The Texans’ Laremy Tunsil was the best left tackle in 2019

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil was the best blindside protector in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus.

Pro Football Focus is at it again, and this time the football analytics and scouting firm claims there was no better left tackle in the NFL last season than Laremy Tunsil.

The Houston Texans traded significant draft capital over the next two seasons to the Miami Dolphins to take the former 2016 first-round pick from Ole Miss. Unable to fix quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside with solution signs in the second wave of free agency, and unwilling to let rookies in Tytus Howard and Max Scharping grow into the role, the Texans instantly fixed the issue by trading for Tunsil.

According to PFF’s wins above replacement metrics, there was no one better playing at left tackle in 2019 than Tunsil.

The Texans gave up a massive haul to acquire Tunsil, but he delivered with the best season of his young career. Tunsil’s emergence was a huge part of Houston’s move from one of the worst offensive lines in the league to a mid-tier unit, an upgrade that has incredible value and cuts down on negative plays. Tunsil’s 88.2 pass-blocking grade ranked third in the league, as he allowed just 29 pressures on 694 attempts.

The key now for the Texans and general manager Bill O’Brien is to find an affordable and equitable way to keep Tunsil in Houston.

Texans already slated to have worst class of the 2020 NFL Draft

The Houston Texans are projected to have the worst draft class of the 2020 NFL Draft, based on the Jimmy Johnson draft value chart.

The Houston Texans are on target to have the worst class of the 2020 NFL Draft, and the combine is still less than a month away.

According to Tankathon, the AFC South champions for the past two seasons have the lowest point value for their draft class of any team in the NFL. The point value is based off the Jimmy Johnson point system for determining a pick’s value for trades.

Currently, the Texans’ draft has a point value of 512.0. They have picks at 57th, 101st, 121st, 154th, and 218th overall.

Houston dealt with a similar draft in 2018 when their first pick was in the third round. The Texans also had triplet third-rounders to perhaps offset the loss of not having a second-rounder. Nailing the safety Justin Reid pick right off the bat also helped with giving value to the draft as the rest of the eight-man class have been contributors at best.

The Texans will be dealing with just five picks compared to the eight in 2018. However, Houston upgraded their offensive line by finding a Pro Bowl left tackle in Laremy Tunsil, a dependable jack-of-all-trades wideout in Kenny Stills who can adeptly fill in when injuries strike, and a young cornerback with plenty of potential in Gareon Conley. If the Texans can still win with those pieces in place and not let the 2020 draft class hurt them, then Houston should still be competitive for the next five years.

2019 Texans position review: Offensive line

The Houston Texans’ 2019 season is over. Despite not reaching their goals, they enjoyed a good season, in which they saw their offensive line grow.

The Houston Texans’ season is over. After finishing 10-6, they found themselves in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, only to lose a 24-0 lead to the Kansas City Chiefs, who moved on by winning in 51-31 fashion.

The offensive line held the Houston Texans back in 2019. In his second season in the NFL, Deshaun Watson took 62 sacks behind 2019’s line. That wasn’t going to cut it.

The Texans knew that. They went out and spend a staggering three first-round picks and two second-round picks on their offensive line in the offseason; trading for Laremy Tunsil and drafting Tytus Howard and Max Scharping.

Houston’s big-spending paid off. Tunsil, their starting left tackle, went to the Pro Bowl in his first season as a Texan. At 25 years old, he stands as one of the NFL’s most promising linemen and will earn a big extension soon. He is worth the money and draft capital spent on him.

As for Howard and Scharping, the two were instant starters on the Texans’ offensive line.

While the Texans found a mainstay at left tackle, they found the same on the right side. Though he started just seven games at right tackle, Howard, Houston’s first-round pick, shined at the position before suffering a torn MCL.

Howard was named to the Pro Football Writers of America’s annual all-rookie team for his efforts.

