Houston Texans Offseason Manifesto: Constructing an offensive juggernaut

The first two pieces of this Houston Texans offseason manifesto didn’t serve as the source of positivity that Texans fans are currently craving. That was supposed to at least change a little bit with this piece. This was going to be where I gushed about the long-term potential of this offense, purely because of quarterback Deshaun Watson.

There aren’t enough adjectives to accurately describe just how gifted Deshaun Watson is. Franchises spend decades searching for a player of Watson’s caliber. A prodigious quarterback such as Watson is the most elusive find across the entire sports landscape. Watson is a master of the craft, and players of his pedigree do not grow on trees.

Even better for Houston, Watson signed a four-year, $177.5 million extension in September which represented a long-term commitment to the organization at the time.

At only 26 years of age, Watson is already a Top 3 quarterback in the league and is only getting started. Sure, the Houston Texans don’t have their first round pick this year, and they are also in a dreadful position with the salary cap. None of those problems seemed too bad. All of these issues felt temporary — the salary cap can be fixed with time, and Houston’s supply of draft choices will restock next year.

This was all until Houston Texans’ brass broke one of the golden rules of team building. The enigmatic relationship between Cal McNair and Jack Easterby has shattered the relationship with the most important player in franchise history.

Even after the impromptu hiring of Nick Caserio as general manager, it still felt like the relationship between Watson and the Texans could be fixed. When players of Watson’s caliber are frustrated, you do whatever it takes to accommodate their needs. Perhaps I was oblivious to the severity of the situation, but in my mind, I imagined the organization was aware of Watson’s value and would admit to their mistakes.

Surely the two sides would find a way to put a Band-Aid on the situation, right?

With each passing day, that grows more and more unlikely. Credible reports claim that Deshaun Watson is at his breaking point with McNair and Easterby, and it is now possible that he could find a way to get himself out of Houston.

Houston Texans: Overview of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson

Until Deshaun Watson comes out and demands a trade or gets moved, I will continue operating under the assumption that he will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2021. Players like Watson have always been untradable, so I’m still going to believe that the two sides will find a way to at least temporarily fix the conundrum that has been created.

Unless Watson demands a trade, there is not a single package in the world Houston should entertain for Watson. The spectacular play of Watson alone should help Houston remain somewhat competitive, even if the rest of the roster is relatively weak.

Watson was phenomenal throughout the 2020 campaign. His unbelievable play almost slipped through the cracks a little bit due to Houston’s dismal 4-12 record. But if there is one person that does not shoulder even a little bit of blame for Houston’s 2020 season, it is Watson. The 25-year-old set career highs in passing yards (4,823), passing touchdowns (33), completion percentage (70.2 percent), passer rating (112.4), and a career low in interceptions (7).

Deshaun Waton did all this while the Houston Texans front office traded standout receiver DeAndre Hopkins during the offseason and also had to navigate the last five games on the schedule without Will Fuller.

Watson is one of the game’s truly elite quarterbacks, and he can elevate the rest of the team around him. The presence of Watson alone could potentially put Houston on the path to a speedy rebuild if they get some other things right. When you have a quarterback as talented as Watson, there really is no ceiling for how strong your offense can be.

Houston Texans: Overview of the tackles and center

The Houston Texans have a solid offensive tackle protecting the blindside of Deshaun Watson in Laremy Tunsil. Houston gave up a king’s ransom to land Tunsil, and two full seasons later it is most likely unanimously seen as an overpay. However, that does not mean Tunsil is not a productive player. Still only 26 years of age, Tunsil has been named a Pro Bowler both seasons he has been in Houston.

Tunsil’s bookend is Tytus Howard, the 2019 first round pick out of Alabama State. While the Howard selection was initially scrutinized as a reach, Howard has shown some promise throughout his two years in the league. I would imagine the Texans are still relatively bullish on Howard’s potential, and that is certainly justified.

Anytime you have a quarterback as talented as Deshaun Watson, keeping him on his feet is priority number one. For all his faults, former head coach and GM Bill O’Brien at least invested heavily in the offensive tackle position on his way out the door. While Houston’s offensive line certainly still has question marks, there are a lot of teams that are in worse shape at the tackle position.

