Houston Texans: Evaluating the 2017 offense by position with outlook
By T.A. Mock
Tight ends
The tight end position has been in turmoil ever since long-term stud, Owen Daniels, was released by the organization. As with the theme of the season, this group spent a lot of time injured.
Tight Ends for 2018: CJ Fiedorowicz, Ryan Griffin, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Malleck, MyCole Pruitt, Zach Conque (F/R), Jevoni Robinson (F/R)
Free Agents: None
This group could remain largely intact. This group could look 100% different. I am a fan of Fiedorowicz, but I hope the guy hangs up the cleats. After having four concussions in two years it just might be time. (Our own Brian Patterson wrote an article a month ago about this.) Griffin also suffered a concussion this past year, but has always remained a front office favorite.
Out of the seven guys slated to come in this off-season, the guy that makes me excited the most is Anderson. He has some serious raw play making ability. If he steps up and the franchise commits to him more as a pass catcher, he could help negate the need and urgency for a better number two at WR.
The rest of these guys are throw ins with hopes of finding a diamond in the rough. Conque is the coolest story I know out of this group, as he is a former SFA quarterback trying to convert to TE. The team won’t carry seven tight ends (obviously) so look for four, maybe three of these guys to be gone by preseason, at least.
Options for Tight End
Aside from offensive line (which we have the misfortune to be getting to next), this group has the potential for the most upheaval. With the concussion issues and lack of performance this past year, the franchise is fortunate for a nice free agent class and deep draft class. The Houston Texans have been linked with Jimmy Graham over the past year and he is an unrestricted free agent. IF the team went after Graham, he would be the team’s biggest pursuit since Johnathan Joseph. It would be nice to see the team scoop a big fish like Graham as he is finally starting to look like himself again after his 2015 tearing of his patella ligament.
Walter Football outlines the top tight end options in this year’s draft. And it is DEEP. There are several guys the team could target, but it all depends who might fall to the third round. A guy like Troy Fumagalli out of Wisconsin, Dalton Schultz from Stanford, or a small school guy like Dallas Goedert from South Dakota State could be a cheaper, better long-term option for the team.
2018 Outlook Grade: D With the potential for complete and total turnover here, there isn’t much hope to be had. Anderson is the biggest bright spot, but beyond that there isn’t much.