No. 3: Establishing a Shutdown Secondary
Barring health concerns, there’s little reason to be worried about the Texans front seven. Outside of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defenders at the first and second levels, Houston arguably boasts the best defensive line and linebacking pairing in the NFL entering 2018.
Where the Texans need some production, however, is out of the secondary.
Injuries up front put increased pressure on this unit last season. Remember, a defensive backfield is only as good as its pass rush. As a result, Houston allowed a whopping 7.1 yards per pass attempt in 2017 — third most in the NFL.
That figure should drop substantially this season, particularly after grabbing versatile defensive back and former All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu in free agency. Selecting former Stanford safety Justin Reid in Round 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft should help matters some too.
For now, this is what Houston’s nickel defense (perhaps the most common defensive alignment used in today’s pass-happy NFL) will look like this season, according to Pro Football Focus:
Mathieu is the epitome of today’s hybrid safety/linebacker, capable of dropping down into the box in sub packages. This would free up Reid to play at the third level, where he can put his exceptional pass-coverage skills to use.
Yet there’s a glaring weakness at the boundary corner spot, namely with former first-round draft pick Kevin Johnson, whom PFF ranked dead last among 120 qualifying cornerbacks in 2017. It might have been a down year for Johnson, sure, as PFF handed him an 81.2 overall grade the previous year.
Still, that calls for a much-needed bounce-back campaign for the high-profile defensive back. And hopefully he’s able to play in Week 1 after suffering a preseason concussion.
At any rate, Houston’s secondary is going to be tested this season, but there are enough signs to suggest this unit can cut down on some of the woeful numbers seen from a year ago.
Combined with the other two critical keys to success, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see the Texans in the AFC South discussion in the waning weeks of 2018.
