Houston Texans: Sack Up Keshawn Martin!

Here we go Houston Texans fans.

The preseason is over, the final roster cuts have been made and we’re now down to 53 men.

The start of the NFL season is on the horizon and there’s a lot to be excited about.

This defense is as stout as it has ever been and they’ll likely carry this team if there is any offensive slack.

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In terms of offense, there a few question marks as far as quarterback play — aren’t there always for the Texans? — but I think Brian Hoyer will be efficient enough to get the chains moving and will lean off the talents of our wide receiving corps, the best crop of talent that I’ve seen in years.

You can’t deny that Hoyer does have some weapons to throw to this time around — he didn’t have much to work with the Cleveland Browns, considering Josh Gordon was out serving his suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

He now has DeAndre Hopkins, Cecil Shorts III, Nate Washington and to a lesser extent, Jaelen Strong and Keith Mumphery to throw to.

These guys are ball hawks and will use their athletic talents to go up and get the ball if Hoyer doesn’t have enough mustard on his passes.

But let’s talk about one guy I didn’t mention that he’ll be looking to.

Who?

Keshawn Martin.

Since being drafted by the Texans in the 4th round in 2012 and taking over the kick/punt returning duties in 2013 after Jacoby Jones‘ abrupt exit, we’ve seen a whole lot of nothing.

I thought for sure he’d be cut this time around — he was likely on the bubble this time — but Martin really came on strong toward the home stretch of the season to show that he still wants the job for the Texans.

He had some amazing catches/plays that’s reminiscent of his days at Michigan State.

To put things in perspective, Martin had 154 punt return yards last season averaging about 6.2 yards per return.

That’s good for 29th and 24th respectively among all guys at his position.

He hasn’t had a punt return touchdown since 2013 and that needs to change as well.

In contrast, Martin had 947 kickoff return yards averaging 26.3 yards per attempt and 345 punt yards good for 8.8 yards per attempt in 2013.

That ranks him 4th in yards and 8th average in kick returns and 6th and 14th in punt returns respectively.

You see, this guy has the ability to be a top-10 guy at his position but he has to apply himself and demonstrate the reason why he was drafted so high.