Houston Texans: Five steps the team must take in the 2020 offseason

Houston Texans chairman Cal McNair and head coach Bill O'Brien (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

After a disappointing end to their season, the Houston Texans have a lot of offseason decisions ahead of them. What moves should they make? Find out below.

Up 24-0 with 10:54 remaining in the second quarter it appeared that the HoustonTexanswere finally going to advance past the Divisional Round of the playoffs and would not only make it to their first AFC Championship game in franchise history but get to host the AFC Championship. But everything changed in the blink of an eye.

Houston began to unravel and before you knew it Kansas City scored 41 unanswered points. What started out as promising for the HoustonTexansturned into a51-31blowout loss.

This offseason will be critical to how successful the HoustonTexanswill be in the future because Baltimore, Kansas City, and Tennessee are not going away next year. Before I address what Houston needs to do this offseason I must first clear up one topic: Bill O’Brien’s future.

I’ll be the first to admit that I believe Bill O’Brien needs to be let go, but the fact is he will not be fired. O’Brien has three years left on his salary and the HoustonTexansare not willing to eat up his salary so that they can hire a new coach. Not only that but after the playoff loss,Deshaun Watsonbacked O’Brien saying that O’Brien has his support. As hard as it is for mostTexansfans to swallow, Bill O’Brien will be the head coach of the HoustonTexansfor the 2020 season.

Now that O’Brien’s future has been made clear let’s take a look at how the HoustonTexansshould address the offseason.

1. Get Secondary Help

TheTexanssecondary was a major issue during the 2019 season. Houston’s defense gave up4,276passing yards, which is the fourth most in the NFL, and 33 passing touchdowns in the regular season. Changes must be made.

CornerbacksVernon Hargreaves,Gareon Conley, andLonnie Johnson Jr. and safetyJustin Reidwill return to Houston for the 2020 season, but most of these guys are young and still developing.

Bradley Roby, who was Houston’s best cornerback all season, is a free agent. I think the HoustonTexansshould and will try to bring Roby back but there is no guarantee he will return to Houston for the 2020 season.

The Texans have about $60 million in cap space right now, although a large chunk will likely be used to extendDeshaun Watson, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Cowboys cornerbackByron Jonesis the top free agent on the market for teams who need secondary help. In all likelihood, the Cowboys are not going to be able to resign Jones especially if they plan to open their checkbook to resign quarterbackDak Prescottand wide receiverAmari Cooper. If Jones is going to have to find a new home then the Texans should definitely pursue him, as he would provide a huge boost to their secondary.

SafetyJustin Simmonsis another top-notch free agent. Simmons has expressed his desire to stay in Denver but if Simmons and the Broncos are unable to reach a deal then Houston should definitely give him a look.

Other notable free agents in the secondary that might be worth theTexanstaking a look at include safetiesHa Ha Clinton-DixandDevin McCourtyand cornerbackLogan Ryan.

The bottom line is the Texans have to be willing to spend the money to bring in help to bolster their secondary.

2. Draft pass rushers

TheTexansranked 26th in the league in sacks this season. The failure of Houston’s defense to consistently get pressure on the quarterback played a major role in why teams were able to pass the ball so well against theTexans.

Whitney MerciulusandJacob Martinhave proven their ability to pressure the quarterback from the outside linebacker position, but the Texans really did not have a defensive lineman who can consistently get to the quarterback. Defensive endJ.J. Wattis an elite pass rusher but has struggled to stay healthy and is only getting older.

The Texans, who do not have a first-round pick, need to focus their draft on pass rushers. Drafting pass rushers will not only increase the number of times the defense gets to the quarterback but will also decrease the time the opposing quarterback has to throw which puts less pressure on the secondary.

3. The Houston Texans should extend Deshaun Watson

This is the most obvious offseason move for Houston and definitely something that should be at the top of theTexansoffseason agenda. Watson’s ability to use his athleticism to extend plays and turn blown up plays into SportsCenter Top 10 highlights makes him an elite NFL quarterback and someone theTexansneed to keep around for as long as possible.

Watson is approaching a big payday as he enters the final season of his rookie contract so it is very important that theTexanswork out a deal and give Watson a new contract so that he remains in Houston for the long run.

4. Decide on right guard Zach Fulton’s future

TheTexansoffensive line, who allowed the most sacks in 2018, certainly showed signs of improvement this season but there is still work that needs to be done.

Houston has established the cornerstone of their offensive line by adding one of the top left tackle’s in the NFL inLaremy Tunsilto protect Watson’s blindside. RookiesMax Scharpingand

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Tytus Howardwere a boost to the offensive line this season and displayed signs of a promising future.

But the big question is the future of right guardZach Fulton. Fulton, who only allowed one sack all season and rarely misses a game, has two years remaining on his contract and will make $7 million each season. But the Texans have the option of cutting Fulton from the roster without having to carry any dead money.

So this decision really boils down to if cutting Fulton is worth freeing up an extra $7 million in cap space each of the next two seasons.

5. Bring back Carlos Hyde

TheTexansface a tough decision regarding running backs this offseason. WhileDuke Johnsonwill

return to Houston for the 2020 season,Carlos HydeandLamar Millerare free agents. Houston is faced with a tough decision on whether to bring back both Hyde and Miller, bring back only one of these two, or bring back neither of them.

In my opinion, Hyde should be the back that theTexansfocus on bringing back.

Hyde had the best season of his career in 2019 as he rushed for his first career 1,000-yard season. Along with Hyde’s phenomenal season on the ground, he and Johnson paired really well together and provide theTexansoffense with a nice one-two punch at the running back position.

Overall, doing these things this offseason will not immediately solve all theTexansissues, but it will certainly be a step in the right direction and give Houston the best chance to make a deep playoff run in 2020.

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