The Houston Texans news would be a better if they could add one player from each AFC South rival in 2020.
Think about this for a second: how fun would it be if the Houston Texans news headlines could read about them being allowed to take a player from each of their AFC South rivals and add them to their team for the 2020 NFL season?
It is all in good fun, but again, imagine how much better this franchise would be. Would that put them over the hump and make them a stronger Super Bowl contender? Would adding a player from the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars make them be a great team, and one that could actually have a chance to hang with the Kansas City Chiefs or Baltimore Ravens late in the playoffs?
One position we all know the Texans wouldn’t take from an opposing division rival is quarterback, as the Texans have the best quarterback in the AFC South, and that is Deshaun Watson. He’ll outperform Philip Rivers (Colts), Ryan Tannehill (Titans) and Gardner Minshew (Jaguars) this upcoming season, and most likely for many seasons to come.
There are some spots where the opponents have better players than Texans currently have at those positions, as there is just so much unknown with David Johnson as he tries his hand for year one with the Texans after spending his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals.
Houston Texans news: Can the wide receivers replace DeAndre Hopkins?
Also at wide receiver, veteran leadership is the name of the game with that roster, but injuries could hamper that group which has been put together this offseason with Will Fuller and Kenny Stills being joined by Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks.
On defense, the Texans could use some additional depth in the secondary, but also adding to the interior defensive line might be something to think about as well. A team also can’t have too many pass rushers off the edge, so finding players there as well is something to think about.
Nonetheless, this is all for entertainment purposes and something to think about seriously as well, because who knows if any of these players could one day play for the Texans. Anything is possible in the league when six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady ends up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Next are the three players to take from an AFC rival and add to the Texans roster.
Houston Texans News: Quenton Nelson, Guard (Indianapolis Colts)
This is an easy one because the Houston Texans news this offseason has been they need to get a bit better at offensive guard, so why not only get a bit better, but All-Pro level better with the addition of Quenton Nelson.
If the Texans were to take a player like Nelson from the Colts roster and add him to their offensive line, imagine the strength the Texans offensive line would get, which would make quarterback Deshaun Watson safer from the interior pass rush, and David Johnson would have such a great opportunity to return to his past form.
Nelson played in 1,042 snaps last season and had just three penalties, plus he was graded at 91.2 by Pro Football Focus. PFF even had Nelson ranked as the fourth-best player in the entire NFL entering the 2020 season, as he “didn’t surrender a sack” in 2019.
Nelson would be placed at left guard alongside left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and then the Texans could move current left guard Max Scharping to right guard as he could battle with Zach Fulton for that role. Either way, however the Texans would place the players, the addition of Quenton Nelson on the offensive line is fun to think about.
Houston Texans News: Adoree’ Jackson, Cornerback (Tennessee Titans)
With this selection, a person could have gone more than a few directions in making this choice, but Adoree’ Jackson at cornerback could be a very nice addition to the Texans secondary as he would force others in the unit to step up their level of play as well.
The Texans need all the help they can get in at cornerback when facing the elite teams in the league like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, who both had large-margin victories against the Texans either in the regular season or in the playoffs.
Jackson would bring some good Houston Texans news to the headline as he is a very solid player for the Tennessee Titans franchise, and in a rankings article of the Titans’ Top 20 players for 2020, TitansWire writer Mike Moraitis has the cornerback as the fifth-best player.
When last season was complete, Jackson in played in 11 games (10 starts) and totaled 39 solo tackles, three tackles for loss (a career-high) and six passes defensed. Opponents had 30 receptions against him (46 targets). For his career (three seasons), Jackson has 39 starts (43 total games) with two interceptions, 33 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 167 solo tackles and six tackles for loss.
Houston Texans News: Josh Allen, Defensive End (Jacksonville Jaguars)
The Houston Texans could add a young player with much potential as he’s entering his second season in the NFL, and that is Josh Allen, the starting defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2019 first round pick (seventh overall) would fit in very well on the Texans’ defensive line because he could learn a lot from J.J. Watt, plus he would add that much more pressure on the opposing defense.
As a rookie pass rusher from the University of Kentucky, Allen finished his first season in the league with 12 sacks. Looking back at the Texans sack totals last season, linebacker Whitney Mercilus led the way with 7.5 sacks, and next was Watt with four, as Watt played in just eight games during the regular season. As a team, the Texans totaled just 31 sacks for the ’19 season.
Adding a player like Allen to this group would make this defensive line more fearsome for the opposing team as the other defensive ends whom the Texans need in 2020 are Angelo Blackson, Charles Omenihu and Brandon Dunn.
Allen only started four games last season as a rookie and played in all 16, but his ability to get to the opposing quarterback with 23 QB hits and also his 11 tackles for loss would have been big Texans news headlines if they could take Allen off the roster of the Jaguars and add him to the Texans roster.