The Houston Texans have open competition across the offensive line with virtually all positions up for grabs.
Left tackle should be safe with two-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil manning the blindside protector job. However, the other four spots are subject to open competition, according to coach David Culley.
The first-year Texans coach spent time with reporters on a Zoom call on May 27 to explain the competition process ongoing with the offensive line.
“Basically, talking about competition, that whole offensive line group, there’s competition all across there,” said Culley. “Again, those guys are multi-faceted from the standpoint of it’s not just being a right tackle or a left tackle or a left guard or a right guard. A center’s playing guard, guard’s playing center. That’s the beauty of having competition and that’s the beauty of the versatility of this offensive line here right now.”
One of the reasons the Texans are exploring the concept or versatility, even after the days of coach Bill O’Brien and offensive line coach Mike Devlin, who preached such versatility, is the acquisition of tackle Marcus Cannon from the New England Patriots. The former Patriots 2011 fifth-round pick played 115 games for New England, starting 69 games with most of them at right tackle. However, the Texans seemingly have a right tackle in former 2019 first-round pick Tytus Howard, who started 14 games in 2020 at the position.
“Basically, the competition is all across the board and we’re allowing those guys to just move around and to play to see where they best fit,” Culley said. “In order to do that, you’ve got to move them around and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re happy with what’s happening with that at this point.”
If Cannon does take right tackle, the Texans could kick Howard inside at guard, which is where he played in the preseason of his rookie season and also one game into his rookie year.