The Texans traded their draft picks, so free agency is the ticket
By John Buhler
The Houston Texans don’t have a first-round pick and only have two picks in the top 100 this spring. This makes winning in free agency even more important.
The Houston Texans will not be on the clock anytime soon compared to other teams.
Why? Because the Texans traded away their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Houston only has two picks in the top 100 in this spring’s draft: No. 57 in the middle of the second round and the No. 97 pick in the compensatory part of round three. Though the Texans might have seven picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, five of those picks are probably not going to yield high-end Pro Bowl-caliber players. If they want to get better this offseason, then free agency it is.
Fortunately for the Texans, they have a top-10 salary cap situation entering the new league year. They have the eighth-most cap space at roughly $63 million. With no state income tax and the best quarterback returning in the AFC South in Deshaun Watson, Houston has enough cachet to go big-game hunting in the upcoming free agency period.
If they want to win free agency, the Texans should pay a premium to pry running back Derrick Henry away from the division rival Tennessee Titans. The no state income tax argument won’t be a selling point for him, as Tennessee doesn’t have one either, but forming a trio with Watson and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has to be appealing for any star player.
Houston may also look to poach away Tennessee’s right tackle Jack Conklin in free agency, who the Titans foolishly didn’t extend him the fifth-year option after the 2018 season. If the Texans want to keep improving, they can land Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones to replace the veteran Johnathan Joseph.
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Overall, the Texans are still in good shape to have a strong offseason. They’ve won the AFC South four of the last five years, they have their franchise quarterback and they have plenty of cap space to land the right free agents at a slight premium.
Who cares if Bill O’Brien traded away so many of their picks? Houston is in win-now mode and the Texans need to get after it in free agency.