Houston Texans news: Deshaun Watson and more pre-training camp thoughts

Since the start of the Houston Texans training camp is just a few days away, this is as good of time as any to talk about a few things before the intensity and unknown of the upcoming season really kicks into gear.

How many of you are getting tired of wondering what is going to happen with Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (that’s still his title, right?), as it has been one wild offseason for the 2020 NFL passing leader?

Will Watson even be the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans again? Will he even play in the NFL in 2021, 2022 or ever again? The answer to the first question is since Deshaun Watson requested a trade before his legal issues even began, the feeling from here is he will not play for the Texans ever again.

Next is will Deshaun Watson play in the NFL at any point in 2021 or beyond? If his off-the-field problems are able to be fixed, then most likely the Texans will be able to trade Watson and they will get a big return for one of the best quarterbacks in all of the NFL when he’s on the field.

Look at how much Watson accomplished with the Texans’ offense last season, and the Houston defense didn’t help matters much, either.

So the final answer about Deshaun Watson is it doesn’t seem likely he’ll play for the Texans ever again, and it comes back to him wanting to be traded before any of his off-the-field issues ever happened.

Houston Texans: Will David Johnson ever return to form?

What exactly does it mean when asking “Will David Johnson ever return to form?” The question is basically this … Can he at least rush for 1,000 yards or put fear into the opposing offense in ’21? Being a 1,000-yard rusher could be tough if the Houston Texans decide to have a running back by committee in ’21. They also have Mark Ingram II and Phillip Lindsey on the roster, and they both will take carries away from Johnson in ’21 if they make the roster.

Also, don’t forget about the signing of Rex Burkhead as he’s a goal line threat for sure, and he’ll be able to to put points on the board in ’21, again, taking away opportunities from Johnson in short-yardage situations.

In basically putting pen to paper here, for the ’21 season the feeling from here is Johnson won’t have a 1,000-yard season, but the running back by committee could actually work and make the Texans’ offense formidable this season. That unit could be heavily used, especially if No. 4 doesn’t return as the starting quarterback, which would be the biggest Houston Texans news of all.

Next are more Houston Texans questions and ideas before the start of training camp.

Houston Texans: Can the defense play better in ’21 compared to ’20?

The defense of the Houston Texans last season was very tough to watch with injuries, suspensions and poor play overall hampering the win-loss total of the team. A big reason for the 4-12 finish was how the defense kept allowing the opponent to score points.

Houston allowed the most rushing yards in ’20 (2,564) and were 24th in passing yards allowed (4104), plus were last in the NFL in interceptions with just three on the season, which is tough to believe, but it is true.

Looking back at the passing defense of ’20, Houston allowed 8.0 yards per completion and 30 passing touchdowns, which was the same number  as the Minnesota Vikings. For comparison, the Detroit Lions allowed the most passing touchdowns at 38.

Though the passing defense wasn’t what could be described as great, the rushing defense was on a whole different level, because it cost the Houston Texans a lot of games.

Besides allowing the most rushing yards last season, the Texans defense allowed the most yards per carry (5.2) and 24 rushing scores, which only one team allowed more, that being the Lions at 27.

Let’s just say this, the rush defense of the Texans has to improve, and with a new 4-3 defensive base in the Tampa 2 under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, and some new faces on the defense, the Texans will try something different in ’21, because what happened in ’20 didn’t work at all.

Houston Texans: A fresh start for the ’20 rookies

Last season, the rookies of the Houston Texans didn’t get a fair opportunity or basically any opportunity at all to have success at a solid level when Bill O’Brien was in charge during the ’20 season.

Ross Blacklock was a second-round pick who wasn’t prepared enough when the season began. The rest of the class included Jonathan Greenard, Charlie Heck, John Reid and Isaiah Coulter, and they also didn’t have much success as rookies, either.

Blacklock and Greenard should be used more this season as it will be their first year in a full training camp, and with the changes made to the defense, they will be needed in this current rebuild.

Charlie Heck will have to battle for a spot on the offensive line, and probably his best bet to win a spot is in the interior line because it will be tough to take away the starting role of right tackle Tytus Howard.

John Reid can be a big addition for the Texans in ’21 if he earns a larger role. The cornerback allowed eight receptions on 10 targets last season, and as a rookie had a PFF grade of 53.9. The fourth-round pick also had one pass defensed in ’20, but he also didn’t play a full schedule of games either. When he did play, his playing time amounted to 13 percent of the defensive plays last season (145), though he made one start in Week 15.

We can’t forget about Isaiah Coulter and the unknown that exists with this former fifth-round choice.

Coulter was only active for one game, against the Chicago Bears, and he didn’t gain any stats in the contest, so there is so much to see from Coulter. Hopefully he gets opportunities in the preseason games to show what he can do, and this training camp will be very important to the former Rhode Island wide receiver.

Coulter could be a diamond in the rough for the Houston Texans, and if he is, what a welcome surprise that would be.

Houston Texans: What can we expect from this 2021 team?

When thinking about who exactly the 2021 Texans are, that isn’t quite so easy, because most likely the ’21 Texans don’t know their own identity yet.

To be honest, unless all of us are completely wrong about the roster of this franchise, the playoffs aren’t happening, but even if that is true, this is an important season for the future of the team. The ’21 Texans are the first step in really seeing where the roster is headed, and seeing which players are staying and which won’t be on the team in ’22.

Houston has a lot of work ahead of them as they don’t have a long-term option at quarterback on the roster if Watson leaves. Tyrod Taylor isn’t on a long-term contract, and none of us know yet how good Jeff Dreskel or Davis Mills are or can become at the QB position.

David Johnson isn’t getting younger at running back, and neither is Mark Ingram, and the jury is still out on how successful Phillip Lindsay can be.

There are a lot of questions for defense, and not many long-term players on that side of the ball either, so it is safe to say the rebuild of the Houston Texans is just beginning, and many more changes are on the way by general manager Nick Caserio.

Even if the wins don’t come for the Texans in ’21, remember this season can be a success in seeing who earns a long-term spot on the roster, and learning who needs added to get back into contention in the AFC South sooner rather than later.