Houston Texans: Important takeaways from Anthony Weaver’s video conference

State of Houston Texans secondary for 2020

The safety skill group was one of the interesting subjects that were brought up with Justin Reid and A.J. Moore, the only safeties on the active roster returning from last year.

"“We’re extremely excited about Eric Murray and Michael Thomas. They’re both proven veterans, phenomenal human beings that know how to play the game and how to win, but we have Justin Reid. I think Justin Reid is a heck of a football player, and now that he’s going into year three, it was amazing to see some of the things that he did last year particularly when he was nursing really two shoulder injuries the entire year. So, when he comes back this year, and he’s healthy, 100 percent healthy, I could see him taking a huge jump as well.”"

Although the Texans could always add a veteran safety late in the process, it appears the Texans are comfortable with the safety group they have on hand after waiving Tashaun Gipson.

Lonnie Johnson‘s name was also brought if a possible position change was on the horizon, but Weaver reiterated that he would be a cornerback in the secondary moving forward.

"” I think Lonnie’s a corner. I think he has press ability; he has length, he has speed. We’ve got to get his confidence right, and I don’t think he lacks in that area either. But like I said, that rookie year for a corner is difficult. I think he’s going to come in now with more knowledge, not only of just the system but just of DB play in general, and I expect him to take a jump here in year two.”"

It was way too early to give up on Johnson’s chances of becoming a cornerback with only one season under his belt. Weaver’s vote of confidence in Johnson bodes well for the secondary as they will have Bradley Roby, Gareon Conley, and Johnson as the top three options moving into the season.

It’ll be interesting to see how Anthony Weaver performs in his first year as defensive coordinator, but he’s shown enough in his time in Houston as the defensive line coach to at least deserve a shot of putting his mark on the defense.