HOUSTON -- After a tumultuous year with Brock Osweiler, it appears Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien will have a better relationship with his quarterbacks in 2017.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, during Deshaun Watson’s visit with the Texans before the NFL draft, Watson looked O’Brien in the eye and said he knows the most important piece to a championship team is the relationship between the quarterback and head coach.

DeShaun Watson's last visit w Texans. Looked Bill O'Brien in eye, said knows most important piece to championship team is HC-QB relationship

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) April 28, 2017

That relationship was not as strong for the Texans in 2016. O’Brien and Osweiler got into multiple arguments last season -- reported by some as “heated exchanges” -- though both said that is par for the course in the NFL. The Texans’ playcalling situation last season was also inconsistent. Former offensive coordinator George Godsey was stripped of his duties by O’Brien early in the season.

The QBs on the Texans' roster are Watson, current starter Tom Savage, and veteran Brandon Weeden. Savage has been open with his praise of O’Brien, having joined the Texans during the head coach’s first draft with the team in 2014. Watson impressed and felt he clicked with O’Brien and the Texans’ coaching staff during a pre-draft visit.

Watson said it was a great visit and that “everything just fit right,” adding, “Once I got here the players just kind of brought me in -- sit down and eat lunch with all the guys, and kind of building that relationship. It felt like I was already on the team, and I felt comfortable with the situation.”

Added O’Brien: “It was actually the whole offensive staff that met with Deshaun when he came, which I don’t think is easy for a young man to come in. Obviously, a bona fide draft prospect, a guy to come in here and have to stand up in front of ... nine guys in the room: offensive line coach, receiver coach, quarterback coach, head coach.

“One of the things that impressed us the most was his ability to retain information with poise. We do several different things with our conversations with our quarterbacks. He handled it all very well. That impressed us.”

O’Brien has said he is tough on quarterbacks, and part of that is because it is such a demanding position to play. O’Brien also learned from the best immediately. His first job in the NFL was with the New England Patriots, where he served as offensive coordinator and as quarterbacks coach for Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

“You’re playing probably the hardest position in professional sports,” O’Brien said. “You have to make decisions at a moment’s notice. You have to be ultra-prepared. You have to be an ultimate competitor. You have to be a great communicator. You have to have leadership skills.”

Savage said last month that he loves playing for O’Brien.

“I love the guy,” Savage said. “That’s what I look forward to, is going to practice every day. He’s going to be hard on me. That’s what you want as a quarterback. He’s the type of guy that is always talking shop with you, and that’s the type of guy you want to go out there and you want to brawl for.”

O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith made it clear that Savage is still the Texans’ starting quarterback, but they said Watson will compete for the job in training camp. Watson, taken 12th overall, said he feels he is in the right situation in Houston and is excited to come in and learn from Savage and Weeden.

“They have a lot of weapons,” Watson said. “They can spread you out. There’s so many different things you can do from what I’ve seen, and I’ve learned from Coach O’Brien over the visits. They have a great defense, a great O-line, great weapons around me. For me, all I need to do is keep my head down, don’t say anything, learn from all the veteran guys, learn from Tom Savage, learn from Brandon Weeden and just play my role, whatever role that is -- play it well and help the team out, win.”