Most fans don’t care about the preseason, and I can’t blame them. There’s not a lot of evidence that the results matter. Most of the players that do play will not play meaningful NFL football. If you’re a Texans fan, it meant high exposure to Joe Webb at quarterback, which is something that has arguably never been a good idea for an NFL team. (Get well Joe.)
But if you’re a hardcore junkie, and you know what to watch for, I think there are a lot of small things you can take away from the preseason. I watched the first three games back a couple of times, and I took in the last preseason game with fresh eyes before we entered the Bill O’Brien Captured The News Cycle zone. If you didn’t watch the preseason, here’s what I’ve got for you:
My biggest misevaluation this offseason was in thinking that Martinas Rankin could be this team’s starting guard
Rankin struggled at tackle in 2018, but always seemed like more of a guard to me from an evaluation standpoint. When the Texans plugged him in at guard, it went passably well. I felt like perhaps this was one position the Texans could upgrade on from last year’s line.
There was almost no buzz about Rankin in training camp. While that’s not always a warning sign — nobody focuses on guards really — it was a bit of a red flag that the coaching staff wasn’t talking him up. Rankin never played with the ones, finished every game in the fourth quarter alongside guys like Rick Leonard and Malcolm Pridgeon, and was traded to the Chiefs for Carlos Hyde. Hyde fell behind both Darrell Williams (not even Damien!) and rookie Darwin Thompson in getting bounced from KC in a disappointing camp.
I’m not sure what happened to Rankin this offseason. I have to agree with the coaching staff that he looked shockingly bad in the preseason games I got to watch. I’m hoping for his sake he can put it together again in Kansas City, perhaps with some better coaching.
Buddy Howell should be taken a little more seriously as a running back than he was last year
Howell did not reinvent the wheel as a running back this preseason, but he did look much more decisive than any of his backup competition competitors. Put next to Devin Singletary at Florida Atlantic, Howell never actually got a chance to shine there either.
The Texans seemed very reticent to give Howell actual reps last season, even when injuries struck their running backs and Alfred Blue in particular looked lost. Now they’ve gone and blocked Howell with Hyde, so Howell probably won’t get a real look this year either without more fortune.
But I think Howell’s got enough juice that I’d like to see him get some snaps with the ones. He was held out of the last preseason game — something you don’t normally see from a guy who finished the fourth in another preseason game — and he offers a lot of special teams value. He might be able to have a bigger role than what Bill O’Brien has offered so far.
Tyron Johnson has the most upside of any of the bottom-of-the roster Texans receivers, but he had a ways to go
Nobody on the Texans roster bubble got as much separation and got open as quickly as former Oklahoma State receiver Tyron Johnson. Johnson got past guys deep often with Webb at quarterback, but he just couldn’t capitalize at the catch point. Much as I think Spencer Tillman is homeriffic, he made some very good points in-game about Johnson’s inability to go pluck the ball in the air. Even on the play I snagged here, the ball had to come down to him.
Johnson showed some as a kick returner as well, which is a situation the Texans would probably do well to address next to DeAndre Carter.
Overall, he’s got NFL traits, but I can understand why the Texans let him go. I think he might be a guy worth giving another year to, so he might be worth a practice squad invitation. The bottom of the Texans’ wideout depth chart got decimated with the trade for Kenny Stills. But of the guys I saw, Johnson is the one I’d be most excited about as a practice squadder. The Texans elected to go with Vyncint Smith and Steven Mitchell Jr instead, which makes some sense as they were on the actual roster at some point last year.
The offensive line was lackluster with the possible exception of Roderick Johnson
Houston’s offensive line played one good game, and that game was against the Lions who used a lot of three-man rushes and didn’t threaten the quarterback often. In preseason games 1 and 3, they were slaughtered. Trading for Laremy Tunsil is going to help the floor, but there are inconsistencies and bad reps for every other starter I can see.
— Tytus Howard was horrendous at left tackle when he was played there. Against Green Bay, he looked like he didn’t know half of his assignments. Against the Lions, at guard, he was solid. Then he sustained a finger injury and was shut down for the rest of the preseason.
— Max Scharping was the only Texans lineman who I thought looked solid against the Packers, but he had a ghastly game against Kerry Hyder and the Cowboys.
— Nick Martin only played against the Cowboys. He was bulldozed off the line several times and didn’t look like he understood how to play offensive line. Otherwise, everything was great!
— Roderick Johnson didn’t showcase all that much agility, but his ability to win hand games was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Now that he won’t be forced to start at left tackle this season, I think that’s a big plus for him because he wasn’t ready for that kind of pressure. You could see him get some snaps at right tackle this year. I think the Texans are going to need to watch Seantrel Henderson fail at that for a little while before they get to him.
I don’t understand why the Texans don’t like Demarea Crockett more
Throughout the preseason, the Texans didn’t seem to think much of Demarea Crockett. He was often not spotlighted quite as often as Karan Higdon was. Crockett, to me, was a natural Alfred Blue replacement. He understands his reads, he’s got tackle-breaking ability, and he’s got some ability to make a guy miss in space. He struggled when asked to pass-protect, yes, but that’s not really his game.
Ultimately the Texans chose to keep Higdon over Crockett for their practice squad, and Crockett bolted to the Oakland squad. I would prefer Crockett to Hyde at this point based solely on the fact that one has upside and the other is Carlos Hyde. I don’t think the Texans are missing out on a generational talent or anything, but I wasn’t especially impressed with Higdon.
Other small notes
— Darren Fells’ blocking, I think, cemented him a big role in the early offense. The coaching staff seemed locked into using the preseason to get Jordan Thomas reps, and it almost backfired on them when it looked like Thomas got hurt in the fourth preseason game. This is a conservative head coach and he is going to like the idea of anybody being able to block well in the running game.
— The only player added on to the practice squad from a different team as of Sunday night was quarterback Alex McGough, who had a ghastly preseason with the Jaguars on a pure statistics standpoint, going 11-of-29 for 60 yards, one interception, and one sack. I made a short thread of some of his throws below:
McGough is a specimen at the position, and I think he’ll help the Texans practice well as part of the scout squad against players like Cam Newton this year. But I don’t really understand having to outbid teams for his services or giving him a premium, as Aaron Wilson reported they did. What you can say is that he very neatly fills the Joe Webb role as far as being an athletic marvel for the position. Maybe special teams are next?
— Charles Omenihu got plenty of preseason pressures, but none of them came against NFL-caliber tackles. That’s a step we never got to see him take this offseason, and while instant improvement is not out of the realm of possibility, I have low expectations for him being instant pass rush help this season. I’m at about the same place with practice-squadder Albert Huggins, who never actually had a chance to play at an elevated level this preseason. I know the people at PFF gave him a high grade, but until I see that high grade play out against non-NFL linemen, I can’t give it much of an endorsement for his future. Worth keeping, but don’t get carried away in the number.
— A.J. Hendy, thank you for this incredibly bizarre play: