Tag: NFL Media

What will it take for Texans DE Jonathan Greenard to make the Pro Bowl?

Houston Texans DE Jonathan Greenard made NFL.com’s list of Pro Bowl candidates from each team. What will Greenard need to do to qualify?

The Houston Texans did not have a player go to the Pro Bowl following the 2021 season. Such is the side effect of going 4-13 and not having a face of the franchise.

According to Nick Shook from NFL.com, defensive end Jonathan Greenard is a candidate from the Texans to make the Pro Bowl in 2022.

The pickings remain slim in Houston, and while I desperately wanted to push all of my chips to the center of the table on Davis Mills, I just couldn’t do it (at least not yet). The more likely candidate to reach the Pro Bowl is one of the sneakier standouts from last season, Greenard, a player who quietly led the Texans with eight sacks. He did so on a limited number of snaps, too, and didn’t miss the watchful eye of Pro Football Focus, which has Greenard listed among its top 10 breakout candidates from the 2020 draft class. If we’re looking for a first-time Pro Bowl candidate in Houston, Greenard is the one.

For Greenard to make the Pro Bowl, he will need to at least hit the 10.0 mark. The former 2020 third-round pick from Florida will also need to add a few forced fumbles and tackles for loss to his stat line in order to show coaches and players across the league he is a force off the edge.

What will also help Greenard’s candidacy is if the Texans are competitive. If Greenard is tallying his 10.0-plus sacks while Houston is 1-7 and starting Kyle Allen at quarterback, Greenard’s good work is going to get buried amid the losing. If Greenard’s efforts are part of even a 4-4 campaign and the losses are by a touchdown or less, the perception will be the Texans have finally gotten out of the rebuilding phase.

The last Pro Bowl defensive end the Texans had was J.J. Watt in 2018 when he collected 16.0 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 25 quarterback hits, seven forced fumbles, and four pass breakups.

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Texans QB Davis Mills makes it as backup to Tom Brady on NFL.com’s ‘best team money can buy’

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills was Tom Brady’s backup in an NFL.com “best team money can buy” scenario.

Experience is a good teacher, but sometimes sitting behind Tom Brady can be helpful for a young quarterback.

Anthony Holzman-Escareno from NFL.com conducted an interesting exercise of what the best team money could buy would look like while also working with the salary cap. While Holzman-Escareno settled on Brady being the starting quarterback for the dream team, he went with Houston Texans second-year quarterback Davis Mills as his backup.

Although five first-round quarterbacks (seven total) were selected before him, Davis Mills trailed only Mac Jones in passing yards and passing touchdowns among rookies in 2021. His 68.8 completion percentage and 228.5 pass yards per game as a starter paced all first-year quarterbacks. Mills is the only rookie in NFL history to have three games with a passer rating of at least 125.0 (min. 25 pass attempts in each game). The third-round pick also improved with time, throwing 14 touchdowns and five interceptions in his final 10 games of the season after tossing just two scores and five picks in his first three career games. He won two of his final four starts with a Texans team lacking in talent. 

Mills started out his career as a backup. Tyrod Taylor was the signal caller atop the depth chart, and led Houston to a 1-0 start with a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to inaugurate the David Culley era.

The former 2021 third-round pick was inserted into the lineup at halftime of Week 2 at the Cleveland Browns when Taylor strained his hamstring. Although the Texans would lose the next six starts under Mills, Taylor was no better. The former 2015 Pro Bowler looked washed up, and a hyperextended left wrist (non-throwing) provided a chance for Mills to redeem himself in the final five games of the season — and he showed he had learned from his mistakes while riding the pine.

If Mills learned adequately behind Taylor, imagine how much he could learn behind Brady.

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Texans vs. Rams Aug. 19 preseason game to be carried live on NFL Network

The Houston Texans will play the Los Angeles Rams live on NFL Network on Aug. 19 at 9:00 p.m. Central Time.

Houston Texans fans outside of the home market will get a chance to see their team take on the defending Super Bowl champions in an exhibition tilt live on NFL Network.

NFL Media announced Monday the Texans vs. Los Angeles Rams preseason game on Aug. 19 will be carried live on NFL Network at 9:00 p.m. Central Time.

