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Houston Texans: Three key starting players that are trending downward

By Brian K. Patterson

FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans looks on before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans looks on before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 10: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans runs with the ball as Nick Martin #66 blocks Yannick Ngakoue #91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 10: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans runs with the ball as Nick Martin #66 blocks Yannick Ngakoue #91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Player #2: Nick Martin

There has been a lot anticipation for a breakout of center Nick Martin, the Houston Texans 2nd-rounder from the 2016 NFL Draft.  However, his tenure with the team has been marred with injury.  I’m crossing my fingers — he’s been relatively healthy this season and hopefully he will be able to stay that way all the way to completion.

He was a mighty force in his collegiate days at Notre Dame along with his brother, Zach Martin at times but he still was dealing with a myriad of injuries back then as well.

So I have to wonder if this is something we’ll have to live with when we watch him every Sunday or what?

After posting offensive grades of 65.0 (NE), 60.9 (TEN), 49.2 (NYG) and 71.3 (IND) in the previous four weeks, Martin posted a 54.0 against the Cowboys, which was his 2nd-worst performance of the season.

The positive thing is that his pass block grade has remained incredibly steady — outside of the horrid 44.0 performance against the New York Giants — at a respectable 75.4.

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His run block grade is currently at a 54.1 on the season but his performance in this area has been inconsistent and is currently trending downward.

Another upward trend is that Martin has also only allowed six pressures this season which is a good start through these first five weeks.  Martin allowed 23 pressures last season before going on the injured-reserve list in mid-December with an ankle injury.

Martin has so much potential to excel but we all have to wonder if this is the best we’re going to see out of him?  His health, of course, will play a role but I thought I’d see a bit more dominance at this point in his career.

But to be fair, he hasn’t been able to endure a full season since going pro so we’ll have to revisit this discussion in a couple of months to see where he’s at.  I’m hoping for the best.

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