texans went with the players at their respective positions (Stingley at cornerback, Green at guard) who had the most elite physical traits. On Day Two, round two and three, they went with three guys who are no-nonsense, "all about football" guys from high performing programs. On Day Three, by and large, they went physical, flat out ass kickers. I am fine with all of this.

RB Dameon Pierce has the potential to be the most fun Texan to cover in recent years
If you're looking for a player to get behind as someone who could be fun as hell to watch, and equally fun to listen to in press conferences, I give you rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who did his Zoom call with the media shirtless:

New #Texans RB Dameon Pierce (@IRep229) from Florida is overjoyed to be drafted by Houston: “Hey, I can’t put into words. All you got to do is look at this smile.” pic.twitter.com/g2rwGTxco7

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) April 30, 2022

Then, he gave us some gems like this one:

Dameon Pierce was asked what he knows about Houston:

"I know they have pretty houses and pretty girls."

— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) April 30, 2022

And then, after putting on his shirt, gave one of  the greatest shout outs to the Texans' fan base of all time on the team's social media:

It’s the energy for us! @IRep229 pic.twitter.com/mZJcW7ZDMA

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) April 30, 2022

For the first time in a long time, the Texans' fans have a lot to be hopeful about. 2022 will probably still be a rough season, but the first hints of the train being back on the tracks are very palpable.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.