Houston Texans 2021 Offseason Needs
The Houston Texans have been essentially the center of attention so far in the 2021 NFL offseason, mainly because of the situation they have at QB. If you live under a rock, Deshaun Watson has requested a trade from the Texans to a different team. This would automatically launch the organization into rebuild mode. However, The team has more issues than just their star QB. Here are three of the biggest offseason keys for the Houston Texans.
Quarterback
The biggest and most obvious place the Texans need work is Quarterback. Not because their current starter sucks, but because he does not want to be there. The Texans need to either fix their situation and heavily improve or they need to cut their losses and move off of him. If it were me, with how poor the rest of the team is collectively, I would sell Deshaun Watson for as much as you can get to help boost your rebuild. Peter King recently mentioned a couple of different places that the Texans could potentially send Watson: New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, and the San Francisco 49ers. The San Francisco 49ers I think are the most interesting of the four. Here is the trade that King laid out:
Seven-for-1. Garoppolo, linebacker Fred Warner (that really hurts), tackle Mike McGlinchey, first-round picks in 2021 (12th overall) and 2022, plus a second-round pick in 2021 and third-round pick in 2022 for Watson. It’s a lot for the Niners to pay; of all the players in all the deals I’m proposing, Warner would be the most coveted one in my book. But he’s here because he is entering the final year of his rookie contract and would want a new deal. (McGlinchey is in exact same position, too.) Houston could view them as cornerstones for the rebuild.
Peter King Via Football Morning in America
The Texans would benefit MASSIVELY from this trade in the form of Fred Warner, Mike McGlinchey, and Jimmy G as well as 2 first, 1 second, and 1 third-round pick in the next two years. I don’t think anyone sees Deshaun staying in Houston except the very stubborn front office. As King said, they could be the cornerstones of this rebuild.
Defensive Line
The Texans are going to need a burst of help on the whole defensive line now that JJ Watt is gone. The best they have right now is Carlos Watkins who is a free agent. They are going to need to pick up a couple of guys in free agency more so than the Draft because they need experience. A couple of names that could be looked at are Tyrone Crawford, Bruce Irvin, or Ryan Kerrigan. The three of them could help add some talent as well as experience with Irvin being a former Super Bowl Champion.
Skill Position (Running Back/Wide Receiver)
I am going to bend the rules and combine two positions here because they both have a heavy need to be upgraded. Last season the Johnsons (David and Duke) did not perform as well as people would have hoped from the backfield and they are probably going to lose their number 1 receiver Will Fuller V to free agency. This spells for a big problem, especially if you are trying to keep Watson in Houston. I think that the Texans should try to trade into the Second round of the Draft and snag a Running Back, potentially Najee Harris from Alabama if he is available, and then sign a couple of Receivers in Free agency. Whether it be Allen Robinson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, or someone lower on the rankings like A.J. Green or Mohamed Sanu, they need to go and get some guys to fill empty positions on the offense.
Overall, the Texans have a lot of work to do but they can definitely start making the right steps starting this offseason.
