Tag: Texans cornerback

CB Steven Nelson believes he can provide leadership for the Texans secondary

Houston Texans cornerback Steven Nelson believes he can help the secondary by providing leadership on the backend.

The Houston Texans have become a place for defensive backs to sign short-term deals, and cornerback Steven Nelson is no different.

The former Kansas City Chiefs 2015 third-round pick signed a two-year deal with the Texans worth $9 million in free agency. Nelson believes Houston is getting a cornerback that can infuse leadership.

“Leadership, experience, just being a guy that’s been there, been out there, playoff teams and just being in that atmosphere,” Nelson told reporters June 7 after organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center. “As you know we have a lot of young talent on the team so just kind of being able to be there and lead by example as much as I can.”

Nelson spent the past three seasons in Pennsylvania playing for the Keystone State’s two NFL teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers (2019-20) and the Philadelphia Eagles (2021). With the Eagles, Nelson started all 16 games played and picked off a pass, deflected seven others, and recorded 50 combined tackles.

Nelson doesn’t have any specific ties to the New England Patriots or the Tampa 2 scheme, but the 5-10, 194-pounder was an attractive option for general manager Nick Caserio and coach Lovie Smith.

“It’s been going well,” said Nelson. “Been here for probably about two months, maybe a little bit over that. We got great guys. Coach (Smith) did a great job getting guys in, and Nick, the guys that want to compete and get better and kind of have like-mindedness. It’s going really well right now.”

The Texans are working through their depth at cornerback that includes rookie Derek Stingley and slot corners Tavierre Thomas and Desmond King, who was willing to play on the outside in 2021. If the Texans can add stability to their boundary corners with Stingley and Nelson, it should allow other defensive backs to flourish.

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CB Tavierre Thomas could be key to the Texans secondary

Houston Texans cornerback Tavierre Thomas could be the key to making the secondary dominant in 2022.

The Houston Texans invested heavily in the future of their secondary with cornerback Derek Stingley taken in the first round and safety Jalen Pitre taken in Round 2 of the 2022 NFL draft.

Houston also shored up their secondary by bringing in cornerback Steven Nelson and retaining and dependable players such as Desmond King and Tavierre Thomas.

If the boundary corners are taken care of in Stingley and Nelson, then slot cornerback would be a position that the Texans would have to fortify to have success. New coach Lovie Smith, who was the defensive coordinator last year, sees the value in the slot corner position, which is why defensive assistant Ilir Emini has the added title of “nickels.”

According to Anthony Treash from Pro Football Focus, Thomas ranks as the 10th-best slot cornerback in the NFL.

Thomas then signed with Houston and thrived as the starter. He finished with a top-three slot coverage grade and allowed the fewest yards per coverage snap (0.50). Obviously, there is caution with expecting Thomas to replicate this play in 2022 and beyond, given it’s a one-year sample, but he showed the ability to do so.

What isn’t being discussed about Thomas’ potential is the fact 2022 will be the first time in his career he will have the same defensive staff from one year to the next. The Cleveland Browns never had the same defensive coordinator while Thomas was there from 2018-20.

Although Houston fired David Culley after a 4-13 finish in 2021, Smith and his Tampa 2 scheme remains in place for 2022, which creates a level of continuity Thomas has not had in the NFL.

“This is the first year that I will be playing with the same defensive staff, defensive coordinator,” Thomas told reporters on April 26. “Now, he’s the head coach. It’s a blessing just to not have to go through that situation again with changing everything around me. I’ve always had to continue to grind and learn new playbooks and now I’m coming back to the same playbook with some of the same guys. It’s a blessing.”

Thomas had the best season of his career last year with 86 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and a forced fumble — all in 17 games, eight of which he started.

The former undrafted free agent from Ferris State has shown the ability to have great moments in Smith’s defense. If Thomas can consistently perform as the slot corner for Houston, the defense should be able to take another jump.

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WATCH: New Texans CB Fabian Moreau takes the practice field

New Houston Texans cornerback Fabian Moreau was on the practice field at organized team activities with his new squad.

Houston Texans cornerback Fabian Moreau didn’t take long to get to work with his new team — according to a video posted by the Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson on Twitter.

The former Washington 2017 third-round pick signed with the Texans on May 31. To make room for Moreau on the 90-man roster, the Texans waived former Missouri receiver Damon Hazelton.

Moreau, 28, spent last season with the Atlanta Falcons after playing his first four seasons in Washington. The former UCLA Bruin started 16 games for Atlanta, collecting 61 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

The 6-0, 204-pound defensive back’s best season arguably was in 2019 when he logged 44 combined tackles, three interceptions, and five pass breakups through 12 games, seven of which he started.

