Well, it's a shame that the Texans off-season has more intrigue and
action than their play on the field in-season. The Texans 2022 offseason
begins after their 2nd consecutive 4 win season. And for a 2nd
consecutive offseason, the Texans were in the market for a new Head
Coach, as David Culley
was let go after 1 season. Culley was never hired to be anything more
than a placeholder while the Texans try to raise the Titanic, by
overhauling and rebuilding their entire roster. So I always knew that
Culley wasn't going to be around long, but 350 days? Wow!! Not even a
full year.
And much like last year where the Texans search for both a GM and HC had head scratching controversy and confusion, it was, well, much worse this year. This year's search for a HC saw the Texans once again trying to hire a man with absolutely ZERO coaching experience whatsoever, in Josh McCown, who was, of course on NO ONE elses radar, because you know, he had no experience. They interview another, Hines Ward, who at least had a tiny bit of experience, but was also on NO ONE elses radar. Then they interviewed Brian Flores, former Dolphins HC, who had just been fired 3 days prior to the Texans firing Culley, and a day after that interview, Flores came out with a lawsuit against the NFL for discrimination in their hiring practices of minorities. And the Texans still made Flores, a minority, and McCown, an inexperienced white guy, their 2 finalists for the HC gig. I kid you not.
They did interview a couple of other legit candidates, but I don't think the Texans had any real interest in any of them. I think they really, really wanted McCown, but the optics of hiring a ZERO experienced white guy over the guy suing the league for racial discrimination, I mean, only the Texans, right? So someone, I don't know who, but someone in those Kirby offices finally came to their senses, and in desperation mode, like they always seem to be in, hired the guy already in the building, their Defensive Coordinator from last year.
So Lovie Smith, experienced, and a minority, becomes the Texans 5th HC in their 21st year of existence. Smith is also already the 2nd HC in GM Nick Caserio's 2nd year on the job. I don't think that's how you want your GM career to start.
Also released was Bill O'Brien disciple, OC Tim Kelly. Kelly, in charge of one of the worst offenses in the NFL last year, was the last person left from the O'Brien era. Well, unless you count Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Jack Easterby. Yeah, he's still around, and is THE reason McCown was even in this mess. The Texans promote QB coach Pep Hamilton to OC. Not only will Lovie be wearing the HC hat, he'll also remain as the DC.
And much like last year where the Texans search for both a GM and HC had head scratching controversy and confusion, it was, well, much worse this year. This year's search for a HC saw the Texans once again trying to hire a man with absolutely ZERO coaching experience whatsoever, in Josh McCown, who was, of course on NO ONE elses radar, because you know, he had no experience. They interview another, Hines Ward, who at least had a tiny bit of experience, but was also on NO ONE elses radar. Then they interviewed Brian Flores, former Dolphins HC, who had just been fired 3 days prior to the Texans firing Culley, and a day after that interview, Flores came out with a lawsuit against the NFL for discrimination in their hiring practices of minorities. And the Texans still made Flores, a minority, and McCown, an inexperienced white guy, their 2 finalists for the HC gig. I kid you not.
They did interview a couple of other legit candidates, but I don't think the Texans had any real interest in any of them. I think they really, really wanted McCown, but the optics of hiring a ZERO experienced white guy over the guy suing the league for racial discrimination, I mean, only the Texans, right? So someone, I don't know who, but someone in those Kirby offices finally came to their senses, and in desperation mode, like they always seem to be in, hired the guy already in the building, their Defensive Coordinator from last year.
So Lovie Smith, experienced, and a minority, becomes the Texans 5th HC in their 21st year of existence. Smith is also already the 2nd HC in GM Nick Caserio's 2nd year on the job. I don't think that's how you want your GM career to start.
Also released was Bill O'Brien disciple, OC Tim Kelly. Kelly, in charge of one of the worst offenses in the NFL last year, was the last person left from the O'Brien era. Well, unless you count Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Jack Easterby. Yeah, he's still around, and is THE reason McCown was even in this mess. The Texans promote QB coach Pep Hamilton to OC. Not only will Lovie be wearing the HC hat, he'll also remain as the DC.
