The Houston Texans made changes to their secondary after their defeat against the New Orleans Saints in the season opener.
The Houston Texans rolled out a different rotation in their secondary in their second game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after losing in a disappointing fashion to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Texans used Johnnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby as the boundary cornerbacks meanwhile Aaron Colvin was the cornerback dropping back in coverage with the slot receiver against the Saints.
However, things were going to change going into the second week with the Texans deciding to release Colvin after his recent poor performance against the Saints. Phillip Gaines was signed to the roster with Colvin’s departure, but it was going to be a short week to put him up to speed in a new defense.
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Texans opted to start rookie Lonnie Johnson Jr. as the boundary cornerback opposite from Joseph and moved Roby as the slot cornerback in defensive packages. Roby’s size and speed made him the most suitable replacement to take over at the slot position and allowed Johnson to use his longer sturdier frame to handle receivers outside the numbers.
Johnson finished the game with three tackles and one pass deflection meanwhile Roby held his own as the slot cornerback with two tackles. Although there were some growing pains as Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew finished 23 of 33 for 213 passing yards and a late touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Some mistakes were to be expected as Roby was projected as a boundary cornerback in the defense with Johnson working his way into the rotation as a rookie. However, the recent moves have pushed them into different roles than what they expected to be in at the start of the season.
Joseph, Johnson, and Roby seem to be the top three cornerbacks moving forward with Keion Crossen, Xavier Crawford, and Gaines being the reserve cornerbacks on the depth chart.