Early Texans bubble watch after 2020 NFL Draft additions

2. Jacob Martin, Linebacker

When the Houston Texans traded Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks, one of the players in the deal was Jacob Martin, along with Barkevious Mingo and a 2020 third-round pick, which the Texans traded for Gareon Conley.

Mingo is no longer on the roster, Martin had very little playing time, and still on the roster is Conley, but his fifth-year option wasn’t picked up, so the trade for Clowney, one of the better edge rushers in the league, didn’t do a whole lot for the Texans.

That brings us back to Martin and his spot on the Houston Texans’ roster going into the season. Martin is a reliable player for this team, but the Texans did draft Jonathan Greenard in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, so maybe Martin is replaceable to the Texans.

Heck, any player is replaceable on the Texans as they traded Clowney and DeAndre Hopkins in consecutive offseasons, so how safe is a reserve player like Martin?  The linebacker deserves more of a chance than he’s received so far with the Texans. In ’19, he had 3.5 sacks and played 223 snaps, so not that many in 14 games played.

Time will tell with Martin and where he stands on the depth chart, but his roster spot is far from being guaranteed in 2020.