Ben McDaniels is the Texans WR coach this season. McDaniels is the brother of Raiders HC Josh McDaniels, former Patriots OC who was thought to be a strong Texans HC candidate last January. Frank Ross will handle special teams for a 2nd straight season. The Texans special teams have been a much improved unit under Ross. George Warhop, who has spent the 3 seasons as Jacksonville's OL coach, comes to Houston to try and get production out of the Texans o-line.
And with that, here's a look at what the Texans are bringing to Training Camp 2022.
WR2 is expected to be 2nd year receiver Nico Collins. Collins had 33 receptions for 446 yards in his rookie campaign with just 1 TD. He had one of the worst catch rates (55%) in the NFL last season. The Texans gave up 3 picks to move up and draft Collins in 2021, so the numbers need to improve drastically for Collins starting this season.
TIGHT END (TE)
If you were to base it on number of games started last year, 6th year TE Antony Auclair would be your TE1. Auclair however, played just 32% of the snaps and had just 5 targets, catching all 5, for 47 yards and a TD last year. Obviously used more as a blocking TE. Auclair has also suffered a knee injury early in camp that is expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks or more. 5th year TE Pharaoh Brown, has already been named the starter. He started 12 games last year. Brown had the most targets by a Texans TE last season with 34, making 23 catches for 171 yards. And Brown was in for 65% of the snaps. 2nd year TE Brevin Jordan was last year's obligatory drafted TE. The 5th rounder last year didn't even suit up for the 1st 7 games of his rookie season, and in the 9 games he did play in, had 20 catches for 178 yards and 3 TD. That's 3 fewer catches, 7 more yards, and 3 more TD in 9 games than Brown had in 15 games. So it's interesting that Brown has been named the starter so early in camp.
OFFENSIVE LINE (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)
2 time Pro Bowl LT Laremy Tunsil enters his 7th season, 4th with the Texans. Tunsil missed all but 5 games last season due to a thumb injury suffered in week 5, that should have kept him out just 4-6 weeks. Tunsil ended up missing the final 13 weeks of the season. He'll be back in 2022 though, solidifying the LT spot. Thanks to offseason additions it appears 4th year lineman Tytus Howard will finally get to play the position the Texans drafted him to play in 2019, which is RT. Due to injuries and/or lack of production the last couple of years, Howard has had to move inside. One of those additions is 1st round rookie (15th overall) Kenyon Green, expected to move into LG where Howard had been playing a lot. Another addition is A.J. Cann, who spent his 1st 7 seasons with the Jaguars. Cann is penciled into RG. At C, 8th year veteran Justin Britt started 11 games for the Texans last year, spending about a month on IR. I think Tunsil, Howard and Cann are locks to be starters, with Britt very likely to start, then we'll see if Green can win the starters spot as a rookie. Early reports from camp are that he's having a rough go of it.
DEFENSIVE LINE (DE, DT, NT)
The lack of a pass rush and an inability to stop the run has plagued the Texans the last couple of years. A lot of hopes are riding on Jonathan Greenard, taken in the 3rd round by the Texans in 2020, putting it together in 2022. Greenard had somewhat of a breakout last season with 8 sacks, but 7 of those came in a 6 game stretch between weeks 3 and 8. He had just 1 sack in the final 8 games of the season last year. The Texans have added 13 year veteran Jerry Hughes. Though Hughes has 58 career sacks, the soon to be 34 year old DE hasn't had more than 7 sacks in a season since 2014. Another old-timer added is 12th year veteran Mario Addison, who will be 35 when the season starts. Addison has at least had 9½ sacks as recently as 2019.
LINEBACKERS (LB, OLB, ILB)
Kamu Grugier-Hill, who enters his 7th NFL season, 2nd with the Texans, had just 17 NFL starts in his 1st 5 seasons. He had 14 starts for the Texans last year and led the team in tackles. Grugier-Hill was signed to a 1 year deal last year, and has been re-signed for another 1 year deal this season. 9th year LB Christian Kirksey just re-signed with the Texans for 2 years. Grugier-Hill at SAM (strongside) and Kirksey in the middle, should be 2 of the 3 starters at LB in the Texans base 4-3 defense. Who that 3rd starter at WILL (weakside) will be could be one of the biggest battles in camp this year.
