++Houston Texans Thread Offseason 2016++ Pre-Season @ Dallas

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Still looking for a playmaking TE, but I'm not really mad at the Ervin pick. Loads of speed. They're trying to help out Brock as best as they can for good reason. This probably makes the final RB roster look very interesting. Right now it's Miller, Blue, Grimes, Hunt, Hilliard, and now Ervin. Miller's the starter obviously and Grimes just re-signed. I feel like even though we haven't seen a whole lot from Hunt and Hilliard, I feel like Blue is the most expendable.

I'm still waiting on a TE though.
 
bonafide hustla said:
Peep Game said:
I'm not mad at the Ervin pick.
Click to expand...

def need a TE also. We need to find a way to get that the Bama TE OJ Howard next year.
Click to expand...

Welp, guess it looks like TE will be addressed right after the draft with either some underrated guys, or after a lot of other signings.

Safety was probably the least priority as far as needs go, cause I feel like we have a good amount of depth there, but I'm cool with this selection.

View media item 2014394



Happy they addressed the DT spot too, been waiting on that

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The Houston Texans have completed all of their picks for the 2016 NFL Draft by selecting Will Fuller (1st round), Nick Martin (2nd round), Braxton Miller (3rd round), Tyler Erwin (4th round), K.J. Dillon (5th round) and D.J. Reader (5th round).

As it stands currently, here are the current (but unofficial) UDFA’s the Texans have signed according to Patrick Starr of State of the Texans:

Eric Lee, DE/LB, South Florida
Tomme Mark, DT, Houston (Tryout)
Stephen Anderson, TE, California
Richard Mullaney, WR, Alabama
Ufomba Kamalu, DT, Miami
Richard Leonard, CB, Florida International
Ka’imi Fairbairn, K, UCLA
Duke Thomas, DB, Texas
Shakeel Rashad, LB, North Carolina
Soma Vainuku, FB, USC
Joel Heath, DT, Michigan State
Jalen Jefferson, LB, California
Tyrell Banks, WR, Coastal Carolina (Tryout)
Chuckie Keeton, QB, Utah State (Tryout)
Wendell Williams, WR, Cumberlands
Arturo Uzdavinis, OT, Tulane
Luke Hayes, OL, Kansas State (Tryout)
Ryan Langford, LB, New Mexico
Brennan Scarlett, OLB, Stanford
Jarrell McKinney, LB, Western Michigan (Tryout)
Nila Kasitati, G, Oklahoma
Cleveland Wallace, CB, San Jose State
Tevin Jones, WR, Memphis
Lee Hightower, DB, Houston (Tryout)

Now, of course, they all won’t make the team but they all have a shot and that’s what counts.
 
A Word with Hopkins

GALVESTON -- The arrival of rookie wide receivers Will Fuller and Braxton Miller on the Texans' roster through the draft immediately created ambitious thoughts of a multi-dimensional passing game built around them complementing centerpiece DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins shares that vision, and the selections of two fast downfield threats was met by strong approval from the Pro Bowl wide receiver.

It was a concerted effort from general manager Rick Smith and coach Bill O'Brien to upgrade the speed of the offense and open up passing lanes and counteract coverage schemes intended to limit Hopkins' impact.

"Yeah, man, I thank those guys for that," Hopkins told The Chronicle following a Carnival Cruise Line event at the Port of Galveston. "Last year, there were a couple of pieces of the puzzle that we needed that could've helped us get over some games. It's the NFL and other teams get paid, too. I think they brought some guys in that are going to push me, myself and everybody in there.

"When you bring in two wide receivers, it makes everybody say, 'OK, all right, there's a little more competition in this room, which is good. It's going to help out the team. I've heard good things about them so far. Everything I've heard about them has been positive."

During a star turn last season in which Hopkins delivered a series of acrobatic, one-handed catches as he was named to his first Pro Bowl and caught a career-high 111 catches for 1,521 yards and a franchise-record 11 touchdowns, he ranked third in the NFL in receiving yards behind the Atlanta Falcons' Julio Jones and the Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown.

Hopkins is cognizant of still wanting to upgrade certain areas of his game, though. He finished with just 201 yards after the catch to rank 118th among all NFL players. He averaged 13.7 yards per reception, generating 83 first downs and was targeted 192 times while catching passes from four different quarterbacks.

"For myself, I want to improve in every category," Hopkins said. "I wasn't good at YAC, whatever that is. I don't really need too many categories, but I know I want to get better in any categories where I wasn't in the top five in the league."