Scharping started 14 games at left guard and showed little signs of giving that position up in 2020. The second-round pick shined in his rookie season, as he allowed just three sacks, per Pro Football Focus. Alongside Tunsil, the Texans have their left-side of their line locked down for the foreseeable future.

The center and right guard positions did not change from 2018 to 2019. The Texans extended their center Nick Martin to a three-year, $33 million deal. He responded with a career year.

Despite missing much of training camp, Martin started all 16 games at center. He allowed just two sacks on the season, per PFF, and finished seventh in the NFL (for centers) in Pass Block Win Rate, per ESPN. At 26 years old, he appears to be another building block for the Texans.

The right guard is the Texans’ weakest position on their full offensive line. In his second year as a Texan, Zach Fulton regressed. PFF graded him at a lowly 52.2. In the second half of the season, Houston often substituted Fulton for backup Greg Mancz due to play.

As for the backups, the Texans saw Chris Clark and Roderick Johnson split snaps at right tackle after Howard went to the injured reserve. Both struggled at the position; with Johnson seeing snaps as a run blocker and Clark as a pass protector. Mancz played sparingly in-place of Fulton.

Heading into the 2020 offseason, the Texans should look into adding competition at the right guard position. A veteran swing tackle could do them well to sit behind Tunsil and Howard too. However, the offensive line is not the top priority as it once was, thanks to a busy offseason in 2019.

2020 NFL Pro Bowl: Time, TV schedule and streaming info

The Houston Texans will have two players participating in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl in QB Deshaun Watson and LT Laremy Tunsil. Find out how to watch.

There is one last game before the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, and that is the 2020 Pro Bowl between the AFC and the NFC at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

The Houston Texans will have two of their three players voted to the roster participating in quarterback Deshaun Watson and left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins will not be taking part in the game.

The game will be all over the place on ABC, ESPN, and Disney XD. Our friends at FuboTV will also have ways to catch the game.

To get ready for the exhibition action here is important game day information so you can catch the game. Follow the @TheTexansWire and the crew (@therealmarklane, @averydduncan, @arwoodnfl).

You can live stream the game on FuboTV (try it free).

2020 Pro Bowl — Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2:00 p.m. CT, Orlando, Fla.

TV channel: ESPN, ABC, Disney XD (Joe Tessitore & Anthony “Booger” McFarland)

Live stream: FuboTV (try it free)

Location: Camping World Stadium

Forecast: Partly cloudy, 66 degrees, 5 mph wind

Referee: Craig Wrolstad

Odds: AFC -1.5

How much payoff did the Texans get for their trades?

The Houston Texans made eight trades in the preseason and in the regular season. How well did those trades payoff for the Texans?

The Houston Texans made a series of six trades for eight players from Aug. 8 to Oct. 21 of the 2019 regular season. They risked a first-round pick, two third-round picks, and a sixth-round pick from their 2020 draft as well as their first and second-round selections from 2021 for what amounted to an AFC divisional exit.

Was the risk worth the reward? Coach Bill O’Brien believes the acquisitions for running back Duke Johnson, cornerback Keion Crossen, running back Carlos Hyde, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Kenny Stills, outside linebackers Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin, and cornerback Gareon Conley were worth the price.

“I think that those moves did pay off,” O’Brien told reporters Monday. “Those guys came in, without mentioning each guy specifically, but I do believe that those guys came in and really entered into our culture of what we’re trying to do, learned the systems, tried to go out there and those guys played well. I’m sure there’s always plays that each one of them wish they could have back, but I think that those guys helped our team win this year, when we won.”

The Texans finished 10-6, won the AFC South for the second straight season, and knocked off the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in overtime of the AFC wild-card for the second playoff win in the O’Brien era.

According to O’Brien, even though the trades had a short-term feel to them, the organization is always balancing them in the long-term.

Said O’Brien: “I think any move we make, we try to think about the long term. Now, you could probably pick and choose some moves where maybe contractually it doesn’t seem like it’s long term, but within the building and within the meeting rooms, we think about it more for long-term purposes as we move forward here.”

