Houston Texans: Brennan Scarlett continues to provide immense value

Houston Texans linebacker Brennan Scarlett has been re-signed by the team and continues to provide great value at his position. Let’s talk about this.

The Houston Texans defense is expected to still be one of best units in the NFL for next season.  They’ve got depth stacked on top of depth going into the fray and it will interesting to see what schemes that Romeo Crennel will employ to help ensure that this team is successful.

It’s still up in the air in regard to if Jadeveon Clowney will be available this season as the Houston Texans still haven’t come into an agreement with his camp in regard to a new contract.  The team has until July 15 to come up with a deal or Clowney will have to play on a franchise tag that will be worth between $15 to $17 million for 2019.

That’s a large chunk of change within itself but I know Clowney wants a long-term deal.  He deserves one but it certainly has to be on terms that agreeable on both ends and that’s something that’s not going on right now.

He’s such an integral piece to what the Houston Texans do day in and out that the team will miss his services.  They still will be a solid group without him but it’s him that makes this team’s defense GREAT.

But while that’s going on, there’s another member of the defense that continues to perform well for the Houston Texans.

I’m talking about Brennan Scarlett, an undrafted free agent the team picked up back in 2016.  Since then, his role has continued to be more defined and he has been valuable backup/spot starter whenever the situation warrants.

Scarlett was a restricted free agent this offseason and he was one of the first free agents the Houston Texans came to terms with back in March.  He and the team agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal.

If Clowney doesn’t appear in the early goings, the team could lean heavily off of Scarlett as he does play the same position as his counterpart.

Pro Football Focus took a look at some of the highest-graded linebackers and look who popped up on the list:

And I’ll have to admit — the sample size for Scarlett is small because health continues to be a

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concern for the talented linebacker.  But when he’s fully healthy, he certainly fills the need any time that he’s out on the field.

Scarlett’s season was cut short after a leg injury back in early December giving him an all-expense paid trip to the injured reserve list.  He missed the last four games of the season as a result.  It would be nice to see him be available for a full season but I know there are so many factors behind injury that are not always within his control.

PFF had Scarlett finishing up last season with an 89.9 overall defensive, 64.8 run defense, 50.3 in tackling, 69.2 pass rush and 90.4 in coverage grades last season through 108 snaps.

Through those snaps, Scarlett was ranked 10th among players in regard to his special teams work.  He had a sterling 82.0 grade in that category, demonstrating his versatility and the ability to go out do whatever is asked of him well.

Here’s to full health in 2019 for Brennan!

Scarlett, 25, amassed 18 combined tackles along with two quarterback hits, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, three passes defended and one interception through 12 games last season.  He also had five run stops and only recorded two missed tackles.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE and ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.