The Houston Texans may have traded away a three-time All-Pro receiver in DeAndre Hopkins, but the club doesn’t seek to replace him.
Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien joined the Houston media on a conference call Thursday and addressed how the Texans’ passing game is moving forward without Hopkins in the lineup after the March 16 trade to the Arizona Cardinals.
“I don’t think that you replace Hopkins,” O’Brien said. “I think that every year is different. I think that this year’s offense will be totally different than last year’s offense or the year before’s offense.”
What the Texans have done in roster construction is take some of Hopkins’ traits, such as slot receiver, and divvy out the responsibility. After trading Hopkins, the Texans signed a dependable slot receiver in Randall Cobb.
Houston has also duplicated some of their other receivers’ best traits. For example, the Texans also traded with the Los Angeles Rams for wideout Brandin Cooks, who is a speedy threat like Will Fuller. The variety of receiving weapons should give quarterback Deshaun Watson more options.
“I think that [offensive coordinator] Timmy Kelly and myself, we’re doing a lot of Zoom meetings with our offensive staff,” said O’Brien. “We’re thinking about who we have on our team right now. We feel really good about where we are offensively right now with our personnel and what we’re going to be able to do.”
In addition to receiver, where O’Brien anticipates battles all offseason, O’Brien has optimism surrounding the offensive line and tight end groups.
“We feel good about where it’s at,” O’Brien said. “Again, we’ve got to go out there and produce. We’ve got a lot of players on offense.”
The Texans won a wild-card playoff game and the AFC South title with Hopkins on the roster. If Houston takes a step back, fans and critics will point to the Hopkins trade as a big mistake that cost a team on the cusp a chance to go deeper into the postseason.