After having Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden and T.J. Yates under center last season, the Texans signed towering former Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler to a four-year, $72 million contract. The Texans also signed former Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller to a four-year, $26 million deal.
Hopkins is eager for the first organized team activity, to get back on the field and see what this revamped offense looks like as they try to build a new chemistry.
"I can't wait, we have got a lot of new pieces to this team, a lot of new faces," Hopkins said. "The guys are working right now. Everybody is motivated to put on their best performance.

"I've been very impressed with Brock's leadership role so far. He brought guys to Arizona to go out there and train when he didn't have to. It was voluntary, but he also demanded our best when we were out there. The way he's leading guys, just little things like that, you can tell he wants to be great."

Hopkins and the organization are still feeling the sting of a 30-0 AFC wild-card playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs where Hoyer committed five turnovers on four interceptions and a lost fumble. The theme of free agency and the draft has been trying to improve the offense.

"I think they did a good job," Hopkins said. "Definitely that was a focus. Anytime you get beat 30-0 in a playoff game, you want to find answers and see what's going on. I think they did a good job with the guys they drafted. All those guys come from great schools, high-powered schools, a lot of class, great coaches. You can tell they're excited to be in the NFL, but they've been playing at a high level for a long time."

The Texans are the defending AFC South champions, but the division is getting more challenging with the talent being stockpiled by the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars and the healthy return of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

"Team-wise, definitely looking for playoffs for us," Hopkins said. "I don't like talking ahead, but the guys' attitude and the vibe in the locker room is good. I feel real good about this team and what it can do."

A big part of the Texans' future involves Hopkins, whose $7.915 million fifth-year team option was exercised to keep him under contract through the 2017 season.
The Texans hope to eventually sign Hopkins to a multi-year contract extension, which is expected to be one of the most expensive receiver contracts in the NFL.
"D-Hop is really, really emerging into one of the better wide receivers in the league," Texans general manager Rick Smith said. "We exercised the option, so this isn't his last year. We want to keep those players.

"I think we've done a decent job of doing that. He's certainly one of those guys we're going to keep around for a long time hopefully."
No deal is imminent for Hopkins, according to a source not authorized to speak publicly.

Hopkins recently hired mega sports firm Creative Artists Agency to represent him for contract negotiations.

Hopkins is in the third year of a $7.637 million rookie contract that includes a $3.926 million signing bonus and $6.181 million guaranteed. Paid a $1.098 million guaranteed base salary last season, Hopkins is due a $1 million base salary next year in the final year of his contract and a $445,004 roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp.
Hopkins isn't sweating the contract situation. He's confident that it'll work out in due time.

"Yeah, man, I'm not rushing it," Hopkins said. "It'll happen, just got to go out there and play my game and keep doing what I'm doing."
 
HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans signed second-round pick center Nick Martin to a four-year deal today, making him the fourth draft pick to sign with the team.

All that remains are the class's two marquee players -- receiver Braxton Miller and Will Fuller.

Rookie signings are essentially a formality in this era of the collective bargaining agreement as contracts are slotted, for the most part. The Texans got fifth-round picks KJ Dillon and D.J. Reader and fourth-round pick Tyler Ervin signed before rookie minicamp last week. The Texans announced their signings the same day they announced signing 15 undrafted rookies and 16 tryout players.

Houston now has 16 undrafted rookies -- having signed one of the tryout players -- and four draft picks signed to their roster.

Miller and Fuller are the most high-profile players Houston drafted. Miller was a star at Ohio State, playing quarterback for his first three seasons. He suffered the same shoulder injury twice heading into his final year, redshirted, and then returned as a receiver as his shoulder recovered.

Fuller was one of the top receivers in the draft after rising to prominence out of Notre Dame. The Texans traded up one spot to select him 21st overall, making him the second receiver selected. Baylor's Corey Coleman went 15th overall to the Cleveland Browns.
 
HOUSTON -- Texans defensive end J.J. Watt wasn't on the field for the start of the Texans' organized team activities as he continues to recover from a major offseason surgery.

Watt has still attended all of the Texans' voluntary offseason program. He arrived on the field late in practice but didn't participate. Neither did left tackle Duane Brown, who had surgery on a torn right quad tendon in January. Like Watt, Brown arrived onto the practice fields late in the session. Monday marked the first of 10 organized team activity practices for the Houston Texans. It begins Phase 3 of the Texans' offseason program. Phases 1 and 2, which were also voluntary, included classroom work and conditioning.

