Houston Texans: 5 players trending up/down after first preseason game

6 of 6

KANSAS CITY, MO – AUGUST 09: Running back Troymaine Pope #33 of the Houston Texans (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

Trending Down: Senio Kelemete, LG, #64

Senio Kelemete was signed from the New Orleans Saints as a part of the attempt to rebuild the terrible offensive line from last year. He has mostly been a swing lineman for the majority of his career with starts coming at several positions.

More from House of Houston

He got the start last night at LG and the results did not look too great to start. He wasn’t very explosive off of the ball and struggled to remain engaged during blocks. One particular play pops into mind, it was 3rd and 1 on the first drive and the takes ran a left power behind Kelemete and Nick Martin, these two got no push and the team was forced to punt.

Kelemete definitely has a lot of time and talent to overcome this but, he had the poorest showing of the first string offensive line. He’ll look to improve next week.

Trending Up: Troymaine Pope, RB, #33

The Houston Texans signed Troymaine Pope to a Future/Reserve contract in January. The explosive back has had a few cups of tea in the NFL but, he’s never been able to stick around on any team. But, if tonight’s performance is any indication, he may find a home in Houston.

Pope only managed 18 rushing yards but, he collected 47 yards through the air, including a 34-yard chunk gain. The Texans have been searching for a proper change of pace, third-down running back since Bill O’Brien got here. With Foreman still on the PUP and Tyler Ervin still not showing much, Pope has a shot to carve out a role in Houston.

Next. Realistic expectation for the Texans. dark

This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all of my thoughts regarding the Houston Texans so far. Last night’s game gave the fans and team alike many things to think about moving forward but, for now, this is the status of some of the guys on the team.

Home/Houston Texans