The Houston Texans really whiffed on the running back position so far. At one point, the Texans were seen as the expected landing destination. All they had to do was offer him a good contract. They didn't. They lowballed him and allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to land a Top 10, if not a Top 5 running back in the NFL. One of the few guys who can truly be labeled a duel threat.
Ok, cool. The team can rebound. All they have to do is bring in someone like Josh Jacobs or Devin Singletary and the position will at least be as good as it was last season, right? They're both signing elsewhere you say? Great.
Derek Henry's still out there, he cou....what was that? He's gone too?
Crabapples.
Despite all that, despite every good talent going elsewhere, there was still hope the Texans could land someone. Austin Eckler isn't ideal but he's better than Dameon Pierce, right? He could be an option. Just don't do something foolish like waste a pick or a player on a guy about to get released.
Now, you may think they wouldn't be that foolish, that they wouldn't give up a pick for a player hours before he gets released but that's exactly what they did by trading for Joe Mixon. Mixon was on his way out the door already and the Texans traded for him. As of press time, we don't know what was given up for him, but anything would be too much, as again, he was about to become a free agent. The Cincinnati Bengals, Mixon's old team, said "We don't want to play with you anymore" and was in the process of cutting him.
And the Texans go and trade for him.
Never mind Mixon's past issues off the field, that alone should make him someone the Texans don't want on their roster. After all, they're still reeling from the Deshaun Watson of it all, but Mixon's not even good. Looking at his run in Cincinnati, he routinely had a sub-4 yards per carry average, which is not good.
Those who think he's going to be better in Houston should remember the team's offensive line was awful in 2023. It needs dramatic work. None of which has been done yet. So the Texans got a running back who's inconsistent, old (for a running back), and has a history of not producing when needed, all behind a bad offensive line, and what, we're supposed to say this is a win?
The Texans not only downgraded at linebacker this offseason, and did so in an overly expensive way, but they downgraded at running back. Mixon has long been one of the most overrated running backs in the league and has a history of looking for contact, while not being able to actually run through said contact.
The move is mind-boggling and it's unlikely to pan out as expected. If Mixon is just going to be a backup for the Texans actual starter, fair, but if the Texans end up trying to start Mixon then this offense will take a massive step back.