Texans Offseason Needs NFL 2022: Free Agency And Draft Preview
THE TEXANS NEED EVERYTHING. That’s not even a joke, that is just an obvious observation. I can’t name you a lot that excites me about this team. I find it surprising that their record is better than the Lions and Jaguars. To each their own, they have wins under the belt. But their problems are so far deep that Bill O’Brien is still laughing about it. I don’t have a plan to fix this in one off-season. To be honest, it might take like 3-5 years before this team can actually do something. Anyway, let’s see what we can do here for the Texans offseason needs.
Texans Free Agency
First up on the Texans offseason needs, trade Deshaun Watson, that ship has run its course and it’s time for both parties to just move on. (Jared Goff and Watson swap? Maybe?) After that, it is just finding anyone that will play for the Texans. They’re going to need some world-class salesman because this is going to need some stellar pitches. (Or just a lot of money, but either way.) The Texans have about $30 million in cap space. They should be able to find some great talent at EDGE and in the secondary for the right price in free agency. They could find some WR2 and WR3 talent in free agency as well. They do have some solid RB2s and TEs in free agency that they could nab for the right price. In that order is the order the Texans should approach their free agency. Although they are losing possibly 7 LBs to free agency, there’s just not tons of talent in free agency to make it attractive. They’re losing 3 RBs and 3 WRs so the offense will be a big priority. Other than that, they just have to draft well. Just taking the best available talent would be an upgrade right now. As far as their draft goes, let’s see what we can work with.
Texans Draft
In the draft for the Texans offseason needs, they’re projected to have the 3rd pick, which puts them at 37 and 68 for their 2nd and 3rd round picks. They also have a pick at 80. They have to get these 4 picks right. For their 1st pick, they would love Kayvon Thibodeaux and Aidan Hutchinson to drop to them. However, I’m thinking that the Jaguars and the Lions will take them, as they should. There’s no question that the Texans should take one of these guys if they just so happen to drop to them. The question is now, who do you pick from here? Do they go guard with Kenyon Green? Derek Stingley Jr? Maybe even Kyle Hamilton? Who knows? I think the Texans should get the best CB in the draft in Derek Stingley Jr. Yes, CBs in the top 5 are not common. It can work out for the Texans like how picks like Charles Woodson, Patrick Peterson, and Jalen Ramsey were in the top 5. The Texans might have that kinda talent on their hands here. As far as CBs go, Stingley Jr. has to be the pick, there’s no other CBs to pick here. There are 3 other picks aside from the first 3 I mentioned that I like for the Texans here. George Karlaftis might be a bit of a reach, but you’re getting the 3rd best EDGE in the draft. You could get the best tackle in the draft in my eyes with Ikem Ekwonu. Or you can still get a great DL piece at DT with Jordan Davis.
In the 2nd round, the hope is that one of the premier WRs is still available at 37 to fill a hole in the Texans offseason needs. I think both Ohio State WRs are off the board at this time in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. However, the rest can be open for interpretation for WRs. Treylon Burks, Jameson Williams, Jahan Dotson, Drake London, George Pickens, and David Bell might all be available here. Could the Texans go RB here? Kenneth Walker, Isaiah Spiller, and even James Cook might all be solid picks here. I think the OT pool will be dried up at this point, but the Guard pool might be better in the 2nd. Zion Johnson, Darian Kinnard, Jamaree Slayer, and Sean Rhyan, Rhyan could probably play tackle or guard. The Texans could also go defensive here. There will still be some DEs here like Drake Jackson or Myjal Sanders. LBs could include Christian Harris, Henry To’o To’o, Darrian Beavers, and Brandon Smith might be good here. The Texans can go CB here if they didn’t get Stingley Jr. or double up in the secondary with a Safety. If they’re lucky Ahmad Gardner drops here, or they could get a CB like Trent McDuffie, or Derion Kendrick. At Safety, they could get Daxton Hill, Jordan Battle, or Lewis Cine. There are plenty of options here for the Texans. It’s up to them to figure out which is the best one and the one that will fit them the most. I’ve always been big about building your offensive line, so I personally think the Texans should go guard here. However, having 7 LBs on expiring contracts may lead them to take an LB in the 2nd which isn’t a bad idea. There will still be WR talent later on so I think they should wait on that. LB might be a heavy consideration or RB. I think the order for them at this point is G, LB, RB, S, CB, WR as far as the 2nd round goes for their needs.
In the 3rd, let’s start thinking some offense here. The Texans need an RB, bad. 3rd round is the sweet spot for RBs, piece it together. I have to think there still is some talent at RBs here in the 3rd. I do think Isaiah Spiller and Kenneth Walker are off the board at this time. But James Cook? Chef’s kiss. Zach Charbonnet and Kyren Williams might be solid picks at RB here too. At 80, let’s stick with offense here. Let’s go with a WR to help whoever is at QB for the Texans (more on that in a sec.) It’s tough to see how the WRs will fall in the NFL Draft especially with about 80 picks to predict. Let’s just say draft the best one. Whether that be Calvin Austin III, Justyn Ross, or someone else, that should be the pick. Might be hopeful wishing, but the Texans can dream can’t they?
Oh, yes, going back to the QB thing. 1. This is just not the draft for it. 2. Even if you did reach on a QB in this draft in the earlier rounds, the team still sucks and will be picking early again next year. Why not just wait for the next QB class and hope for the better. If a QB that they like drops to the 4th or 5th round, yeah why not take a flyer. He might not be the QB of the future, but he might be able to play a little, who knows? Davis Mills hasn’t been terrible for the Texans and lead them to more wins than I thought they would get. He deserves another year on a really bad team, why not. If you like a better QB next year, that’s the move. Besides the Texans offseason needs go way deeper than a QB need.
Texans need a lot of work. I would trade Deshaun Watson and get whatever I can for him. After that, it’s just convincing people to play for your team. The Texans know they suck. They need to be smart with their money and draft well for a couple years. When the pieces start making a clear picture, that’s when they can make some more splashes. Sorry Texans fans, you still have a few more years of being irrelevant before you can challenge the shaky AFC South. You can thank Bill O’Brien for that. They can take a good step here to be more competitive by doing well this offseason. Drafting well is going to be key for the Texans offseason needs, for now and for awhile. Maybe one day we can see a great Texans team, we’ll see.
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