Where the Texans move forward is beyond a 51-31 playoff loss at the Kansas City Chiefs that saw Houston leading 24-0 early in the second quarter at Arrowhead Stadium. The challenge for 2020 will be not to let such collapses become a part of their identity or the narrative.

Recapping former Dolphins OT Laremy Tunsil’s 2019 season

With Laremy Tunsil’s first season in Houston complete, looking back at Miami’s trade offers some interesting insight.

The Miami Dolphins shocked the football world with their decision to trade away offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil just before the start of the 2019 season. How surprising was the move? When the first whispers started leaking out that Miami was even considering a deal, the trade was considered lunacy and nonsense. The Dolphins did, after all, need to improve their offensive line, so trading away their best asset was going to be hard to justify on the eve of the season.

Yet Miami did pull the trigger — trading Tunsil, two late round picks and WR Kenny Stills to the Houston Texans for a 2020 1st-round pick (26th overall), a 2021 1st- and 2nd-round pick, OT Julien Davenport and DB Johnson Bademosi.

It was a blockbuster if we’ve ever seen one. And now that Tunsil has seen a full season play out in Houston, one can’t help but wonder to look back and inspect how well his season went.

Tunsil was named to his first Pro Bowl this season — but the argument could be made that Tunsil didn’t play his best football this season relative to in years past. In 2019, Tunsil was attributed with:

  • 18 total penalties (12 false starts)
  • The 7th best pass blocking win rate of left tackles according to ESPN (outside the Top 10 overall OTs)
  • 3 sacks allowed (Pro Football Focus)

In all, this season wasn’t Tunsil’s best work — his 2018 campaign with Miami was a much more polished, refined series of games. And yet because everyone knows of Tunsil and the trade package he demanded, he’s now set to play in the Pro Bowl, despite not being named to the Pro Bowl last year when he played a better season.

The Dolphins will need to make their picks count, but seeing Tunsil perform as a good offensive tackle but not the juggernaut some thought he was destined to be in Miami helps to soften the blow of Miami trading their best offensive lineman on their long-tortured unit.

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The Texans’ trade for LT Laremy Tunsil proved to be a brilliant move

The Houston Texans’ trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil was their most brilliant move of the offseason.

The Houston Texans went cheap at protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside with re-signing Seantrel Henderson to a one-year deal and signing Matt Khalil in the second wave of free agency. They also went youthful drafting college tackles Tytus Howard in Round 1 and Max Scharping in Round 2 of the 2019 NFL draft.

On Aug. 31, the concluding solution was to trade for Miami Dolphins left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and this move is one that Barry Werner of the Touchdown Wire lauds as one of the brilliant moves among the remaining eight playoff teams.

The Texans swung a deal with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31, 2019, to shore up their offensive line and it worked out nicely as former first-round pick Laremy Tunsil has been stellar. He has earned his first Pro Bowl slot and is a force protecting Deshaun Watson. You can kick in Kenny Stills, who came along in the deal and had 40 catches for 561 yards in 13 games.

Though Watson took seven sacks against the Buffalo Bills in the 22-19 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, they wouldn’t have been in the postseason if not for Tunsil’s Pro Bowl efforts throughout the season.

Now, it will be up to Tunsil and the rest of the offensive line to protect Watson and clear running lanes for running back Carlos Hyde en route to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium.

NFL playoffs: Brilliant 2019 player moves by each of the 8 remaining teams

You don’t get to the Divisional round without making wise decisions. A look at some of the best made by each of the 8 remaining teams.

The eight teams left in the playoffs each boast smart moves by the front office to land players that have been instrumental in the successful season.

