Texans rumors: Zach Fulton emerges as target
It looks like the Houston Texans have identified their next center: former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Zach Fulton.
The Houston Texans’ offensive line play in 2017 was…not good, to say the very least.
After trading away offensive tackle Duane Brown following a holdout and missing tackle Derek Newton due to injury, the Texans struggled with run-blocking, pass-blocking…really, all the blocking in 2017.
But help is reportedly on the way in the form of former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Zach Fulton, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport:
The #Texans are the favorites to sign former #Chiefs OL Zach Fulton to a multi-year deal worth more than $7M per year, source said. He should play center for them. Other teams are in the mix, but Houston is the likely landing spot.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2018
Per Rapoport, Fulton, who has received interest from other teams but is narrowing down his list with the Texans at the top. would line up at center in Houston.
The Chiefs drafted Fulton in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft at No. 193 overall. The versatile lineman started in all 16 games for Kansas City in his rookie season.
Fulton showed off his versatility for the Chiefs’ injury-plagued offensive line in 2017, starting 12 games at center and also seeing action at both guard spots after starters Mitch Morse, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Bryan Witzmann went down with injuries.
According to Football Outsiders’ metrics, the Texans offensive line finished No. 20 in the league in run-blocking in 2017 and No. 20 in pass protection. Houston running backs averaged only 3.78 yards per attempt behind the 2017 iteration of the line.
Next: Top 30 NFL Games Of All Time
Unfortunately, it might be a case of one step forward, two steps backward for Houston as it tries to revamp its offensive line this offseason.
Xavier Su’a-Filo, Chris Clark and Breno Giacomini are all set to become free agents on Wednesday. Nick Martin is recovering from season-ending ankle surgery.
But the Texans will have quarterback Deshaun Watson back in action in 2018, and they need to give him all the help they can on the offensive line.