Houston Texans: Can Eddie P make Stevie B expendable?

Training camp is back in full swing after a quick rest and once again our friend John Harris from the Houston Texans website is treating us to his daily camp observations. Harris is always honest and on the spot with his player assessments which makes him such a great read.

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One player that Harris has mentioned on more than one occasion is safety, Eddie Pleasant, the fourth-year player from Compton. Pleasant was undrafted in 2012 by way of Oregon and for his NFL career, he has totaled only 28 tackles.

However, looking back at his collegiate career, we see a kid who is a true in-the-box safety. Pleasant played linebacker and safety for the Ducks and racked up 196 career tackles. His top season in Eugene saw him net 61 tackles and 3 interceptions. That was his senior season, but a case could also be made for his second year being the tops for Eddie P as he racked up 4.5 sacks to go along with his 54 tackles.

One thing that is for sure is Pleasant is much more of a prototypical strong safety than the presumed starter, Stevie Brown who was recently signed away from the New York Giants. Even though they have similar size, Pleasant plays the role of a run stuffer much more adequately.

Harris though explains how Eddie P has also started to become a force in pass coverage for the Texans during the 2015 training camp;

"Another player in the secondary that has been fantastic is safety Eddie Pleasant. He had another strong day in coverage, forcing a pass breakup early in one-on-ones and then another one in team drills. “Eddie P” was a forgotten man by some heading into training camp, but he’s more than made his name known this summer."

If Pleasant can continue to show such progress at pass coverage he could find himself in a strong competition for the starting spot opposite free safety Rahim Moore. While the team did bring Brown in to help shore up the safety spot, coach Bill O’Brien would have no problem going with the lesser known safety in Pleasant if he feels that is the best man for the job.

Next: Houston Texans: These three areas must improve in 2015