Baltimore Ravens: Mark Ingram

 Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Ravens seemed to have a running game by committee in many years recently. That came to a halt as the rushing attack was powered by free-agent acquisition Mark Ingram. The former New Orleans Saint and Heisman winner from Alabama has been dynamic in rushing for 1.018 yards in 15 games and catching passes for another 247. He scored 10 TDs on the ground and five receiving. A perfect player to have in the backfield with Lamar Jackson. You can throw in Earl Thomas via free agency and Marcus Peters in a trade with the Rams for good measure.

How were the Texans’ trade acquisitions able to adapt so quickly?

The Houston Texans made a flurry of trades from August to October, and their new acquisitions were able to help the team right away.

The Houston Texans were bolstered by their trades in the 2019 preseason and until the regular season’s Oct. 29 deadline. The acquisitions of left tackle Laremy Tunsil, receiver Kenny Stills, and running back Carlos Hyde, dealt for on Aug. 31, helped propel the offense.

With a total of eight players acquired over the course of six trades between Aug. 8 and Oct. 21, the fascinating part is that these players were able to help out the Texans right away.

Coach Bill O’Brien admits that the coaching staff, scouting department, and personnel departments are putting in homework on prospective players, but the credit ultimately goes to the players.

“You give the players all the credit,” O’Brien told reporters Thursday. “The players get all the credit for coming in here and learning the system and understanding what we’re asking them to do, whether it’s Carlos Hyde to [cornerback] Keion Crossen to Laremy Tunsil to everybody else that was here right at the end of training camp, beginning of the season.”

Of the eight players, running back Duke Johnson had the most preseason time with the Texans as the club traded a conditional 2020 third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for his services on Aug. 8.

Tunsil, Stills, Hyde, Crossen, who has been impactful on special teams, along with outside linebackers Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin were all acquired on Aug. 31, two days after the final preseason game and nine days before the season opener in New Orleans against the Saints on Monday Night Football. Cornerback Gareon Conely was added on Oct. 21 in a trade with the Oakland Raiders when the Texans were desperate for cornerback help.

“I think you give the players all credit for being able to come in here and be professional and get right to work and kind of learn our culture, learn our playbook and learn how we do things, and those guys have done that,” said O’Brien. “I think the players get all the credit.”

The Texans are hopeful their new pieces will be able to lift them past the Buffalo Bills Saturday in the AFC wild-card at NRG Stadium.

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J.J. Watt downplays his speech at the end of Texans practice Tuesday

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt downplays the speech he gave that gave teammates chills to end practice on Tuesday.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt gave a speech at the end of practice on Tuesday that chilled his teammates.

However, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who is making a return from a torn pectoral on Oct. 27 that seemingly ended his season, is downplaying the impact of his words.

“I didn’t really give a speech,” Watt told reporters Wednesday. “I broke it down at the end of practice. Somebody’s got to break it down every day. Yesterday was my day so I broke it down. There’s really not much more to it than that. It was pretty standard.”

Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil was one of the Texans who went on record and used the term “chills” to describe the feeling that Watt’s words left with the team.

I appreciate that,”  Watt said. “We can laugh about it, but coming from teammates and especially a guy like Laremy who is well respected, who’s extremely good at what he does and whose opinion I value very much, for a guy like him to say something like that means a lot to me.

“It’s nice to know that the words that you say and the message you try and get across does hit home. Like I said, I respect Laremy. I respect all those guys in that locker room so I appreciate if they did take notice.”

Returner DeAndre Carter, who has been with the Texans since midway through the 2018 season, expressed that the content of Watt’s breakdown at the end of practice Tuesday was what the team needed to hear. While Watt acknowledged Carter’s summary, he didn’t elaborate.

Said Watt: “I’m not going to go into details about what it was, it was just what I felt needed to be said. It’s very important, it’s a huge week. This is the NFL playoffs. 20 teams are at home, only 12 are left, so it’s very, very big.”

The Texans host the Buffalo Bills Saturday at 3:35 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium in the AFC wild-card. A win would get the Texans to their first divisional playoff since 2016 and their fourth ever in club history, and would set the club up with a legitimate chance to earn their first trip to the AFC championship game.