8th year veteran Neville Hewitt is penciled in to start at WILL on many "unofficial" depth charts. Hewitt came over from the Jets last year and having the 4th most tackles (91) in the NFL in 2020. He had just 37 tackles for the Texans last season in limited playing time. 3rd round rookie Christian Harris could be in play here as well. Harris has blazing speed and made a living in the offensive backfield in college with a ton of tackles for loss. Another former Jet, Blake Cashman, whom the Texans traded a 6th round pick next year for, should also be in the mix.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (DB, CB, SS, FS)
The Texans had 3 picks in the 1st 37 in this year's draft. They used 2 of those picks on the secondary. The 1st was, of course, #3 overall, CB Derek Stingley Jr, despite Stingley coming off Lisfranc foot surgery. Lisfranc is what basically ended Matt Schaub's run as a prominent starting QB. Through the 1st few days of camp, Stingley looks to have no effects holding him back, but it is only camp. Their 2nd pick in the secondary was #37 overall, S Jalen Pitre. With Stingley and Pitre likely starting soon, if not right off the bat, it would give the Texans 2 rookies in the secondary. Not ideal, but then the Texans secondary hasn't been much to write home about recently anyway.
SPECIAL TEAMS (K, P, KR, PR)
John Christian KaŹ»iminoeauloamekaŹ»ikeokekumupaŹ»a Fairbairn, better known as Ka'imi Fairbairn, will again handle the kicking duties for the Texans. The Hawaiian born kicker will be entering his 6th season, all with the Texans. Fairbairn led the NFL in FGs made and attempted in his 2nd season (2018). Fairbairn has made 83.8% of FG in his career. He's 64.3% from 50 yards and beyond, and 88.6% from inside 50 yards. He struggles a bit on PATs though, hitting 91% for his career. He's missed 3 in each of the last 2 seasons, and 11 overall the last 3 years.
LONG SNAPPER (LS)
Entering his 13th season, Jon Weeks holds Texans records for most games ever played as a Texan (203), including playoffs, and all 203 of those games were consecutive. Though it's a Texans record, Weeks would need another 60 consecutive games to break the all-time record for Long Snappers in the NFL, held by L.P. Landouceur of the Cowboys. Weeks would need about another 3 1/2 seasons to get that done. Not out of the question, but that would put him into his 17th season and he'd be 39 then. Jon Weeks has never missed a snap in his entire 12 year career. January 3, 2010, the last game of the 2009 season, is last time someone other than Jon Weeks was the Texans LS in a game.
#46 JON WEEKS
So that's about 79% of the names currently on the 90 man roster to start camp. Cut dates will work the same as last year, the Tuesday after every preseason game. Rosters will go from 90 to 85 on Aug. 16, from 85 to 80 on Aug. 23, and final cuts where rosters go from 80 to 53 must be done by Aug. 30, a full 12 days before the opening game on Sep. 11, when the Texans will officially get the Lovie Smith era underway, kicking off the start of their 3rd decade.
QUARTERBACK (QB)
2nd year QB Davis Mills will be the Texans 2022 starter. The 2021 3rd round QB was thrust into action in his rookie season, in game #2 when last year's starter, Tyrod Taylor, was injured. Mills made 6 starts before Taylor came back, and it didn't look good. In those 6 games he had 7 TD, 8 INT and an 80.2 passer rating with the Texans averaging 10.1 points per game. When Taylor got injured again, Mills started the final 5 games of the season and looked much better. In those 5 games Mills had 9 TD, 2 INT, a 98.6 passer rating, and the Texans scored 23.2 points per game.
With Mills making as many starts in his NFL rookie season as he had in his entire collegiate career, the Texans are hoping that in his sophomore season he's able to show the improvement he showed in the last 5 games last year. He'll have to make adjustments though because NFL DCs now have film on him and they'll exploit his tendencies. The Texans will also need to find out if they can move forward with Mills at the helm or if they'll need to address QB in the offseason.
