AgentWD40 authored a “crossroads” think piece late Sunday night, so today’s conversation starter dives into the topic!
SHOULD THEY STAY OR SHOULD THEY GO NOW?
(The Clash self-rec)
As most of you know, I’m not much of an X’s and O’s guy. I’m also not a “salary cap and contracts” guy, so that particular aspect of roster building will be pretty much ignored in this post. Anyway, now that the season is over, I thought I’d look at our entire roster (including guys on IR, suspension, and the COVID list) and rank them in terms of whether or not we should keep them in 2021. Again, I’m mainly ignoring contacts and salaries, but simply focusing on each player’s skill level, potential, and contribution to the team. Also, in the final postgame thread, I posted a link to my long-running Texans Stats Spreadsheet, so feel free to check that out as well.
OFFENSE
Despite the resounding disappointment of the 2020 season, I think we actually have a lot of talent on offense. Sure, there are some salary cap issues (which I won’t address here), but I feel really good about Watson and our receivers. The main places we need improvement are with the running game and the interior offensive line. So let’s do this…
- Obvious Starters:
- Deshaun Watson (QB) – I mean… duh. Dude is a monster. Easily a top five QB.
- Laremy Tunsil (OL) – Yes, he’s a great LT, but his contract also makes him untradeable.
- Tytus Howard (OL) – Future bookend tackle along with Tunsil.
- Will Fuller V (WR) – Played like a legit #1 receiver this year. Extend him.
- Likely Keepers:
- Roderick Johnson (OL) – Solid swing tackle and spot starter. I’d hold on to him.
- Charlie Heck (OL) – He was always gonna be a project. I doubt we cut a rookie this early.
- Max Scharping (OL) – Should have been the starter. Get this man a good OL coach!
- Keke Coutee (WR) – Ball security issues aside, I loved the way he played this season.
- Isaiah Coulter (WR) – Hasn’t played much, but again, I doubt we cut a rookie this early.
- AJ McCarron (QB) – Not the same type of QB as Watson, but he’s a reliable backup.
- Jordan Akins (TE) – He’s our best TE, and I look forward to seeing him under a new OC.
- Pharaoh Brown (TE) – Easily our second best TE. Kind of a diamond in the rough.
- Duke Johnson (RB) – I got no beef with Duke, just gotta use him right.
- On the Bubble:
- Brent Qvale (OL) – He might worth keeping around as a backup, I guess.
- Brandin Cooks (WR) – I’d love to keep both Cooks and Fuller… but will we?
- Randall Cobb (WR) – Cobb has played well, but Coutee makes him kinda redundant.
- Kahale Warring (TE) – His injury history and lack of big plays put him in a dangerous position.
- Chad Hansen (WR) – I really like Hansen and hope the new regime keeps him. #gritty
- Scottie Phillips (RB) – Come on! Show us some Scottie Phillips already!
- Buddy Howell (RB) – Best pure RB on the roster right now, but that’s not saying much.
- Cullen Gillaspia (RB) – Good blocker, good ST player, but ultimately expendable.
- Meh:
- Dontrell Hilliard (RB) – Good returner, but he’s been on the team for like 15 minutes.
- Josh McCown (QB) – Why did we sign this old man? Let’s find a rookie to develop.
- Senio Kelemete (OL) – Eh… take him or leave him, but as a backup only.
- Darren Fells (TE) – Decent pass catcher, but he’s old and can’t block.
- Damion Ratley (WR) – Gig ‘em… but we all know he’s just filling space right now.
- Cut This Dude Now:
- Zach Fulton (OL) – Fulton is garbage. Please fire him into the sun.
- Nick Martin (OL) – See above. I have no faith in our interior OL.
- David Johnson (RB) – Sorry, DJ. You’re a nice guy, but you’re old and overpaid.
DEFENSE
I had a much harder time doing this on the defensive side of the ball, probably because our defense was so hilariously bad this season. We also had a lot of injuries and thus a lot of random backups and/or street FAs getting snaps, many of whom I didn’t know existed. In an ideal world, we’d replace the vast majority of them, but that’s just not realistic. So keep in mind that a lot of the guys I listed as “keepers” are mainly just decent but unspectacular players that we kinda need to keep on the roster since we can’t do it just with FAs and rookies. We should also note that the lack of offseason this year really stunted the development of our rookies.
- Obvious Starters:
- J.J. Watt (DE) – Shut up. Don’t even talk about it. I’m not listening. La la la la la.
- Bradley Roby (CB) – I mean… he’s the only legit starting CB on the roster.
- Justin Reid (S) – Defensive leader who I’d like to see get extended in the offseason.
- Zach Cunningham (ILB) – He should have made the Pro Bowl this year.
- Likely Keepers:
- Ross Blacklock (DT) – Rough start to his career, but I doubt we cut a rookie this early.
- Brandon Dunn (DT) – Just an average vet player who does his job but not much else.
- Charles Omenihu (DE) – I really liked ol’ Chuck this season. Pass rusher of the future?
- Carlos Watkins (DE) – Just an average vet player who does his job but not much else.
- Jonathan Greenard (OLB) – I think he looked okay when he got a chance.
- Brennan Scarlett (OLB) – Just an average vet player who does his job but not much else.
- Jacob Martin (OLB) – I love when Martin can just explode with speed off the edge.
- Peter Kalambayi (ILB) – He’s a decent enough backup.
- A.J. Moore Jr. (S) – Kinda unheralded by the media, but I like him a lot.
- Michael Thomas (S) – I seem to recall Thomas having a pretty good season.
- Keion Crossen (CB) – He’s been halfway decent filling in as a starter. Solid backup?
- Lonnie Johnson Jr. (CB) – Needs more development, but has a future on this team.
- John Reid (CB) – Hasn’t played much, but (once again) I doubt we cut a rookie this early.
- On the Bubble:
- P.J. Hall (DT) – Rough injury history, but he looked good when he played.
- Auzoyah Alufohai (DT) – Seems like he might be a nice prospect.
- Tyrell Adams (S) – Good not great as a backup. Replaceable.
- Phillip Gaines (CB) – I seem to recall a few decent plays this season.
- Gareon Conley (CB) – He could be a good #2 CB if he’s actually healthy.
- Benardrick McKinney (ILB) – Liability in coverage, we might trade him to save cap space.
- Meh:
- Andrew Brown (DT) – Who?
- Mark Fields (CB) – Who?
- Geno Stone (S) – Who?
- Nate Hall (LB) – Who?
- Jonathan Owens (S) – Who?
- Cornell Armstrong (CB) – Yeah… most of our corners are just bad.
- Cut This Dude Now:
- Vernon Hargreaves III (CB) – Could he be the most hated corner on our roster?
- Duke Ejiofor (OLB) – Duke hasn’t played a single snap since 2018. It’s time to cut bait.
- Whitney Mercilus (OLB) – I’m sad to say that Merc is done. He was invisible this season.
- Dylan Cole (ILB) – Sorry, but the guy just can’t stay healthy.
- Eric Murray (S) – Wildly overpaid, not good, etc.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This list was pretty easy. We actually have a good special teams unit.
- Obvious Keepers:
- Jon Weeks (LS) – He’s the GOAT. Enough said.
- Bryan Anger (P) – Good punter, and had plenty of practice this season (sigh).
- Likely Keepers:
- Ka’imi Fairbairn (K) – I know a lot of people like to hate on Fair Bear, but he’s a decent enough kicker, so I doubt he gets cut.