The Houston Texans offensive line demonstrated marked improvement, and some individual players have been highlighted in the offseason for their efforts. However, the unit still may not be receiving the accolades it deserves.
In Pro Football Focus’ recent best tackle duos list, Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right tackle Tytus Howard were left off the five-combo list. Tunsil and Howard didn’t even qualify as honorable mentions as that went to the San Francisco 49ers’ Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey.
The New Orleans Saints’ Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk made No. 1. The Dallas Cowboys’ Tyron Smith and La’el Collins claimed No. 2. The Baltimore Ravens’ Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown were No. 3.
If the Texans were to have made the list, No. 4 would have been an equitable position.
The Indianapolis Colts’ pair of Anthony Castonzo and Braden Smith landed in the fourth spot. Ben Linsey explained why the 31-year-old returning for his 10th NFL season was key for the Colts’ offensive line.
One of the more underrated developments this offseason was Castonzo’s decision to hold off on retirement and return to what has become one of the better offensive lines in the NFL. Castonzo hasn’t been selected to a Pro Bowl in his nine-year NFL career, but he has consistently been one of the better pass-blocking left tackles in the game while still providing solid play in the run game. He has finished with an overall grade below 76.9 only once in his career, his rookie 2011 season, and he’s one of just eight tackles to put up pass-blocking grades of 80.0 or higher in each of the past two seasons on 250 or more pass-blocking snaps. His return is big for the Colts in their pursuit of an AFC South title.
Guess who was selected to his first career Pro Bowl after four seasons in the NFL, and was dealt to his new team a week before the regular season. Hint: this individual signed a contract extension worth $22 million this offseason, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
There shouldn’t be an argument that Tunsil is a better left tackle than Castonzo. If the Colts were to secure No. 4 over the Texans, it would have to be with the play at right tackle.
Smith, meanwhile, impressed from a grading perspective in his second season out of Auburn this past season. He still has some things to work on in pass protection — finishing the 2019 season with a 68.1 pass-blocking grade — but his 86.4 run-blocking grade was one of the best marks in the NFL. Considering young tackles generally don’t reach their peaks until three or four years into their careers, Smith’s improvement from 2018 to 2019 bodes well for his prospects in 2020. The results we saw from him as a run-blocker certainly bode well for Marlon Mack and the newly acquired Jonathan Taylor on the ground, too.
Just on availability alone, Smith has proven to be a better right tackle than Howard. In 2019, the former first-round pick from Alabama State played in a total of eight games; half of his rookie year was marred with injury, and the tandem of Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark filled in. Meanwhile, Smith started all 16 games at right tackle for Indianapolis.
If Tunsil and Howard can each stay healthy in 2020, then it should be apparent the duo is one of the best tackle tandems in the NFL.