Houston Texans: 3 positional battles to follow this preseason
By Jair Lopez
Julien Davenport
The player with the greatest expectations not because of his draft pedigree but due to the importance of the position at offensive tackle is Julien Davenport. The Texans didn’t address the position in the past due to the elite level former Texan Duane Brown performed at during his long stint with the team.
However, the trade that sent Brown to the Seattle Seahawks accelerated the process of adjusting to life without a Pro Bowl left tackle. The team has drafted six offensive tackles after drafting Duane Brown with their first round pick in 2008.
Davenport is, in fact, the only offensive tackle the team has drafted to develop in recent years. Martinas Rankin was drafted in the third round in the 2018 draft, but he sustained a foot injury that landed him on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform), as he just rejoined the active roster this week.
The Texans aren’t necessarily deep at offensive tackle with Seantrel Henderson and Kendall Lamm being the only other offensive tackles with NFL experience.
The offense will have a lot riding on Davenport’s development in his second season. His ability to anchor the blindside of quarterback Deshaun Watson will go a long way in determining how the Texans fare in the regular season and possibly the playoff gauntlet.