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Texans CB Tavierre Thomas seeks to punch out more footballs in 2022

Houston Texans cornerback Tavierre Thomas wants to be around the football more and create more opportunities for takeaways in 2022.

Tavierre Thomas had his best season to date with the Houston Texans.

The former 2018 undrafted cornerback from Ferris State, who spent the first three seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns, started in a career-high eight of 17 games in 2021. Thomas was productive as he collected 86 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

However, Thomas is not content to repeat those statistics in his second year with the Texans — he wants more.

“I have a lot of tackles and what not, but personally I just want to get the ball more,” Thomas said. “Start punching the ball out more. That’s going to be my focus, getting the ball.”

Part of Thomas’ motivation is to help the team play effective complementary football. The fifth-year veteran already believes in the concept of second-year quarterback Davis Mills leading the offense.

“If I get the ball and get the ball back to Davis, everyone knows what he is capable of,” said Thomas. “As long as we get him the ball, then we can score points.”

Secondary has been an area of need throughout the offseason for Houston, and the club is likely to add either a highly ranked cornerback or safety in the first three rounds.

Thomas is not anxious who the Texans draft as he expected to have competition for a starting job regardless of where the club allocated its resources.

Said Thomas: “I’ll go in thinking there is competition every day with all the guys. Whoever they bring in, like I said, I’m going to keep my head down, play how I play and listen to [coach] Lovie Smith. The sky is the limit.”

The Texans have been linked to Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner and LSU cornerback Derek Stingley.

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CB Desmond King believes Texans had a good team in 2021

Houston Texans cornerback Desmond King believes the club was good despite their 4-13 record in 2021.

The Houston Texans may have repeated as a four-win ball club in 2021, but cornerback Desmond King doesn’t believe the team was that horrendous.

The 27-year-old played in 16 games, starting in 12 of them, and provided the Texans with 93 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, three interceptions, six pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

King signed another short-term deal to return to the Texans. The former 2018 Pro Bowler won’t have to find another team as he did after the 2020 season when he played for both the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans before signing with Houston in the 2021 offseason.

The confidence that King has in the Texans under coach Lovie Smith is one of the reasons he chose to come back to Houston.

“Just having that confidence and that trust in the team, I believe that we definitely had a good team last year,” said King. “It didn’t show by the record, but me being on the field, I could feel that playing with those guys that they were willing to fight, willing to play hard, willing to go out there and win each and every week.”

The Texans did adhere to one of Smith’s commandments: generate takeaways. Houston procured 25 of them, tied for the 10th-most in the NFL. The Texans were the only team with a losing record to crack the top-10.

“Then seeing Coach Lovie become the head coach, it showed the bright spot of our team that he was our D-coordinator, knowing that he’s going to try and revamp this team and kind of lead it in the right way and take us somewhere we need to be,” King explained.

Staying in Houston also allowed King the chance to continue building upon what he had started in 2021, rather than having to lay a new foundation in another NFL city.

Said King: “It’s also a blessing to be back here with the team again, not having to go through that process again. I’m finally somewhere settled down, familiar with the organization, familiar with the playbook, familiar with the team, coaches and everybody in the building. All around it just felt great today being out there.”

King could find himself a new teammate in the secondary after the 2022 NFL draft, as the Texans seek to add talent in the defensive backfield.

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Texans CB Tavierre Thomas says Lovie Smith won’t play cornerbacks who aren’t physical

Houston Texans cornerback Tavierre Thomas has learned that if a defensive back isn’t physical, he will not see much playing time under Lovie Smith.

Tavierre Thomas played for a variety of defensive coordinators while with the Cleveland Browns from 2018-20, but it wasn’t until he came to the Houston Texans in 2021 that his career started to take off.

The former 2018 undrafted free agent from Ferris State started in eight of 17 games and collected 86 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble, and four pass breakups.

Thomas discovered the secret to getting more playing time under then-defensive coordinator Lovie Smith: be physical.

“We play a lot of cover two so if you’re not tough and don’t want to tackle, he isn’t going to want to play you anyways,” Thomas said. “You got to want to be out there and want to win.”

Smith was promoted to coach following the firing of David Culley and a month-long coaching search. The Tampa 2 is still in place, and Smith will take on an active role as the play-caller.

“If you are not a tough guy and not smart, that’s not in the winning recipe,” said Thomas. “If you just continue to do the things that he’s telling us because he’s been doing it for years and years, so that’s what I bought into. There’s nothing Lovie can tell me on the field or off the field that I’m not going to listen to.”

Although Thomas is a willing disciple of Smith’s, the club may still look to upgrade the cornerback situation with a top-100 pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Nevertheless, whoever the Texans take, the rookie better be willing to play physical.