The game is one of 22 live preseason games the network will be airing throughout preseason.

Here is a look at the Texans’ preseason schedule, including times, dates, and TV channel:

Week 1 — Aug. 13 — New Orleans Saints at Houston Texans — KTRK-TV

Week 2 — Aug. 19 — Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams — KTRK-TV [NFL Network]

Week 3 — Aug. 25 — San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans — Amazon Prime Video

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Texans absent from NFL.com list of teams that helped their QB in the offseason

The Houston Texans did not make an NFL.com list of teams that helped their quarterback in the offseason.

The Houston Texans made key investments on the offensive side of the ball throughout the 2022 offseason, but it wasn’t enough to convince national pundits.

According to Judy Battista from NFL.com, the Texans were missing from her list of teams that “significantly helped” their quarterback throughout the offseason. The top team on the list were the New York Jets.

General manager Joe Douglas has surrounded Zach Wilson with the kind of talent that Sam Darnold never saw. This offseason, he completely overhauled the tight end room, signing C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin before drafting Jeremy Ruckert. He also drafted the best running back in the class in Breece Hall and — in the biggest addition — spent the No. 10 overall pick on Garrett Wilson, a threat via yards after the catch and downfield passes. And don’t forget the signing of guard Laken Tomlinson, addressing an offensive line need. It all comes down to Wilson’s development, of course, but it’s hard to imagine the Jets being 28th in scoring again.

It is true the Texans’ tight end room is about the same as last year’s with Brevin Jordan entering his second year, Pharaoh Brown returning along with Antony Auclair, and the fifth-round selection of Oregon State’s Teagan Quitoriano.

However, Houston made as big of commitments to the rest of their skill positions as the Jets did. Quarterback Davis Mills has a young stud to hand off to in fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce. Houston got a downfield threat in John Metchie in the second round. Not only did Houston sign a guard with familiarity with the new offensive line coach in A.J. Cann, but the Texans also spent a first-round pick on Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green. For the first time since at least 2020, the Texans have clarity on what their starting offensive line looks like as opposed to spending offseason workouts and training camp cobbling together the best five-man combination.

The Jets made their acquisitions in the absence of existing talent. The Texans have two weapons Mills has formed cohesion with in receivers Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins.

As far as the Texans have fallen since 2019, the last time they won the division, the more they will get overlooked until they start stacking wins.

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NFL.com infers Texans won’t be the worst team in 2022

The Houston Texans may not be the worst team in the NFL if Adam Schein’s predictions from NFL.com come to fruition.

The Houston Texans are favorites to finish as the worst team in the NFL. Just ask oddsmakers, who have the Texans at -120 to win under 4.5 games compared to -105 to win more than 4.5 games. Even mock drafts are forecasting Houston will pick No. 1 overall with their proprietary selection in the 2022 NFL draft.

However, there are other inferences that indicate analysts and commentators don’t believe Houston will be the worst team in the NFL.

According to Adam Schein from NFL.com, who released his nine bold predictions for 2022, he has the New York Jets finishing as the 16th team in the AFC. Furthermore Schein has the Chicago Bears finishing as the worst team in the NFL, and he mentioned the Atlanta Falcons as another logical choice.

The Texans would avoid being the worst team in the NFL if these scenarios occurred, but they would still be one of the bottom tier teams in the league. Perhaps the first season under coach Lovie Smith won’t be as ugly as it seems.

If Houston finished as one of the bottom-7 teams in the NFL, it would give them decent draft positioning to put the final touches on the roster. If general manager Nick Caserio felt that quarterback was the answer, they would need to build a package to move up in the top-5 to take their guy. That is where the benefit of having two first-round picks through the 2024 draft comes in handy.

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Texans fans should hop on the OC Pep Hamilton bandwagon

Houston Texans fans shouldn’t be scared to be front runners for new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, according to NFL.com’s Adam Schein.

Houston Texans fans haven’t had much to cheer for over the past two seasons. However, they may finally have a cause to back enthusiastically, even if the team is still going through growing pains.

