Houston Texans: 5 offseason needs in 2019
By Jon Dove
Left Tackle
This past season, the Houston Texans went into the start of the year with Julie’n Davenport set to be their starting left tackle. The young former fourth round pick had shown promise during his rookie season, but was still very raw.
Davenport performed as you would expect from an inexperienced and raw left tackle. He struggle to play with consistency which resulted in heavy pressure on quarterback Deshaun Watson.
As a whole, the Texans offensive line allowed an NFL-high 62 sacks. Davenport wasn’t responsible for all those sacks, but he did play a role. The Texans need to find a way to protect their franchise quarterback and it starts by upgrading the left tackle spot.
Free agency could offer a few potential upgrades with Trent Brown and Donovan Smith. Brown is the better pass protector of the two and will likely command a high salary. He’s coming off a terrific season with the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.
Smith is more of a wild card and might not be much of an upgrade to Davenport. He has had his share of mental lapses.
Houston has their first round pick in this year’s draft plus two second round selections. They have the ammo needed to bring in a young left tackle such as Alabama’s Johan Williams, Florida’s Jawaan Taylor or Ole Miss’s Greg Little.