Houston Texans

Overview

The Texans finished the season with a flurry to post their first winning season in franchise history besting their final four opponents to end the year with a 9-7 record.  The Texans are continually seen as a team on the rise and by breaking the .500 barrier they very well may continue that trend upward and onward.  The Texans currently hold the 20th pick in the draft.

Assets

Quarterback Matt Schaub made his Pro Bowl appearance this year and walked away with the MVP trophy.  He finally showed why the Texans gave him that huge contract when they traded for him a couple of years ago by passing for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns.  The Texans would appear to be set at the quarterback position for the next several seasons.

Andre Johnson is arguably the best receiver in the game right now and is coming off of back-to-back seasons that saw him catch at least 100 passes for over 1,500 yards and earn first team All Pro laurels.  Over the past two seasons he has averaged 108 catches and 1,572 yards per year.  Johnson if a four time Pro Bowler and two time All Pro selection.

Tight end Owen Daniels was well on his way to a second straight Pro Bowl selection before his season was derailed after 8 games due to injury.  Had he stayed healthy he was on pace to go over 1,000 yards and catch 10 touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball rookie linebacker Brian Cushing was everything the Texans hoped they were getting and then some.  Cushing earned defensive rookie of the year honors and was elected to a Pro Bowl after leading the Texans with 134 tackles, recording 5 sacks, 8 tackles-for-loss, tying for the team lead with 4 interceptions, and ranking second on the squad with 10 passes defensed.

Middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans is a two-time Pro Bowler and has recorded at least 100 tackles in each of his four professional seasons with the Texans.  Ryans also led the team with 11 tackles-for-loss last season.

Mario Williams is one of the young elite pass rushers in the league, a two-time Pro Bowler, and is as talented as they come at the defensive end position.  The biggest knock on him is he tends to struggle with consistent play at times.  He has averaged just under 12 sacks and 6 tackles for loss over the last three seasons.

Cornerback Dunta Robinson is a former first round pick whom the Texans have always had high hopes for but has never quite made it to that elite level status the team was hoping he would by now.  He is still one of the better cover men in the league but is considered to be a notch below guys like Asante Samuel, Darrelle Revis, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Charles Woodson.  One begins to wonder whether the team’s refusal to grant him the long term contract he desires has affected his play the last couple of years.

Needs/Liabilities

What was considered a strength of the team leading into the season quickly turned into a liability as the running back position became a revolving door last season as the Texans plummeted from being the 13th best rushing team in the league in 2008 to being the 3rd worst running team in the league last year.

After a stunning rookie year that saw him gain over 1,600 yards from scrimmage Steve Slaton barely managed 850 yards in his second season last year before sitting out the last five games of the year.  Given how well he performed during his rookie season Slaton will probably be given every opportunity to reclaim the job.  But, given how inconsistent and unremarkable Chris Brown and Ryan Moats were, and the fact that Slaton may need 4 to 6 months to recover from neck surgery the Texans need to consider a Plan B in the event Slaton fails to regain his 2008 form or is not ready to go by opening weekend.

Other than running back the Texans could also be in the market for a #2 or #3 wide receiver this spring.  Kevin Walter is decent but saw his numbers fall off in ‘09 as he worked his way back from injury.  Walter is a decent receiver, but, after him there is not a lot of depth at the position.

Defensively the Texans are still struggling to find the right complimentary pieces for Williams and need some more talent in the secondary.

The Texans were hoping rookie pass rusher Connor Barwin would be the complimentary pass rusher they have been searching for to pair with Williams, but, he struggled to play with any consistency last season and logged just 3.5 sacks.

After a promising rookie season in which he registered 5.5 sacks defensive tackle Amobi Okoye has failed to live up to expectations and former high draft pick Shaun Cody did little to enhance the middle of the line either last season making defensive tackle an off season priority.

The safeties for Houston are adequate but nothing special and there is little to no depth behind starters Eugene Wilson and Bernard Pollard.

Robinson is strong at corner, but, his counterpart, Glover Quin, was nothing to write home about.  He was adequate, but, again, nothing special.

Mostly the Texans need to add overall depth on defense and look for upgrades in the secondary and along the defensive line.

Bottom Line

The Texans would love to get their hands on Texas safety Earl Thomas, but, he is likely to be off the board by pick 20.  Thomas would give them a potential kingpin at the safety position the franchise has never had.

The need at safety makes USC’s Taylor Mays a potential target, but, his stock seems to falling by the day and unless he turns things around with his workouts is likely to fall well out of the first round.

UCLA’s Brian Price and Tennessee’s Dan Williams would appear to be the top defensive tackle candidates the Texans could realistically land.  Both players are currently targeted to be late teens to early 20s draft picks in April.  Price should a propensity for blowing up plays in opposing team’s backfields while Williams has been steadily climbing up the charts after a strong Senior Bowl week.

Alabama’s Kareem Jackson and Boise’s Kyle Wilson are two corner back prospects that could fall to the Texans with the 20th pick.  Either player would give the Texans a pair of quality cover corners or would give them the flexibility to move Robinson and get him out of their hair once and for all.

LSU safety Chad Jones, running backs Ryan Matthews (Fresno) and Johnathan Dwyer (Ga Tech), and wide receivers Damian Williams (USC), Golden Tate (Notre Dame), and Mike Williams (Syracuse) are all potential second round picks for the Texans.

Jones would give them a good young safety with size who can deliver some thunder in the secondary.

Dwyer or Matthews would give them a nice between the tackles type of back to try and stabilize the running game a bit.  One or both of these guys could be gone by the 51st pick, however, depending on how well they run at the combine and their pro day workouts.

Tate or either of the Williams’ would give Schaub another target to throw to in the offense and some added depth in the event Johnson or Walter go down to injury.

Cornerbacks Donovan Warren (Michigan) and Javier Arenas (Alabama) as well UGA safety Reshad Jones and USC running back Joe McKnight look to be early candidates for Houston’s third round selection.

A couple of other intriguing prospects would be Ole Miss DE Greg Hardy and Texas receiver Jordan Shipley.  Hardy saw his stock drop quite a bit after a disappointing senior season while Shipley could give the Texans a slot receiver a-la Wes Welker to work into the offense.