Houston Texans: J.J. Watt, Kenny Stills can bring draft value in trade

The Houston Texans need to start thinking about their future, rather than the 2020 season.

The odds that the Houston Texans are going to win the Super Bowl this year are basically non-existent for the remainder of this season as they are 1-5 overall after six weeks, and the Green Bay Packers are next on the schedule this Sunday.

Actually, the probabilities of them even finishing at .500 or better are dwindling away with each loss. That means with the NFL trade deadline looming in early November is it time for the Houston Texans to possibly trade away some veterans to stockpile their 2021 NFL Draft picks because right now they don’t have much to look forward to without a first or second round pick.

Let’s think about this for a moment, the Houston Texans do have some players on both offense and defense who could be highly regarded to teams making a playoff push for the 2020 season, meaning players such as J.J. Watt and Kenny Stills could be involved in trade talks to teams that actually have a chance to have success the rest of this season.

There is an emotional decision about Watt as the past three-time Defensive Player of the Year has spent his entire 10-year career with the Houston Texans, but he’s not getting any younger, and has battled injuries in three of the past four seasons (excluding this season).

The Texans aren’t going to magically make the playoffs for a run at the championship, so a trade of the greatest Houston Texans player ever could be on the table. J.J. Watt — who is under contract through next season — has been healthy in 2020, and the fact he might be getting some momentum going his way after a sack in Week 6 could bring more value to a possible trade.

Stills is battling for every snap he’s played this season, but he could be very helpful for a team needing more speed and depth on a potential playoff roster.

Stills is under contract until the end of this season, so a trade is a real possibility to happen. Stills is an eight-year veteran player but has no starts in 2020. He has been targeted 14 times in six games, though he had zero targets last Sunday for the Texans. In 2020 Stills has recorded eight receptions for 104 yards with one touchdown, and five of his receptions have went for a first down.

Houston Texans News: Kenny Stills, J.J. Watt deserve to play for championships

All of us know that Stills is better than what we’ve seen this season, and if the Texans can trade him to a team where he has a chance for more success, or at least a opportunity to contribute more in games for a contender, then they should really make that decision and move on from the wide receiver.

Maybe Stills could bring a late round pick as he has had solid success in his career since joining the NFL in 2013. Stills has 307 career receptions for 4,803 yards and 37 touchdowns in his career with he New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and the Texans.

Even last season with the Houston Texans, Stills caught 40 passes on 55 targets for 561 yards and he had four touchdown receptions with Deshaun Watson as his quarterback.

Stills is better than the playing time he’s received this season, but with Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Will Fuller ahead of him on the depth chart, trading Stills for more draft capital is a deal worth making that is in the best interest of both parties.

One team who could use both Watt and Stills is the aforementioned Week 7 opponent, the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers could also use another wide receiver as that team is in the playoff picture to win the NFC Central. It is also known the Packers could use a pass rush too, so Watt fits well into those plans for the rest of this season, and into the 2021 season.

Another possibility for a Watt trade location is the New Orleans Saints. According to The Athletic, a J.J. Watt trade to the Saints could be a possibility before the trade deadline.

Sure, it would be strange to see Watt in any uniform rather than a Texans uniform, but Watt deserves to play for a championship contender as he’s been in the NFL for a decade, and the Texans need to start thinking about the future as they make decisions on a new head coach and GM.

With this being a strict football decision, a trade of J.J. Watt and Kenny Stills would be best for the long-term future of the franchise, and it could allow those two players to battle for a championship which they deserve to do so as well.