NFL Team Needs: Houston Texans Team Needs

The Houston Texans are hoping that filling a few team needs and Deshaun Watson being able to build off his rookie season are enough to get them back into the playoff mix.

This is going to be a tricky offseason for the Houston Texans. They have a few team needs that must be addressed, but have limited draft ammo. Last year’s trade to land Deshaun Watson and rid themselves of Brock Osweiler cost the Texans their 1st and 2nd round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Houston only has 5 draft picks this year with two in the 3rd round after trading Duane Brown to the Seattle Seahawks. The lack of draft assets will make it tough for Houston to address their most pressing needs.

It also means that they will likely need to use free agency to fill those holes. According to spotrac, Houston has around $57 million in cap space. That should be enough for the Texans to add some solid free agent pieces.

Below are the Houston Texans top 3 team needs:

1. Left Tackle

Trading away Duane Brown seemed like a necessary move. Brown wanted a new contract and the Texans didn’t appear willing to met his asking price. So, they moved Brown which provided some cap relief and a 3rd round pick.

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The downside of this move is that it creates a major hole at the left tackle position. Houston rolled out a few players throughout the season, but never found a long-term solution.

It seems unlikely that they’ll trust such an important job to someone as untested as 2nd-year player Julie’n Davenport. The more likely scenario is that they jump into the free agent pool and target someone like Nate Solder.

2. Cornerback

Houston’s secondary struggled to overcome the loss of A.J. Bouye via free agency. They received inconsistent performances from the aging Johnathan Joseph, Kevin Johnson and Kareem Jackson. The issues at cornerback are the only real weakness on what could be a dominant defense.

This is another spot where Houston will need to dip into the free agent pool to address. There are few solid cornerbacks slated to hit the open market, but Houston will need to decide how high they are willing to go based on salary.

The Texans already have money committed to Joseph, Johnson and Jackson. It’s possible that they don’t make an addition to the cornerback group and just hope this trio bounces back.

3. Defensive Line

J.J. Watt, Christian Covington and D.J. Reader all finished the year on injured reserve. This groups health issues caused major problems up front for the Texans. They are all expected to make full recoveries, but this is a position that needs some depth.

The 2018 NFL Draft has several mid-round defensive line prospects that could make sense for the Texans. NC State’s Justin Jones is coming off a solid Senior Bowl performance and would be a nice depth piece.