The Houston Texans went into the offseason knowing they needed an upgrade across the offensive line. C.J. Stroud was thrown around in his sophomore season behind the Texans’ shaky front, getting sacked 52 times and having his sack percentage on dropbacks jump from 7.08% in his rookie season to 8.9% last year.
With that, Houston got to work. Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green were traded away and the Texans threw some money around in free agency to add Cam Robinson and Laken Tomlinson to replace them. But while the Texans have spent plenty of money trying to fix the problem, it could be a $1 million signing that could make an impact and give Houston a new starter in the trenches.
Texans C Jake Andrews Could Become Texans’ Best Bargain of the Offseason
The Texans made a shrewd move when they picked up center Jake Andrews off waivers from the New England Patriots. Andrews was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in the 2023 draft but injuries limited him to two games over his first two seasons before he was released with the arrival of new head coach Mike Vrabel.
Andrews’s Pro Football Focus grades in limited action don’t inspire much confidence either. In his most extended action during a Week 18 game against the New York Jets, Andrews was solid in the run game with a 61.5 grade but allowed four pressures on 39 pass-blocking snaps for a 10.2% pressure rate. But the potential is there when you look back at his collegiate career.
In four seasons as a key contributor at Troy, Andrews posted an 84.6 pass blocking grade in 2020 and a 78.7 pass blocking grade in 2021. His 2022 season was a little rockier with 19 pressures and four sacks on 461 pass-blocking snaps but he was solid overall with a 2.6% pressure rate on 1,571 snaps.
Andrews’s run-blocking was also solid with a PFF grade over 80 in three of his four seasons with over 100 run-blocking snaps and if Houston can tap into his collegiate form, they could have an answer at the center position.
This has already played out during OTA workouts. Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle listed Andrews as a riser after the offseason program and noted that he took first-team reps even as the Texans tried multiple offensive line combinations.
“The Texans were fortunate to acquire him off waivers after being released by the New England Patriots,” Alexander wrote. “He took all the first team reps…while incumbent Jarrett Patterson mainly was with the second unit. During those reps, Andrews didn’t miss a beat.”
Alexander noted later in the article that the offensive line isn’t judged too strictly during OTAs because of the lack of physicality. But it’s worth noticing that Juice Scruggs and Patterson were listed as his fallers after the offseason program.
It gives Andrews a leg up as the Texans try to figure out their offensive line during training camp and could give Houston the improvement they need heading into next season.