Name a potential starting cornerback for the Houston Texans in 2020. Easy: Bradley Roby.
Name the cornerback that starts on the other side of Roby. That may be a little trickier to figure out, and the Texans coaches will have to figure that problem out if and when they get to training camp.
According to Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus, the battle between Gareon Conley and Lonnie Johnson is the matchup to watch. Interestingly, Linsey believes that Texans fourth-round rookie John Reid will be well adjusted enough to take the starting slot cornerback position.
That leaves opposite of Roby up for grabs.
Johnson had a disastrous rookie season after his second-round selection by the Texans out of Kentucky, earning a coverage grade of 29.0 and allowing a passer rating of 133.5 into his coverage. Conley has disappointed in the context of his first-round draft status, but he has graded at 64.0 and 64.5 the last two seasons in a prominent role — solid play for a starting cornerback. Those numbers get even better press coverage, where he has graded out as one of the best players at the position across the entire NFL.
The Texans will have a deep cornerback group to work with when they get to training camp. In addition to Johnson and Conley, the Texans also have Cornell Armstrong, Keion Crossen, Phillip Gaines, and Vernon Hargreaves.
As is always the case with training camp, one of the deciding factors for the starting job will be how healthy and available Conley and Johnson are. If either one of them has to miss time with an injury, it could open up the job for the other competitor. Conley would have more to lose in that scenario since he is in the last year of his contract with the Texans, and limited reps on an expiring deal would not be an ideal way to play for a second contract.
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