Watt tore five muscles that are considered the main core muscles in the human body, some of them early in the season. He suffered a partially torn right adductor longus, a fully torn left adductor longus, a fully torn left adductor pectineus and partially torn left and right abdominals.

He also played with a broken left hand and a herniated disk in his back.

Despite all the turmoil, Watt did not miss any starts. He left the Texans' playoff game in the third quarter after his core area injuries became too severe. The Texans lost that game 30-0.

Brown suffered the torn right quad tendon in the Texans final regular-season game. He had surgery the next week as the Texans prepared to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Chris Clark, whom the Texans re-signed this offseason, entered the starting lineup in Brown's place for that game.
 
Jadeveon Clowney is healthy, which makes this an important season

Jadeveon Clowney was more than a one-hit wonder.
NFL teams aren't dopey enough to draft a player No. 1 based on one big hit against a Michigan running back. Maybe that's how you came to know Clowney, but long before that play NFL scouts saw the size, the explosiveness and playmaking ability from the South Carolina defensive end. It surprised very few people when Clowney was the top pick of the 2014 draft, to the Houston Texans. He was a fantastic prospect.

How time flies.

Clowney wouldn't even be the first pass rusher taken if we re-selected the 2014 NFL draft (hello, Khalil Mack) and we have little idea if Clowney can be an above-average pro player. In two injury-filled seasons, Clowney has 4.5 sacks. Mack had five sacks in one game against the Denver Broncos last season.

That's why Clowney's message on Monday was important. He said he feels 100 percent physically, which might be a first for him in the NFL since the opening moments of his career. Clowney hurt his knee in the second quarter of his NFL debut, and eventually had microfracture surgery after the season. Late last season he said he had a Lisfranc foot injury, but didn't need surgery according to Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com.

Now that Clowney is healthy, we should be able to get a clearer picture of what kind of NFL player he will be.

it's not fair to call this a make-or-break season for Clowney. He turned 23 years old earlier this year, and even if he doesn't produce much this season, it's not like he won't get many more opportunities to prove himself. Maybe it all comes together for him in year four, five or six, if it doesn't happen this season. But make no mistake, this is an important season.

The Texans will have to decide on Clowney's expensive fifth-year option next offseason, and we don't know yet if Clowney is worth it. He hasn't been a great pass rusher in the NFL, though he did have some nice moments against the run last year and a few sacks that show his potential in that area. But it's unfair to judge him off his rookie season, given the knee injury, and tough to draw any conclusions from a second season in which he was coming back from surgery and hurt his foot too. After two years, we know practically nothing about Clowney as an NFL player, except that he's had trouble staying healthy.
 
Positional breakdowns covering the safeties
https://torotimes.com/2016/06/01/houston-texans-positional-breakdown-safety-2/

The Texans waived offensive tackle David Quessenberry today, but are hoping to have him back in some capacity if he clears waivers.

Quessenberry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins T lymphoblastic lymphoma in 2014. He immediately began chemotherapy treatments which lasted for seven months, then underwent radiation treatments. In February 2015, Quessenberry announced the cancer was in remission, but the ordeal left him 30 pounds lighter than when he began.

One option for Quessenberry is the non-football injury list upon which he could not be placed unless he was waived first. It's possible that he will return in a role other than as a player.


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It’s only June and there is a long way to go but here are five early takeaways from what we’ve been seeing at OTAs.

1. The offense is in its best shape of the O’Brien era
Even though new quarterback Brock Osweiler is probably still learning that we call an access road a ‘feeder,’ he certainly looks comfortable at the wheel of the offense. The collective work of all three QBs appears smoother than it did in ’15 and ’14. Tom Savage knows the system and Brandon Weeden, after performing well in short order late last season, has benefitted from the work.

2. There are some fast guys to work with
Everyone knows that Will Fuller is equipped with overdrive. But it’s also fun watching Tyler Ervincatching passes out of the backfield, turning them into nice gains. And undrafted rookie receiver Wendell Williams is one of those guys who looks fast standing still. I’ll put it this way, preseason games will be extra entertaining as the coaching staff gets to play with all these new toys. Don’t turn the dial in the second half. You’ll miss some fireworks from guys who might end up making big plays this year.

