Houston Texans: 5 offseason needs in 2020

2. Improve the pass blocking

Back in 2018, the Houston Texans became only the sixth team in NFL history to overcome a 0-3 start and reach the playoffs. They also managed to win the AFC South with an 11-5 record despite giving up the most sacks in the league that season. Deshaun Watson was on the receiving end of all 62 of those quarterback traps and then was dropped three more times in the club’s home wild card loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Less than a year ago, Bill O’Brien gave up plenty to acquire left tackle Larmey Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins. Via Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he played over 900 snaps and allowed only three sacks. And he’s the site’s third-ranked pass-blocking tackle. It’s also worth noting that he was flagged 18 times, the most by any tackle in the league, but the vast majority of those were for false starts and not holding (via NFLPenalties.com).

In any case, Ben Linsey of PFF had the Texans’ offensive line ranked next-to-last in the league prior to acquiring Tunsil. His final rankings in 2019 had this unit at No. 20. And Houston allowed 13 fewer sacks (49) than they did in ’18. But obviously, there’s room for plenty of improvement when it comes to protecting Watson, who was on the receiving end of 44 of those quarterback traps this past season.

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