The interior of Houston’s offense line was responsible for a lot of the struggles the offense faced in 2020. There were some fans who tossed around the idea of kicking Howard inside to guard and provide Charlie Heck an opportunity to win the starting right tackle job. Heck, a 2020 fourth round pick, got a couple of starts at the end of the season and had some promising moments.

It is an intriguing proposition, but I generally am not a fan of playing musical chairs along the offensive line. When the Houston Texans drafted Howard, everyone looked at him as a project. You could strongly argue that he has exceeded expectations so far.

Tackles are also usually more difficult to find than guards. Enter 2021 with Howard as your starter at RT, if he has not shown much growth and Houston’s offensive line continues to struggle through the first couple games next year then perhaps it would be time to do some experimenting.

As things currently stand, the center position is held by Nick Martin. Martin signed an extension in September 2019. He does pose as an intriguing option to cut, as he could save north of $6 million towards the 2021 salary cap. Proponents of cutting ties with Martin could point towards his disappointing 2020 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Nick Martin graded a 29th out of 37 centers that were graded on the season. A player getting paid the salary of Martin simply has to perform at a higher level.

Cutting Martin still feels unlikely. He’s been a reliable player over the past four years, and there are serious question marks plaguing the rest of the interior. In the three years prior to 2020, Martin graded as a league-average center. Hopefully, for Houston’s sake, he will return to that level of play in 2021. The team simply does not have the resources to replace starting-caliber players like Martin this offseason.

The trio of Howard, Martin, and Tunsil provided Houston with a combined 44 starts during 2020. It would be surprising if any of these three players weren’t back next year. All three project to enter the 2021 campaign as important starters up front for the Houston Texans.

Houston Texans: Overview of the offensive guards

Houston’s offensive line could really use a makeover at the guard position. The Houston Texans were hamstrung by some of the worst guard play in the league last year, and the entire side of the ball suffered because of it. The Texans ran for a meager 91.6 yards per contest in 2020, the second-worst mark of any club in the NFL. I would argue these struggles can most prominently be attributed to the poor play of the interior offensive line.

Zach Fulton was a stalwart at the guard position in 2020, starting all 16 games. While Fulton graded out as the best guard Houston had in 2020, that was not necessarily a high bar to cross. Pro Football Focus ranked Fulton as the 43rd best guard during the 2020 season out of 83.

Despite grading as Houston’s best player at the position, Fulton is a prime candidate to be cut this offseason. Cutting Fulton would save the Houston Texans about $3 million dollars towards the cap during 2021, so this seems like an easy decision.

Houston’s other guard snaps in 2020 were mainly shared by Max Scharping (eight starts) and Senio Kelemete (five starts). Both of these players struggled last year, Scharping was PFF’s 70th ranked guard and Kelemete came in at 66th.

Scharping was a second round choice in 2019. Despite his poor play thus far, it would be very surprising if Houston moved on from him this offseason. It would be fair to potentially label 2021 a “make-or-break” year for Scharping, though.

Kelemete will be 31 years old by the start of the 2021 season and still has a year left on his deal. Cutting Kelemete would offer the Houston Texans close to $2 million in savings towards the cap, so it certainly is possible that he’s played his last game in Houston.

Assuming at least one of Fulton and Kelemete doesn’t return next season, the Texans will need to add guards this offseason. They most likely won’t have the money to add a premier player at the position, but this is where they could bring in cheap veterans or young, unproven players on short, team-friendly deals.

Two years ago the Cleveland Browns surrendered two low draft choices for Wyatt Teller, who is now arguably the best guard in the league. While that is of course the exception and not the rule, this is the mindset the Houston Texans should embrace this offseason. Find young, intriguing players that can be had for cheap and bring them into the fold.

Overview of the wide receivers

One question that will immediately need answering regards the future of standout wide receiver Will Fuller. In the wake of the departure of DeAndre Hopkins, Fuller stepped up in a big way this season. In 11 games, Fuller had set new career-highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns (53, 879, 8.)

Fuller was setting himself up for a nice payday, that was until his season was cut short after receiving a suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing policy. Fuller still has not made it through the entirety of a 16-game NFL schedule. Through five years, the former first round pick has now missed a whopping 27 games due to injury or suspensions.

