Houston Texans: Better days ahead for Aaron Colvin in 2019

The Houston Texans didn’t get the best results from Aaron Colvin last season, but there is a second chance ahead for the 2019 season.

When the Houston Texans signed cornerback Aaron Colvin in free agency last season the expectations were relatively high, but the results never came. Colvin played in just 10 games with his new team in 2018 — as he suffered an ankle injury — with no interceptions, 29 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one pass defensed.

In his first four years, Colvin played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where his numbers in 2017 were better as he played in all 16 games in the regular season, along with five passes defensed, four stuffs, one fumble recovery and 45 tackles, including 29 solo.

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Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien recently spoke about Colvin’s offseason and how he has been performing following a mini camp practice last week. O’Brien spoke about not know the upcoming role of Colvin this upcoming season, per transcripts provided by HoustonTexans.com:

"“He’s been here every day, he’s worked hard. I think he’s definitely in that group of players that have improved, which is a big group. But there’s definitely been improvement because he’s been out there every day. He’s been healthy, he’s been working. He’s a hard worker. He’s definitely takes a good professional approach to every day.”"

This seemed like a little waste of time for O’Brien to even talk about Colvin. Even though he said he improved, O’Brien didn’t mention any of the improvements made by the cornerback, except for the fact he’s out on the field. So, that is a start, but for the Texans’ sake, they had better hope Colvin does more than show up in 2019.

Looking back at his first year with the Texans, Colvin was overall graded by Pro Football Focus at 52.2, with a pass coverage grade of 53.3, a pass rush grade of 52.3, and a run defense grade of 47.6 (all grades out of 100).

What will be interesting for Colvin is he has more competition this season as the Texans drafted Lonnie Johnson Jr. in the second round, but for now, according to depth chart listed at OurLads.com, Colvin has the starter’s role, with Johnson next in line at right cornerback, though his first offseason has been slowed with injury.

On the plus side, Colvin knows he needs to improve his play from a season ago. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle quoted Colvin in a recent article:

"“I’m pretty disappointed with how it went on the field, but it was a great year for me because I experienced a lot of things I never experienced before.”"

The best thing about Colvin is the fact he’s a talented player and has five previous years of NFL experience, including 27 starts in 58 games, plus it has been said he’s put in the work needed to improve on last season’s let-down campaign.

If the Texans can get the Colvin who can make 16 regular-season starts — the player who in 2015 made 73 tackles, four sacks, six tackles for loss and four quarterback hits — well, the four-year contract ($18 million guaranteed) would be worth it.

Asking for the player from four years ago is a big ask, but if Colvin can get near that type of production in the Texans’ defense — which is different than what he played in Jacksonville — that would work, too.

Colvin just needs to showcase his skill set the best way possible within the Texans’ system, as he’s better than the player who was on the field last season. The 2019 season is a big season for Colvin and the Texans, so for the defense to be better than it was a year ago, Colvin will need to be the improved player O’Brien spoke of.

dark. Next. Is the Texans offensive line improving for the '19 season?

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