4 contract decisions that will pay off for Houston Texans

Jimmie Ward

While the hope is that the Texans are going to make improvements on offense, if they are going to make a run at a division title the strength of this team will need to be on the defensive side of the ball. This is where DeMeco Ryan's experience is on and the focus will be to build a stout defense that can keep games within reach.

One of the ways to hopefully get this defense up to speed is to add veterans from his previous defense with the 49ers. One of those free agent additions was safety Jimmie Ward who has played nine seasons with the 49ers with the past two seasons having DeMeco Ryans as his defensive coordinator.

This season Jimme Ward should be like another coach on the field as the Texans try to learn the defensive playbook. In addition, having a veteran like Ward next to Jalen Pitre, who had an excellent rookie season, should only help him take that next step in his second season.