Said Thomas: “I feel like if everyone bought into how Lovie wants us, then we are going to win a lot of football games because he showed it multiple years that’s what he does.”

Houston’s defense held opposing quarterbacks to a 94.1 passer rating, the 12th-highest in the NFL last year.

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Texans re-sign cornerback Desmond King

The Houston Texans have brought back cornerback Desmond King on a two-year deal.

The Houston Texans have brought back a proven veteran to their secondary.

According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, the Texans have re-signed cornerback Desmond king to a two-year contract worth $7 million with $3.5 million guaranteed.

King collected 93 combined tackles and three interceptions in 16 games last year, 13 of which he started.

Cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso was impressed with the way King, who predominantly played the slot corner in his career, played on the outside when the coaches asked in 2021.

“You’re talking about a guy who hasn’t played corner since college,” Vasso told reporters on Feb. 22. “He took the move pretty well. Obviously it’s not an easy transition, and I think if you polled everyone in this room and you asked what is Des’ optimal position, most would say nickel. But he was encouraged by that.

“He embraced it, and he did what was best for the team, and not necessarily what was best for Desmond King, and you win with football players like that.”

Texans to release CB Terrance Mitchell

The Houston Texans intend to release cornerback Terrance Mitchell.

The Houston Texans are moving on from cornerback Terrance Mitchell for a second time.

According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, the Texans have informed Mitchell that he will be released.

Mitchell played 14 games for Houston last season, starting in 13 of them. The 5-11, 191-pound defensive back produced 60 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception, 10 pass breakups, and three forced fumbles.

The former Dallas Cowboys 2014 seventh-round pick from Oregon was pleased with the chemistry that the Texans secondary had developed by the end of the year.

“Just as the year went on, we’ve built a nice bond,” Mitchell told reporters on Jan. 7, two days before the season finale against the Tennessee Titans. “Truthfully, we’ve seen that anybody we put in those positions, we all are capable of doing the job. We’re just a next-man-up mentality and we’re just all trying to get better and just (get) momentum going into next year.”

Mitchell’s first stint with the Texans was during the 2016 training camp when he was cut at the end of preseason.

Pro Football Focus says CB Tavierre Thomas was the Texans’ most improved player

The Houston Texans’ most improved player in 2021 was cornerback Tavierre Thomas according to an evaluation from Pro Football Focus.

The Houston Texans spent the 2021 season trying to get upfield to the 2022 offseason when general manager Nick Caserio could use the team’s assortment of premium draft picks and improved cap space to effectively complete a rebuild.

In the meantime, the Texans signed a bevy of veterans to short-term contracts, including cornerback Tavierre Thomas. The former 2018 undrafted free agent from Ferris State was predominantly a special teamer in his first three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Thomas tallied 892 special teams snaps compared to 223 defensive snaps over three years.

That all changed in 2021.

According to Anthony Treash from Pro Football Focus, Thomas, who played 17 games for Houston and started in a career-high eight of them, was the Texans’ most improved player in 2021.

PFF Grade change from 2020 to 2021: 50.2 → 77.6 (+27.4)

Thomas had one of the most underrated seasons in the league this year. Up until this last season, the 2018 undrafted free agent had played only 237 snaps in meaningful NFL games for the Browns. Last year, Thomas stepped up as the nickel for Houston, and he was one of the best at the position. Thomas posted one of the five highest slot coverage grades in the NFL and allowed the fewest yards per slot coverage snap (0.50).

Just as the prevailing theory is that rookies and young players get better with more reps, the same may be true for a veteran like Thomas, who saw very few opportunities in Cleveland. Houston was the first place where he was able to play more on defense as he took 638 defensive snaps compared to 301 on special teams. Thomas also delivered on those snaps with 86 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

The Texans are also getting good return on their two-year contract they gave Thomas, who was one of the underrated signings of the 2021 free agent period. With a reliable cornerback in the secondary still under contract, the Texans can still play the field as they seek to acquire the best talent in free agency and the draft.

Texans CB Tremon Smith named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Houston Texans CB Tremon Smith won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in large part for his kickoff TD return against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Houston Texans cornerback Tremon Smith was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his big performance to help beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-16 in Week 15 at TIAA Bank Field.

Smith had a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown that put Houston ahead 14-3 in the first quarter. On the game, Smith had 121 kickoff return yards, a touchdown, a special teams tackle, and even a tackle on defense.

The touchdown return was the first of Smith’s career and the first for a Texans player since Jacoby Jones on Oct. 4, 2009 against the Oakland Raiders.

Smith is the 16th Texans player to win AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, and it marks the 50th time a Texans player has been named player of the week.

The last player of the week was Deshaun Watson in Week 11 of 2020. The last special teams player of the week was Angelo Blackson in Week 15 of 2019.