Houston Texans: Five safety free agent options
By Randy Gurzi
Mark Barron, Los Angeles Rams 26 years old
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected strong safety Mark Barron out of Alabama with the seventh pick of the 2012 NFL Draft and it was a pick applauded by just about every draft expert. Barron then became an immediate starter and while he was a good player, he never developed into the stud player that they thought he would be.
With 37 starts in 37 games, Barron recorded 226 tackles and three interceptions, but was seen as mostly a hard hitter who was a liability in coverage. The hard-hitting safety was traded to the Rams for a sixth-round pick, a far cry from their top ten investment.
In St. Louis, Barron spent time at safety before moving to linebacker after an injury to starting weak side linebacker Alec Ogletree. He finished the year with 116 tackles and showed he is still a versatile weapon that can contribute to a defense.
The concern in Houston is his skill set may be too similar to another strong safety they recently released in D.J. Swearinger, who was a second round pick known more for hard hits. Barron however, is a much better player than Swearinger and could provide some solid playmaking near the line of scrimmage while Hal patrols the back end.
Next: An undrafted kid turned starter