5 Houston Texans players that are certified building blocks for the future
- Dalton Schultz will be an impact player on the Texans
- Will Anderson Jr. will only get better over time
- CJ Stroud has star player written all over him
Giving an NFL head coach full control of the roster can lead to trouble. Just ask the Houston Texans, who named Bill O'Brien their general manager after winning a power struggle with Rick Smith late in the 2010s. O'Brien proceeded to mismanage the roster and leave the Texans devoid of talent and future draft picks.
By 2020, Houston had had enough of O'Brien's questionable managing skills and gave him the boot. However, they couldn't start rebuilding due to the presence of the executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby, who looked down on other team executives and let a "culture of distrust among staff and players" fester.
Easterby was kicked to the curb in early 2022, and the Texans were finally able to start properly replenishing the roster. So far, general manager Nick Caserio has done a superb job of stockpiling the talent and acquiring building blocks for the future. In fact, here are five players that figure to be part important key contributors for Houston for years to come.
No. 5 Texans certified building block for the future: Jalen Pitre, S
You know you came out of the draft with a pretty good haul when you're getting production from your early and late-round picks. And while it sometimes takes a handful of years to truly assess the impact of a draft class, it's fair to say that the Texans hit a series of home runs in 2022.
Take their first second-round pick, Jalen Pitre, for example. The former Baylor Bear started all 17 games as a rookie and went on to lead the team with five interceptions — no other Texan had more than two — and 147 total tackles.
Sure, it wasn't always perfect. Like any other rookie, Pitre was bound to make mistakes but Houston should be thrilled about his playmaking skills heading into Year 2.