Other arms in camp include former Texas A&M and University of Houston QB, Kyle Allen, who will likely be the backup to Mills. Allen, a UDFA, entering his 5th season, has started just 17 games in his 4 year career, with 12 of those coming in 2019 with the Panthers. Allen has a career 24/17 TD/INT ratio, with an 84.9 career passer rating. Allen's last start came in week 9 of the 2020 season with the then Washington Football Team. He's played in just 2 games since then throwing just 19 passes.
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| QB - Davis Mills |
2nd year QB Davis Mills will be the Texans 2022 starter. The 2021 3rd round QB was thrust into action in his rookie season, in game #2 when last year's starter, Tyrod Taylor, was injured. Mills made 6 starts before Taylor came back, and it didn't look good. In those 6 games he had 7 TD, 8 INT and an 80.2 passer rating with the Texans averaging 10.1 points per game. When Taylor got injured again, Mills started the final 5 games of the season and looked much better. In those 5 games Mills had 9 TD, 2 INT, a 98.6 passer rating, and the Texans scored 23.2 points per game.
With Mills making as many starts in his NFL rookie season as he had in his entire collegiate career, the Texans are hoping that in his sophomore season he's able to show the improvement he showed in the last 5 games last year. He'll have to make adjustments though because NFL DCs now have film on him and they'll exploit his tendencies. The Texans will also need to find out if they can move forward with Mills at the helm or if they'll need to address QB in the offseason.
Other arms in camp include former Texas A&M and University of Houston QB, Kyle Allen, who will likely be the backup to Mills. Allen, a UDFA, entering his 5th season, has started just 17 games in his 4 year career, with 12 of those coming in 2019 with the Panthers. Allen has a career 24/17 TD/INT ratio, with an 84.9 career passer rating. Allen's last start came in week 9 of the 2020 season with the then Washington Football Team. He's played in just 2 games since then throwing just 19 passes.
QB turned TE turned QB again, Jeff Driskel,
is the 3rd arm in camp. Driskel
has started just 9 career games and his teams are 1-8 in those starts. He hasn't thrown an NFL pass since the
2020 season. Driskel played in 1 game for the Texans last year, 10 snaps on special teams.
RUNNING BACK (RB, FB)
The Texans RB room has changed significantly. Rex Burkhead is one of just 2 leftovers from last season. Entering his 10th season, Burkhead had career highs in carries (122) and yards (427) last season with the Texans, and figures to be 2nd or 3th on the depth chart this year, as he was last year. RB1 is expected to be former Colts RB Marlon Mack. Mack, in his 6th season, rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Colts in 2019, then injuries have kept him down the last 2 seasons. Mack has played in just 7 games the last 2 seasons and has just 127 yards to show for it. 4th round rookie Dameon Pierce figures to play a significant role this season. Pierce only had 574 yards (a career high) for Florida last year, but he was a TD machine with 13 on just 100 carries.
5th year RB Royce Freeman is the 2nd holdover from last season, but he didn't play much of a role. Freeman had just 92 yards in 7 games for the Texans last year, and the former 3rd round pick (2018) doesn't figure to play much of a role this season. Rounding out the RB room is 6th year veteran Dare Ogunbowale who has 159 more career yards receiving (458) than he does rushing (299). Former TCU RB Darius Anderson hasn't played a down of football since his senior season (2019). Anderson got into a little bit of trouble with the law just recently, so his stay as a Texan may be a short one. And the Texans will carry a fullback, at least through camp, 7th year veteran Andy Janovich, who has 55 career rushing yards on 17 carries in his previous 6 seasons. Janovich does have 255 receiving yards.
WIDE RECEIVER (WR)
For the 3rd straight season Brandin Cooks will be the Texans primary WR. Cooks enters his 9th NFL season, and 3rd with the Texans. Despite a career where he's had six 1,000 yard seasons in 8 years, Cooks has never made the Pro-Bowl. He's been over 1,000 yards in each of his 1st 2 seasons with the Texans, and is only the 3rd player in Texans history with 1,000 or more yards receiving in a season. The others, Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.
