ON THE CLOCK

Houston Dynamo in the MLS SuperDraft under GM Matt Jordan

Houston Dynamo in the MLS SuperDraft under GM Matt Jordan
Wilf Thorne / Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo hold the eighth overall pick in Thursday's 2020 MLS SuperDraft (11:30 a.m. CT, ESPN+).

Once a source of solid contribuitors to the club, only five of the 18 SuperDraft selections under Matt Jordan's five-season tenure have seen MLS minutes for the Houston Dynamo.

The Dynamo have actually gotten more by trading away draft picks. For example, the acquisition of Goalkeeper Joe Willis in 2016 was one that provided the Dynamo a solid contributor and starter until he was traded to Nashville this offseason.

The following is every draft choice of Jordan's tenure as the club's Senior Vice President/General Manager:

[Players in bold remain with the club]

2015

Round 1, #8 overall - Midfielder - Zach Steinberger (3 games played, 29 MLS mins)

Round 2, #30 overall - Defender - Oumar Ballo (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 2, #36 overall - Forward - Rob Lovejoy (19 GP, 351 MLS mins)

Round 3, #49 overall - Defender - Taylor Hunter (1 GP, 90 MLS mins)

2016

Round 2, #26 overall - Defender - Ivan Magalhães (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 3, #47 overall - Defender - T. J. Casner (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Trades:

Round 1, #6 overall - Traded to Philadelphia Union along with general allocation money, and targeted allocation money in exchange for midfielder Cristian Maidana and forward Andrew Wenger (December 7, 2015)

Round 4, #67 overall - Traded to D.C. United along with midfielder Andrew Driver in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Willis and defender Samuel Inkoom (December 8, 2014)

2017

Round 1, #10 overall - Midfielder - Joe Holland (5 GP, 22 MLS mins)

Round 2, #30 overall - Goalkeeper - Jake McGuire (0 GP, 0 MLS mins) [Acquired by trading Corey Ashe to Orlando]

Round 2, #36 overall - Defender - Danilo Radjen (0 GP, 0 MLS mins) [Acquired by trading Brad Davis to Kansas City]

Round 4, #70 overall - Defender - Robby Sagel (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Trades:

Round 1, #4 overall - Traded to Portland Timbers for the the #10 pick, an international roster spot and $100,000 in general allocation money.

Round 3, #48 - Traded to Real Salt Lake for defender Abdoulie Mansally

2018

Round 1, #20 overall - Goalkeeper -Michael Nelson (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 2, #43 overall - Forward - Mac Steeves (3 GP, 26 MLS mins)

Round 3, #59 overall - Midfielder - Pablo Aguilar (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 3, #66 overall - Defender - Sheldon Sullivan (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 4, #89 overall - Defender - Manny Padilla (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Signed to affiliate RGVFC outside of the draft: Goalkeeper Nico Corti, Midfielder Bryce Marion

2019

Round 1, #8 overall - Defender - Sam Junqua (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 2, #33 overall - Defender - Andrew Samuels (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Round 3, #56 overall - Midfielder - Brad Dunwell (0 GP, 0 MLS mins)

Trades:

Round 2, #32 overall - Traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for midfielder Arturo Alvarez (December 10, 2017)

Round 4, #80 overall - Traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for the MLS rights to midfielder Luis Gil for the 2018 season (April 23, 2018)

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Texans will look to get back on track this Sunday against the Colts. Composite Getty Image.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.

Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.

“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”

The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.

They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.

Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.

Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.

“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”

Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.

What's working

The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.

Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.

What needs help

The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.

Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.

Stock up

RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.

Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.

“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”

Stock down

Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.

Injuries

LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.

Key number

3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.

Next steps

The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome