What is the one blind spot on the Texans roster?
As we sit here in mid June waiting for the beginning of training camp, most fans take a look at the rosters of their favorite teams and project potential holes or weaknesses. When you have a playoff team that usually ends up being in the singular form. When you are the David Culley Houston Texans all you see are holes. So, it is often in the eye of the beholder or beer holder as it were.
Yet, we cannot deny that all crises are opportunities. Every NFL championship had a spot or two in camp that looked problematic. They were just fortunate enough that a seemingly unknown player stepped up to fill the void. In June, this just lingers in the air like a fart in an elevator. The Texans do have some elbow room left to maneuver under the cap. Do they look for another available free agent or let internal candidates take a run at it?
The arrest of Jimmie Ward highlights a potential problem for the Texans. Ward was technically not slated to start. The starting safety spots were going to Calen Bullock, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Jalen Pitre respectively. Pitre is serving as a sort of hybid linebacker, so he may count as a safety in name only. Ward would have been the next man up and as a guy that started 20 games in two seasons with the Texans, that’s quite the depth to have.
I firmly believe people are innocent until proven guilty and we have certainly seen our fair share of players that have been accused but never criminally charged with domestic battery. None of them avoided suspension. The likely course of action is for Ward to be put on the commissioner’s exempt list until any investigation (criminal and league) is finished. The standard course from there even for players not charged is a four to six game suspension.
This assumes that Ward is even a Texan. Some alleged details came out after our initial articles last week that we released. Suffice it to say, it is troublesome. I hate predicting anything, but I have to think the odds are good that he will be released. If that happens, you will be without a primary backup safety.
We also saw last season that the Texans were without a primary backup corner. Sure, they had guys on the roster, but no one was really capable of filling in once Kamari Lassiter or Derek Stingley left the field. When you look at the depth chart for ESPN, It’s not really a pretty sight. However, one name jumps off the page and that is the player penciled in to backup Jalen Pitre at nickelback.
Smith was listed as a safety, defensive back, and corner in four seasons at USC. The interesting thing is that there was no other prospect that had a wider range of opinions on him from the Texans draft. Some thought he was picked two or three rounds too early while others believed he was a draft steal. Most of the rookies on the offensive side of the ball get more publicity, but as we sit right now, Smith might be an under radar candidate for most important Texans rookie.
If you read that correctly, I am not saying he will be the best Texans rookie. I am not saying he will have the best career. I am simply saying that whether he is effective or not might have more of an impact on the Texans defense than anything those offensive players do. I hate comparing him to a player, but perhaps it is best to focus on the role that player served.
In terms of his role, he might be most comparable to Eric Murray. Murray totaled over 900 snaps on defense last year for the Texans. Was that ideal? He had a 63.8 grade for PFF which puts him in the average range. You don’t want too many of your secondary defenders to be average in a good defense, but if he is the first guy off the bench then that’s pretty damn good. Most of those snaps came at free safety, but some of them came as an inside corner.
As someone that has been watching the team since the beginning, it is very difficult for me to type the words “we need someone like Eric Murray.” Murray is a symbol of the excess of the Bill O’Brien era. However, once a new regime figured out he wasn’t a starting corner or starting safety, he settled into a comfortable role as a backup in both. The Texans need a player that can play 500 or 600 snaps in a pinch if one of those primary guys loses time to injury.
Theoretically, a third round pick should be able to do those things. This is particularly true for a player that spent time in college at both positions. It is also possible the team adds a warm body to the corner room or safety room just to be sure. Anyone that has read my stuff long enough knows I am not prone to hyperbole. This defense has a chance to be special. People could talk about it like they talked about those 2011 and 2012 defenses when J.J. Watt was just getting going. They could be even better than that. They have the depth on the defensive line and in the linebacking core. The key could end up being depth in the secondary. Hopefully, Jaylin Smith can fill that void.