Houston Texans free agency 2021: Top 5 targets

4. Marcus Williams

Lonnie Johnson gives the Texans a young strong safety they can work with for years to come. The franchise needs to find him a quality partner to grow alongside at free safety. Williams would give Houston just the sort of playmaker they crave at the back end of their secondary.

Williams hits free agency as one of the youngest players on the open market. The Saints desperately want to keep hold of the 24-year-old, but they might be forced to part with him due to their salary cap constraints. If he does leave New Orleans there’ll be no shortage of teams interested in signing him to a lucrative new contract.

The Texans might need to overpay if they want to fend off the competition, but it’s an investment they should strongly consider. Williams profiles as a legitimate difference-maker in coverage. What he lacks in terms of physicality near the line of scrimmage he more than makes up for as a center fielder patrolling the deep third.

There’s a chance Williams’ free agent market could remain tepid due to the quantify of big-name players in his position group. Houston should look to take advantage of that by offering him a four or five-year deal that will exceed $12 million in average annual value. That’s a big deal for a safety but signing Williams would give Houston an indispensable building block for their defense.