The Houston Texans secondary was hit or miss in 2021.
Opposing quarterbacks compiled a 94.1 passer rating against the Texans’ defense, the 12th-highest in the NFL. The Texans defense’s 8.0 yards per pass attempt was tied with the Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Jets for the highest allowed in the NFL.
Even though the Texans had bad stats in those areas, they did finish tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the eighth-most interceptions in the league with 17. The defense overall finished with 25 takeaways, tied with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams for the 10th-most in the NFL.
However, the secondary was one of the worst units for Houston.
According to Anthony Treash from Pro Football Focus, the Texans’ secondary was ranked as the worst in the league.
Houston’s fielded the lowest-graded secondary in the NFL by a whopping eight grading points. Only one defensive back — nickel cornerback Tavierre Thomas — didn’t produce a sub-60.0 coverage grade. While the group combined for the sixth-most interceptions (14) among the 32 secondaries, it also allowed a successful play at a bottom-five rate. Houston might want to think about using its No. 3 overall pick on a defensive back like Derek Stingley Jr. (PFF’s No. 4-overall prospect).
Mock drafts have the Texans taking Stingley and also Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Either pick would help bolster Houston’s backend. What general manager Nick Caserio and assistant directors of player personnel Matt Bazirgan and James Liipfert will have to suss out is which player would be worth taking at No. 3 overall. When picking in the top-5, the player better be one that a team can build around.
Although the Texans finished in the top-10 in takeaways in 2021, what was apparent on defense is they lacked a playmaker. Having a dynamic defensive back would help their rankings, not only with PFF, but also in the standings.