The passage of time thins draft classes, but in the case of the Houston Texans' 2013 draft, time wasn't necessary.
The latest piece of evidence comes today. Safety D.J. Swearinger posted on Instagram that he is moving on from the Texans. He was informed on Sunday. His departure drives home what has been clear for a while: 2013 wasn't a great draft year for anyone, but the Texans had one of the worst drafts league-wide that year.
Four members of that class will remain on the roster once Swearinger's departure is official, or 44.4 percent. Those four are DeAndre Hopkins, David Quessenberry, Alan Bonner and Ryan Griffin. That's the third-lowest percentage in the league of holdovers from a team's 2013 draft class, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Only the Seahawks (who didn't have a first-round pick that year) and the Browns (who only made five selections) have a lower percentage. In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Info, the Texans are the only team that had at least two thirds of its 2013 draft class play zero regular-season snaps for them.
The 2013 class was the last class drafted by general manager Rick Smith and then-head coach Gary Kubiak, now the head coach of the Denver Broncos. Then-Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and college scouting director Mike Maccagnan also played significant roles. Phillips is now the Broncos' defensive coordinator and Maccagnan is the Jets' general manager.
Hopkins is now at the top of the Texans' depth chart at receiver and, looking back, he's one of the best players found in the first round that year. The Texans selected him 27th overall. That year's top three picks were offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel, and defensive end Dion Jordan, who has been suspended for the entire 2015 season.
It's hard to know what offensive tackle Quessenberry's future will hold on the field, but early signs are positive. He was diagnosed with cancer last summer, an offseason in which he had hoped to make a comeback from the foot injury that placed him on injured reserve in 2013. Now in remission, Quessenberry is turning his attention to returning to football.
Griffin is the Texans' third-string tight end, and Bonner has spent the past two seasons on injured reserve.
Swearinger, Hopkins and Griffin were the only three players of that year's nine-person class to have played any regular-season snaps for the Texans.
The Texans are the only team that had a first-round pick 23rd or later to only have three players contribute significantly. The Colts, Packers, Broncos, Rams, Vikings, Cowboys and Ravens all had at least four play 100 or more snaps, mostly much more.
Chris Jones, a defensive tackle the Texans took in that year's sixth round, has been very productive, but he's been productive for the Patriots. The Texans released him after training camp, and he signed with the Buccaneers. When the Buccaneers released him, Houston tried to reclaim him, but could not because not enough time had passed under the waiver system's rules.
Sure, the coaching change accounts for some of the turnover, but certainly not all of it. Even in the previous system, third-round pick Sam Montgomery and fourth-round pick Trevardo Williams, both expected to play outside linebacker, struggled to adjust. Offensive tackle Brennan Williams, another third-round pick, suffered an injury that required microfracture surgery before he ever played a snap. Bonner's injury struggles started in his rookie year, too.
You can draw a direct line from the Texans' struggles late in drafts -- especially late in that draft -- to their problems on special teams. They aren't getting the depth they need, and it starts in the draft.
