In Week 1, the Houston Texans’ secondary lacked two prominent names currently in their Week 14 roster, Gareon Conley and Vernon Hargreaves.
Both first-round picks, Conley (2017) and Hargreaves (2016) were discarded by their old teams — the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively — and found themselves in Houston shortly after, via trade and release, respectively.
The Texans’ schematic versatility has allowed each to see consistent playing time with their new team.
“I’m not sure because I haven’t studied them that much in the systems they were in, but I think that the versatility of our system helps them because we do a couple of different things and put them in a couple of different positions. So, I think that has helped them perform,” said Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel on Thursday.
Before rushing both into the system, Crennel had to experiment with them in practice to prep them for the Texans’ defense.
“Probably a little bit more in practice than in the game,” said Crennel. “You look at them and see if they’re better press man, off man, zone guys, and what can they do. As you get a feel for what they can do, then you can ask them to do more, and particularly as they learn the system and understand what’s required from the position by the defensive call. Then when they have success, you feel good about it and you keep calling it.”
Conley and Hargreaves had made plays for the Texans defense.
In four games, Conley, an Ohio State product, has 14 combined tackles and six pass deflections while allowing a 50% completion rate when targeted, per Pro Football Reference.
Meanwhile, Hargreaves, a Florida product, is adjusting to a position change from outside cornerback to inside cornerback. In doing so, he has 11 combined tackles and two pass deflections.
Conley and Hargreaves are playing to stay in Houston. Crennel’s flexibility and versatility as a defensive mind could pay dividends in their efforts to do so.