Houston Texans: Three players due for a breakout against the Patriots

Player #1: Aaron Colvin

With the way the preseason has gone, did we all forget that the Houston Texans made a notable investment in a cornerback that will hopefully pay dividends?  Aaron Colvin is one of the younger additions to the team’s secondary as the team inked him to a four-year, $34 million deal with $18 million guaranteed this off season.

If there was such a thing as a Colvin Island, there were many inhabitants on it this past preseason to stake their claim.  My most vivid memory of Colvin so far is not a positive one, as it entails a defensive back that’s struggling in his new role from the slot to his promotion with the Houston Texans.

In the Week 2 preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, Colvin gave up the team’s only score in the red zone with a beautiful touchdown catch from Jimmy Garoppolo to Trent Taylor.  Colvin looked absolutely lost out there and we he realized he was too late to go cover, it seemed as if he just gave up on the play.  Taylor had way too much room to operate and he walked into the end zone virtually unscathed by any defender for that matter.

I’m positive Colvin is thinking about that play day and night and is absolutely wanting to redeem himself for what was a massive breakdown.  Yes, it’s only the preseason but that’s not something you want to have on your resume when you’re trying to prove that you’re a starter.

His top assignments will be Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson and although they’re considerable, it won’t be like he’ll be defending Brandin Cooks or Julian Edelman which are both not with the team because of free agency and suspension respectively.

This is a matchup that Colvin can truly win and I just want to see him be a ball-hawk like none other.  For this reason, I see Colvin being a shining star against the Pats this Sunday.

According to Pro Football Focus, through 38 snaps in the preseason, Colvin had an overall defensive grade of a 55.5, a 73.0 tackling grade, 62.3 in run defense and 54.0 in coverage.  He was targeted four times and quarterbacks had a average passer rating of a 95.8.  He only appeared in the first two preseason games so this further leads me to believe that the Houston Texans are stashing him away for a breakout.