RUNNING BACK (RB, FB)
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| RB - Marlon Mack |
The Texans RB room has changed significantly. Rex Burkhead is one of just 2 leftovers from last season. Entering his 10th season, Burkhead had career highs in carries (122) and yards (427) last season with the Texans, and figures to be 2nd or 3th on the depth chart this year, as he was last year. RB1 is expected to be former Colts RB Marlon Mack. Mack, in his 6th season, rushed for over 1,000 yards for the Colts in 2019, then injuries have kept him down the last 2 seasons. Mack has played in just 7 games the last 2 seasons and has just 127 yards to show for it. 4th round rookie Dameon Pierce figures to play a significant role this season. Pierce only had 574 yards (a career high) for Florida last year, but he was a TD machine with 13 on just 100 carries.
5th year RB Royce Freeman is the 2nd holdover from last season, but he didn't play much of a role. Freeman had just 92 yards in 7 games for the Texans last year, and the former 3rd round pick (2018) doesn't figure to play much of a role this season. Rounding out the RB room is 6th year veteran Dare Ogunbowale who has 159 more career yards receiving (458) than he does rushing (299). Former TCU RB Darius Anderson hasn't played a down of football since his senior season (2019). Anderson got into a little bit of trouble with the law just recently, so his stay as a Texan may be a short one. And the Texans will carry a fullback, at least through camp, 7th year veteran Andy Janovich, who has 55 career rushing yards on 17 carries in his previous 6 seasons. Janovich does have 255 receiving yards.
WIDE RECEIVER (WR)
For the 3rd straight season Brandin Cooks will be the Texans primary WR. Cooks enters his 9th NFL season, and 3rd with the Texans. Despite a career where he's had six 1,000 yard seasons in 8 years, Cooks has never made the Pro-Bowl. He's been over 1,000 yards in each of his 1st 2 seasons with the Texans, and is only the 3rd player in Texans history with 1,000 or more yards receiving in a season. The others, Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.
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| WR - Nico Collins |
WR2 is expected to be 2nd year receiver Nico Collins. Collins had 33 receptions for 446 yards in his rookie campaign with just 1 TD. He had one of the worst catch rates (55%) in the NFL last season. The Texans gave up 3 picks to move up and draft Collins in 2021, so the numbers need to improve drastically for Collins starting this season.
Veterans Chris Conley and Chris Moore are back with the Texans, as is Phillip Dorsett. Conley enters his 8th season and had 22 catches for 323 yards and 2 TD for the Texans last season. Moore, 7th season, 21 catches, 227 yards, 2 TD last year for the Texans. Dorsett enters his 8th season. He was with 3 different teams last year, playing in just 3 games for the Texans, where he had just 6 catches for 107 yards.
The Texans traded 3 draft picks this year to move up and draft another WR, this time in the 2nd round. That means in the last 2 drafts, the Texans have traded away 6 picks to get 2 WRs. The 1st, of course, was Collins last year. This year they take Alabama WR John Metchie. Metchie is coming off an ACL tear he suffered last December, but was expected to be ready to go by the start of camp, or shortly thereafter. But on July 24th it was announced that Metchie had been diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, and will miss the 2022 season at the very least. Very unfortunate, but that opens the door for others trying to make the cut.
Those others are former Jaguars 6th round pick in 2021, Jalen Camp, cut by the Jags at the end of camp last year and picked up by the Texans and put on their practice squad. There's UDFA rookie Johnny Johnson out of Oregon, and 4 year veteran Chad Beebe, son of former Bills WR Don Beebe, who was of course, instrumental in the Bills comeback win against the Oilers in the playoffs back in the day. The Texans have also hit the free agent pool to sign former Colts and Titans WR Chester Rogers. The 7 year vet has never had more than 500 yards in a season and has just 6 career TDs.
TIGHT END (TE)
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| TE - Pharaoh Brown |
If you were to base it on number of games started last year, 6th year TE Antony Auclair would be your TE1. Auclair however, played just 32% of the snaps and had just 5 targets, catching all 5, for 47 yards and a TD last year. Obviously used more as a blocking TE. Auclair has also suffered a knee injury early in camp that is expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks or more. 5th year TE Pharaoh Brown, has already been named the starter. He started 12 games last year. Brown had the most targets by a Texans TE last season with 34, making 23 catches for 171 yards. And Brown was in for 65% of the snaps. 2nd year TE Brevin Jordan was last year's obligatory drafted TE. The 5th rounder last year didn't even suit up for the 1st 7 games of his rookie season, and in the 9 games he did play in, had 20 catches for 178 yards and 3 TD. That's 3 fewer catches, 7 more yards, and 3 more TD in 9 games than Brown had in 15 games. So it's interesting that Brown has been named the starter so early in camp.
The Texans closed camp with just 3 TEs last year, so the battle is going to be something to watch for that 3rd spot, as Brown and Jordan are likely locks. And with the Texans drafting Teagan Quitoriano in the 5th round this year, those might be your 3 if Auclair doesn't make the cut. Of the other 3 TEs in camp, they have a combined 0 NFL catches in their careers, including rookie Seth Green who was a WR for 3 years at the University of Minnesota, where he had just 6 catches for 83 yards in those 3 seasons. He transfered to UH last season, switched to TE and had 13 catches for 157 yards and 3 TD for the Coogs.
OFFENSIVE LINE (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)
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| RT - Tytus Howard |
2 time Pro Bowl LT Laremy Tunsil enters his 7th season, 4th with the Texans. Tunsil missed all but 5 games last season due to a thumb injury suffered in week 5, that should have kept him out just 4-6 weeks. Tunsil ended up missing the final 13 weeks of the season. He'll be back in 2022 though, solidifying the LT spot. Thanks to offseason additions it appears 4th year lineman Tytus Howard will finally get to play the position the Texans drafted him to play in 2019, which is RT. Due to injuries and/or lack of production the last couple of years, Howard has had to move inside. One of those additions is 1st round rookie (15th overall) Kenyon Green, expected to move into LG where Howard had been playing a lot. Another addition is A.J. Cann, who spent his 1st 7 seasons with the Jaguars. Cann is penciled into RG. At C, 8th year veteran Justin Britt started 11 games for the Texans last year, spending about a month on IR. I think Tunsil, Howard and Cann are locks to be starters, with Britt very likely to start, then we'll see if Green can win the starters spot as a rookie. Early reports from camp are that he's having a rough go of it.
2nd year lineman, a 7th round pick of the Raiders in 2021, Jimmy Morrissey, would be the only challenge Britt would have at C. Morrissey started 4 games in Britt's absence last year. 4th rounder in 2020, Charlie Heck, is expected to be the Texans 1st swing tackle option off the bench if either starter goes down, but 8th year veteran Cedric Ogbuehi could be an option there as well. 6th round rookie Austin Deculus will also likely be an option at tackle.
That's already 9 names mentioned on the o-line, and we haven't even gotten to the backup guards. The Texans broke camp with 8 o-linemen last year. 6th year veteran Justin McCray made 8 starts with the Texans last season. McCray could be a starter if the rookie Green isn't quite ready to roll. Then there's Max Scharping, whom the Texans took in the 2nd round in 2019, whose days as a Texan may be numbered. And the Texans have signed free agent Scott Quessenberry. If he makes the team the Texans will have employed all 3 Quessenberry brothers within the last 5 years. David Quessenberry, who beat non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and is currently a starting lineman for the Titans, and Paul Quessenberry, a TE/special teamer who played in 1 game for the Texans last year, and is fighting for a spot on the team again this year.
DEFENSIVE LINE (DE, DT, NT)
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| DE - Jonathan Greenard |
The lack of a pass rush and an inability to stop the run has plagued the Texans the last couple of years. A lot of hopes are riding on Jonathan Greenard, taken in the 3rd round by the Texans in 2020, putting it together in 2022. Greenard had somewhat of a breakout last season with 8 sacks, but 7 of those came in a 6 game stretch between weeks 3 and 8. He had just 1 sack in the final 8 games of the season last year. The Texans have added 13 year veteran Jerry Hughes. Though Hughes has 58 career sacks, the soon to be 34 year old DE hasn't had more than 7 sacks in a season since 2014. Another old-timer added is 12th year veteran Mario Addison, who will be 35 when the season starts. Addison has at least had 9½ sacks as recently as 2019.
Former Seahawks DE Rasheem Green, entering his 5th season has been added to the mix. Green could possibly be on the rise with a career high 6½ sacks last season, a ½ sack less than he had his 1st 3 seasons combined. The Texans have also added former Rams DE, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, entering his 4th season. The former 5th round pick in 2018 has seen limited snaps in his time in LA, and has just 4½ sacks in his career. 5th round rookie Thomas Booker will also be vying for time at DE.
I believe it's a make or break season for DT Ross Blacklock, who has started just 3 games in his career. That's not good enough for someone who was the 40th overall pick in the 2020 draft. In contrast, last year's 6th round rookie, Roy Lopez (195th overall), started 15 games. 7th year veteran Maliek Collins was 2nd behind Lopez in tackles by a DT last year. Collins was also tied for 2nd on the team in both tackles for loss and QB hits last season. Derek Rivers, signed, released, and re-signed by the Texans last year, will be back in camp fighting for a job.
LINEBACKERS (LB, OLB, ILB)
Kamu Grugier-Hill, who enters his 7th NFL season, 2nd with the Texans, had just 17 NFL starts in his 1st 5 seasons. He had 14 starts for the Texans last year and led the team in tackles. Grugier-Hill was signed to a 1 year deal last year, and has been re-signed for another 1 year deal this season. 9th year LB Christian Kirksey just re-signed with the Texans for 2 years. Grugier-Hill at SAM (strongside) and Kirksey in the middle, should be 2 of the 3 starters at LB in the Texans base 4-3 defense. Who that 3rd starter at WILL (weakside) will be could be one of the biggest battles in camp this year.
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| LB - Christian Harris |
8th year veteran Neville Hewitt is penciled in to start at WILL on many "unofficial" depth charts. Hewitt came over from the Jets last year and having the 4th most tackles (91) in the NFL in 2020. He had just 37 tackles for the Texans last season in limited playing time. 3rd round rookie Christian Harris could be in play here as well. Harris has blazing speed and made a living in the offensive backfield in college with a ton of tackles for loss. Another former Jet, Blake Cashman, whom the Texans traded a 6th round pick next year for, should also be in the mix.
7th year veteran Jordan Jenkins saw significant snaps for the Texans last year but starts camp on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform). Others fighting for backup/rotational spots, particularly behind Grugier-Hill at SAM are 9th year veteran Kevin Pierre-Louis, who mainly played special teams last year, and Garret Wallow, whom the the Texans moved up twice last year to take in the 5th round. Wallow was also mainly special teams as well, seeing very few snaps on defense, but the fact the Texans gave up draft picks twice to move up to get Wallow, he needs to be more than just a special teamer.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (DB, CB, SS, FS)
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| CB - Derek Stingley Jr |
The Texans had 3 picks in the 1st 37 in this year's draft. They used 2 of those picks on the secondary. The 1st was, of course, #3 overall, CB Derek Stingley Jr, despite Stingley coming off Lisfranc foot surgery. Lisfranc is what basically ended Matt Schaub's run as a prominent starting QB. Through the 1st few days of camp, Stingley looks to have no effects holding him back, but it is only camp. Their 2nd pick in the secondary was #37 overall, S Jalen Pitre. With Stingley and Pitre likely starting soon, if not right off the bat, it would give the Texans 2 rookies in the secondary. Not ideal, but then the Texans secondary hasn't been much to write home about recently anyway.
Opposite Stingley on the corner, 8th year veteran Steven Nelson is penciled in to start. The Texans will be Nelson's 3rd team in 3 years. He has 8 career INT, but 4 came in 1 season (2018). He's had 4 total in 3 seasons since. 6th year veteran Desmond King tied for the team lead in INT last season with 3. He also tied for the 2nd most tackles. King could play some safety, but he'll likely be used mostly as a nickel CB. 5th year DB Tavierre Thomas was making some splashes last season. Thomas had 2 INT, including a pick 6, and was 4th on the team in tackles. Free agent signee Fabian Moreau, starting his 6th season, has been added to the secondary as well. Moreau allowed a whopping 115.1 passer rating against in 16 starts for the Falcons last year. That's not good, BTW.
