Top 5 free agents the Houston Texans could sign at offensive tackle in 2019
By Avery Duncan
3. Trent Brown, LT, New England Patriots
Trent Brown and New England Patriots free agents as a whole tend to scare me. Why?
Well, history is one of the reasons for the scared feeling. For example, in 2018, the New York Giants gave former Patriots left tackle Nate Solder a massive contract only to see him disappoint mightily. In San Fransico, Brown underperformed and only saw success recently with the Patriots after working with offensive line coach and guru Dante Scarnecchia.
Simply put, it’s been a common theme that offensive linemen that leave the Patriots and Scarnecchia tend to regress after.
Brown does bring a lot of positive traits to the table. He improved in a major way in 2018, as he earned a 71.0 grade from Pro Football Focus, good for 32nd in the NFL amongst qualifying tackles. In terms of measurables, he’s only 25 years old (26 in April), has a lengthy 6-8, 360-pound frame that all offensive line coaches dream of, plus has the power to be a mauler in the run game.
Due to his success with the Patriots, Brown will assuredly be paid handsomely. It’s unlikely that the Patriots are the ones to pay him as they have a succession plan in 2018 first round pick, Isaiah Wynn. The Texans could be that team, but they might want to do their homework first.