Cornerback is a position that has to be dealt with by the Houston Texans in the 2020 offseason. With starters Johnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby set to be free agents on March 18 when the new league year commences, the Texans will have to determine how they will address cornerback.
If Houston chooses to use the NFL draft to add personnel to cornerback, then a target to consider is former Auburn Tiger Noah Igbinoghene, who is projected to go in the second round, according to the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.
“He’s one that’s really explosive,” Jeremiah said on a conference call Friday. “A former wide receiver, he was a track guy. They moved him to corner. Really, really ultra twitched up.”
However, if the Texans choose to take Igbinoghene at No. 57 overall in the second round, they might be getting a developmental player and not exactly a rookie who can contribute immediately.
“He struggles to play the football, and that to me is my concern,” Jeremiah explained. “He doesn’t have any interceptions. He’s always in phase, in the right position. And especially in the LSU and Alabama games, he just struggled to find and play the ball.”
In his junior season with Auburn, Igbinoghene produced just seven pass breakups along with his 42 tackles and one tackle for loss. In his 39 games with Auburn over the past three season, Igbinoghene collected 92 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 18 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and one interception.
“I think he’ll get drafted in the second round based off traits, but there’s still some development to take place there,” Jeremiah said.
Given coach Bill O’Brien’s penchant to go with veteran talent over rookie and second-year players, it is unlikely the club would use their first selection of the draft to take the 5-11, 200-pound cornerback. However, if Igbinoghene is available in later rounds, the Texans should consider him.