According to Adam Schein from NFL.com, who listed his bandwagons to jump on in 2022, Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton made the list.

Hamilton has a strong reputation — in both college football and the NFL — as a bright offensive mind and quarterback guru. Last year only furthered that trend. While it was a tough season for the 4-13 Texans on the whole, one of Houston’s bright spots was rookie quarterback Davis Mills. Who was his position coach? Who was the Texans’ passing game coordinator? That’s right, Pep Hamilton, who has assumed offensive coordinator duties under new coach Lovie Smith. Hamilton will continue to develop Mills in 2022, especially with the eternally underrated Brandin Cooks as his WR1.

Houston is going to bite some teams this year. I predict Hamilton will maximize what he has on offense and then get head-coaching looks in 2023.

Hamilton has already begun to take advantage of the opportunity as he was one of two minority candidates the Texans presented at the NFL owners meetings May 23-24. Hamilton has already put himself in front of prospective employers. The challenge is to follow through and manifest that success on the field this season.

Texans receiver Brandin Cooks, who has worked with offensive minds such as Sean Payton, Josh McDaniels, and Sean McVay, can see the talent within Hamilton.

“Pep, he is special and a great mind,” Cooks told reporters on May 24 during organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center. “I’ve got a lot of trust in him and just trying to help him be right. We love going to work with him every day.”

The Hamilton bandwagon may be a bit bumpy, but should provide Texans fans with a few enjoyable moments en route to completing the rebuild.

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NFL.com cites RB Marlon Mack as the Texans’ most under appreciated player

Cynthia Frelund from NFL.com makes the case that the Houston Texans’ most under appreciated player is free agent RB Marlon Mack.

Who would have thought the most under appreciated player on the Houston Texans would be Marlon Mack, a former Indianapolis Colts running back?

So says Cynthia Frelund from NFL.com, who compiled a list of each under appreciated player across the AFC. Frelund’s calculations are based on whether the player was drafted in the second round or later and their contract with the team. Frelund admits she likes to use players on existing teams, but the flurry of free agent moves made it difficult, which is why Mack, who has never played a snap for Houston, ends up as their most under appreciated player.

APY: $2 million (tied for 36th among running backs).

OK, so, it’s not ideal, for the purposes of this list, that Mack has played in just seven games over the past two seasons, and for a different team, at that — but my models love this fit and the upside. The last time Mack had a full season’s worth of workload, in 2019, he ran for 1,091 yards, the 10th most among running backs in the NFL that season. Computer vision shows that the ex-Colt’s change-of-direction speed ranked seventh-highest in the NFL that season. NGS [Next Gen Stats] shows he exceeded 15 miles per hour on 51 runs in 2019, which ranked fourth among RBs.

That Mack’s under appreciation is based on work from 2019 before he tore his Achilles is inauspicious as to his effectiveness with the Texans in 2022. Jonathan Taylor took the reins from Mack after his injury early in 2020 and never looked back.

The Texans and Mack do make for a good situation for one another. Houston has an insurance policy in fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce should Mack not work out. Mack similarly won’t be expected to be the feature back in the Texans’ offense, which is also run heavy, which means Mack will have chances to make his case he can still be a bell cow.

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Texans projected to have another 4-win season in 2022

The Houston Texans are projected to win a little over four games in 2022 according to the latest data from NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund.

If the analytics and models are to be believed, then get ready for another four-win campaign from the Houston Texans in 2022.

According to Cynthia Frelund from NFL.com, the Texans are projected to win 4.3 games, which is 0.2 points below what some people are expecting in 2022.

What led to the Texans’ four-win seasons the past two years were manifold. In 2020, Houston had exemplary quarterback play as their 16-game starter won the NFL passing title. However, the Texans were atrocious against the pass and the run — and they had trouble running the ball themselves. If not for the quarterback’s ability to keep Houston in close games, they wouldn’t have had a shot. Houston lost eight games that season by eight or fewer points.

In 2021, the Texans had no play at all. Davis Mills was thrust into action after Tyrod Taylor strained his hamstring in Week 2. The Texans couldn’t run the ball. They couldn’t stop the run. Their saving grace were their takeaways under then-defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on the extra possessions. If not for the Texans winning two of their last five games — all of which Mills started — Houston may have fared worse.

