Houston Texans need to address defense early in 2019 NFL Draft

Houston Texans have a lot of needs to address with the 2019 NFL Draft coming up later this month.

Houston Texans front office and coaching staff along with the other 31 NFL teams will have their hands full re-evaluating their roster as free agency begins to slow down and the 2019 NFL Draft commences this 25th of April.

Texans have signed cornerbacks Bradley Roby, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, and safety Tashaun Gipson during the free agency wave after Kareem Jackson signed with the Denver Broncos to a three year deal with $33 million and Tyrann Mathieu made himself one of the highest paid safeties in NFL by signing to a three year $42 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs  .

Safety Andre Hal announced his retirement from the NFL after playing five seasons, and his late departure will require the Texans drafting a replacement after he was expected to have a sizeable role as the third safety on the roster. Gipson’s signing was a natural replacement for Mathieu as a player capable of dropping back in coverage and sizing up well with tight ends.

However, there is the chance for a free agent signing to backfire, a player could suffer an injury or simply not fit into the team’s scheme, so the Texans will have to target a safety who can fit alongside Reid down the road. Outside of Reid and Gipson, A.J. Moore, A.J. Hendy, and Michael Tyson are the only safeties under contract for the 2019 season, but they have spent the majority of their playing time on special teams.

Along with finding a safety that can be a reliable third option, Texans most urgent need on defense is finding a cornerback early in the draft capable of being an understudy to veteran cornerback Johnathan Joseph, who will be entering his 14th season in the NFL.

Joseph, Roby, Boddy-Calhoun, Aaron Colvin, Johnson Bademosi, and Deante Burton are the only cornerbacks currently on the roster. Texans have not brought back Shareece Wright after an inconsistent season in the secondary surrendering multiple touchdowns as one of the cornerbacks in the rotation.

Texans haven’t hidden their intentions that they are banking on building the team through the draft, and they will have multiple positions to address in the secondary as the draft looms towards the end of this month. If there is a run of offensive tackles early in the first round, drafting a defensive back would make sense as the Texans continue to construct their roster ahead of the start of the 2019 regular season.