Fuller’s talent is undeniable, he had firmly established himself as Watson’s favorite target before his suspension. But Houston is not really in a situation where they can hand out big contracts to players that are still unreliable. Even after the suspension, I would be amazed if some team out there loaded with space (Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots) is not willing to give Fuller a contract worth somewhere in the range of $12 million per year. Considering Houston’s current cap situation, can they take on this sort of liability?

With the way that the game has evolved, wide receiver is one of the five most important positions in the sport. I am a firm believer that you need premium talent at the position if you want to be competitive.

Fuller was in the midst of a breakout season, and this is truly a situation where I will probably understand whichever path Houston chooses regarding Fuller, with the exception of a gross overpay.

My writing will feature a theme: Give Deshaun Watson what he wants.

If Watson feels comfortable throwing to Fuller and does not want to lose his favorite target for the second consecutive offseason, create the cap space to keep Fuller around long-term.

I have also emphasized that Houston is preparing to undergo a rebuild. Fuller has been unreliable to contribute for an entire season, and Brandin Cooks (81,1,150, 6) is under contract for three more seasons. Cooks had some huge performances down the stretch in the absence of Fuller, and he has publicly said he wants to return to Houston for 2021.

With Cooks set to return and a roster littered with holes, the most sensible approach could be to cut your losses with Fuller and let him walk then use whatever money you are able to spend to address other parts of the roster.

There will most likely be cheaper options on the free agency market that the Houston Texans could bring in to replicate some of Fuller’s production. Or how about an expanded role for Keke Coutee? Perhaps it is time to truly evaluate what you have in the 2018 draft selection from Texas Tech after he put together some quality performances to close out the 2020 campaign.

In short, I would LEAN towards letting Fuller walk because I am not sure Houston is in a situation where it would be smart to shell out the money to keep him right now. I could certainly be talked into an extension if that is the route they pursue, though.

Houston Texans: Overview of more wide receivers and TE

Even if you are not able to retain Will Fuller, Deshaun Watson will still have some familiar faces set to return next year in Brandin Cooks and Keke Coutee. We also have not really seen much of 2020 fifth round pick Isaiah Coulter yet, so it will be interesting to see if Houston sees a future for him at all. Houston could then round out their wide receiver corps by buying low on players in free agency and perhaps adding someone in the draft.

The Houston Texans enjoy making the tight end an important feature in their passing attack, and one player I would really be intrigued to see in a larger role is Pharaoh Brown.

After being signed off waivers in September, Brown worked his way into the rotation in Houston by the end of the season. Brown enjoyed his best game yet as a pro in Week 17, catching five passes for 48 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Since the Houston Texans are rebuilding, they should continue buying low on players like Brown. While Brown will be a free agent this offseason, the price to retain his services shouldn’t be too high. Bringing Brown back into the fold during 2021 would make a lot of sense for both parties.

In addition to Brown, the Texans have two other tight ends set to return next year in Darren Fells and Jordan Akins. I could foresee one of them returning, but I find it extremely unlikely both come back. Darren Fells is 34 years old, so there it is very improbable that he is a part of the organization’s long term plans. Cutting Fells would save the Texans a little bit more money, so I would be very surprised if he returns next year.

Akins (37, 403, 1) is relatively cheap and still only 28 years of age. You always want to at least have a couple of familiar faces for your quarterback to target, and steady production from Akins should warrant a roster spot again next year.

Overview of the running backs

To move on to another position group, one obvious candidate to be cut is running back David Johnson. When fit, Johnson performed admirably this year averaging 4.6 yards per carry and finding the end zone seven times. But cutting Johnson could save Houston nearly $7 million in cap space. For a team that is currently above the cap, this seems like an obvious choice to make.

Another prime candidate to cut is Duke Johnson. Duke suffered mightily in 2020, only averaging a vapid 3.1 yards per carry. If Duke were to be cut, that would save the Houston Texans around $5 million towards next season’s cap. Cutting both Duke and David Johnson would wipe out approximately two-thirds of the debt the Texans are currently faced with.

With both Duke and David Johnson almost assuredly to be cut, there will be new faces introduced to Houston’s running back room next season.

The Houston Texans will most likely resort to the free agency market and/or the 2021 NFL Draft to find cheap labor at the running back position for the 2021 season.

This time last year, barely anyone had heard of James Robinson and he is coming off quite the season in Jacksonville. Good, young running backs are out there. Houston will need to find one.