The Indianapolis Colts are projected to win 9.9 games. The Tennessee Titans, who have won the AFC South the past two seasons, are projected to win 8.8. games. The Jacksonville Jaguars are projected to win 6.3 games.

The Texans have never had three consecutive seasons with double-digit losses. While Houston may not be in the conversation for even the seventh and final seed in the AFC playoffs for 2022, an improvement in the win column would be proof the Nick Caserio way is working inside NRG Stadium. A third season with just four wins to show would generate immense doubt that Caserio is the general manager to pull off the rebuild.

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Texans GM Nick Caserio won’t watch NFL 2022 schedule release May 12

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio says that he won’t watch the full 2022 NFL schedule release on May 12.

Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio won’t be taking part in the hoopla on May 12 when the NFL releases the entire 2022 schedule.

Caserio spoke with the media at the Texans’ annual charity golf tournament and expressed his apathy towards the schedule release.

“Not really much,” Caserio said via video from Sports Radio 610’s Sean Pendergast. “So, whoever we play, we play. I think the big thing will be the first three games, do some work in the offseason in terms of our advanced scouting reports, kind of some offseason work. We’re going to see the composition of the team, how we’re going to see it. So, I think the pro scouting staff will spend time on the first three opponents, try to get ahead of that a little bit, and then we come back into training camp as a matter of cleanup and tracking and following those teams.”

Caserio put together a successful 2022 NFL draft class that included nine players and earned anywhere from a B-plus to an A-minus grade — not that Caserio cares for such grades.

“So, honestly, I’m not going to lose much sleep over the schedule,” said Caserio. “I probably won’t even watch it. So, whoever we play, we play. We’ll find out about it the next day and come in and we’ll just be in rookie minicamps. So, that will be the focus.”

The schedule is set to be released in full at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on NFL Network.

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NFL.com gives Texans B grade for 2022 NFL draft class

The Houston Texans earned a B grade for their 2022 NFL draft class according to NFL.com.

The consensus among the national media appears to be that the Houston Texans had an above average draft.

According to Chad Reuter from NFL.com, the Texans’ nine-pick weekend resulted in an overall B grade. Days 1 and 3 were straight Bs while Day 2 had a grade of B-.

Houston selected LSU cornerback Derek Stingley (No. 3 overall) and Texas A&M guard Kenyon Green (No. 15 overall) in Round 1.

On Day 2, the Texans picked up Baylor safety Jalen Pitre (No. 37 overall), traded up for Alabama receiver John Metchie (No. 44 overall), added Alabama linebacker Christian Harris in Round 3 (No. 75 overall).

On Day 3, Houston grabbed Florida running back Dameon Pierce (Round 4, No. 102 overall), Stanford defensive lineman Thomas Booker (Round 5, No. 150 overall), Oregon State tight end Teagan Quitoriano (Round 5, No. 170 overall), and LSU tackle Austin Deculus (Round 6, No. 205 overall).

The Texans selected a few guys who could be great with their first three picks: a potential playmaking corner (Stingley), a powerful guard/tackle (Green) and a competitive, versatile defensive back (Pitre). Metchie and Harris also could become solid starters if they’re able to consistently secure passes and find the ball on defense, respectively.

Pierce will compete for every yard. Booker’s a smart, active interior player. Quitoriano meets the team’s need for a well-rounded tight end. The Texans should sign multiple undrafted free-agent edge rushers to bolster that group since they failed to select one.

General manager Nick Caserio claimed after the draft that he felt no added sense of urgency to land every pick, and stressed that it will be the players who will determine whether the selections were successful.

“Ultimately, the player’s performance will dictate whether or not he is a good player, he is not a good player,” said Caserio. “If it doesn’t work out, okay, we’ll move on from that player and go find somebody else. That’s our job. That mindset and that thought process is going to permeate our building for as long as I’m in charge.”

The Texans’ nine-man draft class addressed needs and added talent for the near future. It will be up to the players and also coach Lovie Smith’s staff to reach their potential.