Houston Texans 53-man roster predictions post-2020 NFL Draft
Secondary (10)
CB: Gareon Conley, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Bradley Roby, Keion Crossen, Vernon Hargreaves (CB), John Reid (R); S: Eric Murray, Michael Thomas, Justin Reid, Jaylen Watkins.
Time will tell if this secondary can bring any success on a consistent basis, as players listed are going to have to play better than they did a year ago. Improvement must come for Vernon Hargreaves in 2020, because his entire season with Houston and Tampa Bay in ’19 wasn’t the greatest.
Hargreaves allowed 65 receptions on 88 targets and had one interception with Tampa Bay. Hargreaves is better than the 47.7 PFF grade he earned overall last year, and this is the season he must prove all the doubters wrong and be a force in the secondary.
One player who is going to be a force though is Justin Reid at safety. In what will be his third season with the Texans, Reid in two seasons has played in 31 regular-season games, totaled 116 solo tackles, 15 passes defensed and has one touchdown that was a 101-yard interception return for a TD in 2018.
Though Reid’s numbers weren’t as stellar as the previous season, he still graded at 76.7 overall by PFF, as he also allowed 23 receptions of 35 targets. Each year he’s becoming more comfortable, and now with a new defensive coordinator, things will be interesting for Reid.
The rest of the safeties seem to be very solid players for the Houston Texans to have, but the cornerbacks are where the thinking comes into play.
If Gareon Conley can be the player many believe he can be with the Texans, then at least one side of the field should be safe. Conley has great talent, is a former first-round pick and is playing for a new contract. That could be the perfect storm for the Texans in ’20, as a player on his contract year usually plays just a tad bit harder.
All of the Texans’ cornerbacks have something to prove this season for a variety of reasons. They didn’t have their best seasons in ’19, and though some aren’t back from that squad, the Texans news out of training camp could be which cornerback steps up and breaks away from the rest to make the team.