3. The defense should be ‘elite’
Go ahead and say it. It feels good. In the final nine games of 2015, the Texans were the best team in the NFL in points allowed (12.7) and yards per game (263). The key for 2016 will be to start the way they finished. They also completed 2014 on a hot streak on that side of the ball yet didn’t kick off the following campaign the way they wanted. It’ll be up to the coaches to make sure they hit the ground running. A much improved offense and special teams unit would be a huge boost to the D.

4. These aren’t your pre-2014 Texans
Only eight of the 22 starters will be from before the O’Brien era got started. That’s still a pretty high number but they’re all good players and in there for a reason. Make no mistake though, the bulk of this team will be from the last three drafts and the free agents picked up since 2014. The Texans need productive years from particularly the ’14 and ’15 draft choices to get to where they want to go. It’s encouraging that players like Xavier Su’a-filo, Alfred Blue, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Andre Hal, Jaelen Strong, Keith Mumphery, Kevin Johnson and Benardrick McKinney, to name a few, all played significant roles in the 7-2 finish.

Which leaves us with…

5. Jadeveon Clowney
His name will always be a conversation starter as the number one overall pick in the ’14 draft. He’s been out there from the get-go in OTAs and wants to have a big year. When he’s been on the field he’s made plays and will take up plenty of extra time in opposing offensive meeting rooms. It’s obvious he needs to stay healthy. When he does, watch out.
 
I know I'm going to have to let it go, but listening to him talk about the injury grind, I really really wish he was a Texan. He'd help push the culture along with Hop/what I've heard about Brock :frown:

 
Texans claim cornerback Terrance Mitchell

Cornerback Terrance Mitchell was waived by the Cowboys on Friday, but he won’t have to leave the state of Texas to continue his NFL career.

The NFL’s daily transaction report brings word that the Texans have added Mitchell to their roster after claiming him off of waivers Monday. Mitchell’s arrival comes a few days after Houston’s depth at corner suffered a blow when undrafted rookie corner Richard Leonard tore his hamstring.

Mitchell played three games for the Cowboys last season and had one of the two interceptions they got from their cornerbacks all year. He was originally drafted by Dallas in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, but wound up on the Bears practice squad after failing to make the team and went on to play five games for the Bears in 2015 before making his way back to the Cowboys.

Kareem Jackson, Johnathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson head up the depth chart at corner for the Texans and Mitchell will compete for reserve duties in the coming weeks and months.
 
I hate these slide click articles, but this one is pretty good as it talks about position battles during camp. The positions I'm most concerned with are the TE spots, RB spots, and who plays on the opposite side of Watt, but mostly the TE spot. We've been very weak there since we let OD go, and it's very important to have that as an asset instead of a detriment like it has been.

https://nflspinzone.com/2016/07/11/houston-texans-6-position-battles-watch/
 
Houston Texans Signing Ra’Zahn Howard

When defensive tackle Ra’Zahn Howard got to Purdue, he was supposed to be the next big thing. Head coach Darrell Hazell once told ESPN.com, “He’s the most exciting football player on our team right now. He’s got uncommon quickness. He’s got unbelievable power. He can be very disruptive.

“He’s really special.”

So he goes on to start for three years for the Boilermakers and looked poised to become a top NFL prospect this coming season. But after transferring from Purdue in late May, he decided not to attend school at all and entered the supplemental draft.

But he was unable to show NFL scouts anything special at his make-shift Pro Day as he was way to out of shape. So when the supplemental draft came Thursday, no one spent a draft pick on him. Draft picks are valuable and he didn’t exactly show that he had value to him at his Pro Day.

But all is not lost as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported that Howard will sign with the Houston Texans. At, 6’4″, 322 pounds Howard figures to be a nose tackle with the Texans. The starting spot there is occupied by former New England Patriot Vince Wilfork, who’s getting up there.

So Howard will get a chance to go in and learn from Wilfork, who was once one of the best nose tackles in the NFL. He can’t beat a guy like Wilfork taking him under his wing to show him the ropes. Then after a year or two, Howard gets a chance to find out just how good he can be.
 
damnit man, that reminded me about the Lonnie Ballentine project and that setback late last season. I really want that dude to shine. really bad.....hoping for a Kam Chancellor lite if we can get the rest of our secondary together. (I don't rock with nary CB on our roster, except KJ to a very tapered degree...and CJ3, and I rock with him as a general utility/great guy to have in a lockerroom. not a starting full time CB)
 
That's exactly how i feel about Ballentine. Really want to see him do well and not catch a bad break due to health.
 
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