Former 2nd rounder (2018) M.J. Stewart is another free agent signing by the Texans this year. Stewart has seen limited snaps the last 2 seasons with Cleveland, but he has a passer rating against under 90 both seasons. With all the new additions, it could spell the end for 7th year veteran Eric Murray, who has pretty much been wretched in his 2 seasons in Houston. And Murray has started 25 games for the Texans the last 2 years. The Texans carried 10 DBs out of camp last season, and there's several, other than those I've named, that qualify at DB, but most will be fighting for a roster spot that will have them getting most of their snaps on special teams, seeing very few defensive snaps. Terrance Brooks, Tremon Smith and Grayland Arnold are some names to watch for there, along with Jonathan Owens whose claim to fame thus far is that his fiancee is 4 time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.
SPECIAL TEAMS (K, P, KR, PR)
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| K - Ka'imi Fairbairn |
John Christian KaŹ»iminoeauloamekaŹ»ikeokekumupaŹ»a Fairbairn, better known as Ka'imi Fairbairn, will again handle the kicking duties for the Texans. The Hawaiian born kicker will be entering his 6th season, all with the Texans. Fairbairn led the NFL in FGs made and attempted in his 2nd season (2018). Fairbairn has made 83.8% of FG in his career. He's 64.3% from 50 yards and beyond, and 88.6% from inside 50 yards. He struggles a bit on PATs though, hitting 91% for his career. He's missed 3 in each of the last 2 seasons, and 11 overall the last 3 years.
Cameron Johnston, entering his 5th season, 2nd with the Texans, will handle punting duties again in 2022. Because the Texans offense was so bad last season, Johnston led the NFL in number of punts (88) and total yardage (4,108). He had the 2nd most punts inside the 20, but again, he had the most chances. His 46.7 yard average per punt was 13th in the NFL last season.
In the return game the top possibilities look to be DBs Desmond King and Tremon Smith. King was the Texans primary punt returner last season, averaging 9.1 yards per return. That was 10th best among returners with at least 15 returns. Smith handled most of the kickoff returns last year, averaging 25.6 yards per return. That was 6th best for players with at least 15 kickoff returns. Smith also had a kickoff return TD last season, 1 of just 9 KO return TDs in the NFL last year.
A few reports that rookie RB Dameon Pierce appears to be in the mix in the return game, even though he had zero returns in his 4 year collegiate career. And there's also been talk of using #3 overall pick Derek Stingley in the return game. This would be very unwise in my opinion, considering he is the #3 overall pick in the draft and he's coming of Lisfranc foot surgery. Stingley, however, at least has return experience in college, averaging 11.3 yards per punt return for his career at LSU. WR Chester Rogers was signed just a couple of days ago and he has a ton of return experience. He was the primary return man on both punts and kickoffs for the Titans last season, and it only makes sense that he'd be in the mix for returns with the Texans.
LONG SNAPPER (LS)
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| LS - Jon Weeks |
Entering his 13th season, Jon Weeks holds Texans records for most games ever played as a Texan (203), including playoffs, and all 203 of those games were consecutive. Though it's a Texans record, Weeks would need another 60 consecutive games to break the all-time record for Long Snappers in the NFL, held by L.P. Landouceur of the Cowboys. Weeks would need about another 3 1/2 seasons to get that done. Not out of the question, but that would put him into his 17th season and he'd be 39 then. Jon Weeks has never missed a snap in his entire 12 year career. January 3, 2010, the last game of the 2009 season, is last time someone other than Jon Weeks was the Texans LS in a game.
#46 JON WEEKS
So that's about 79% of the names currently on the 90 man roster to start camp. Cut dates will work the same as last year, the Tuesday after every preseason game. Rosters will go from 90 to 85 on Aug. 16, from 85 to 80 on Aug. 23, and final cuts where rosters go from 80 to 53 must be done by Aug. 30, a full 12 days before the opening game on Sep. 11, when the Texans will officially get the Lovie Smith era underway, kicking off the start of their 3rd decade.
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