Houston Texans: 10 under-the-radar NFL free agent targets
By Avery Duncan
8. Jesse James, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Houston Texans don’t need another tight end on the roster per se, but they could always look to improve their roster and get the best available players. The Texans drafted two in the 2018 NFL Draft and have another on the roster in Ryan Griffin. That could change though as Griffin had another down year in 2018 and could be cut for a savings of a hair over $2.6 million in 2019, per Over The Cap.
This is where 24-year old Jesse James comes into play. James offers the Texans with sound blocking and a 6-7, 260-pound frame to boot. In terms of receiving, the tight end had a quietly excellent year in 2018 with the Pittsburgh Steelers as he had 30 receptions on 39 targets (76.9-percent), 423 yards and three touchdowns.
The Steelers, on the other hand, might go another way as Vance McDonald was their featured tight end and look to be in a tricky cap space situation with Antonio Brown‘s status looming.
James was also Football Outsiders seventh-best tight end in terms of DYAR (measures total value), and third-best in terms of DVOA (measures value per play).
His contract could be near $6 million a year for three-plus years, which is a number worth pursuing for the Texans and to be honest, James would come in as probably the best tight end on the roster of the Texans in 2019.