Houston Texans: Three players the team needs to improve to win in week two
By T.A. Mock
Julién Davenport and Martinas Rankin, OT
Oops, I made this one about two players. But, they’re both offensive tackles so that’s okay. Davenport and Rankin will be the team’s starting tackles on Sunday. Davenport needs to be the left tackle and Rankin the right but, the team may choose to do the opposite. Regardless, Davenport and Rankin need to play better at whichever tackle spot they are placed at.
According to PFF, Davenport was better overall than last year but this year his run blocking was better than his pass blocking, at 59.8 and 45.9 respectively. Not very good, especially when compounded with his nine pressures and two sacks allowed.
Rankin was not ready to play after missing nearly the entire offseason programming. He graded out worse than Davenport at 50.4 overall. His pass rushing was graded better than Davenport but, his running blocking was far more inferior.
Related Story. Davenport must be moved back to LT. light
The Houston Texans desperately need these two guys to play better. Last year, the entire offensive line was the laughing stock of the league. I personally have not seen an offensive line much worse. So, the team went out and got themselves four new starters.
The whole unit needs to give Watson the protection he needs for the team to reach the heights it’s capable of. This is especially true because this team needs Watson healthy.