Kareem Jackson Getting Snaps At Safety

The Houston Texans have a stellar defense, with potentially the best front seven in all of professional football. But after an offseason that saw the departure of several starting members of the secondary, including safety Quintin Demps and corner A.J. Bouye, the Texans have some positional issues to address with their defensive back group.

Even after the loss of Bouye, Houston has a solid crop of cornerbacks. Kareem Jackson, Johnathan Joseph and Kevin Johnson are all former first-round selections, with Robert Nelson, Treston Decoud and others providing depth and young talent. Johnson is set to return this year after missing most of his sophomore season with a foot injury, hopefully filling the void left by Bouye.

But safety is another story. Despite a 2017 NFL Draft class overflowing with defensive back talent, Houston failed to grab a safety in April. The current depth chart has Andre Hal, K.J. Dillon, Corey Moore and Eddie Pleasant sitting atop the group, with Dillon still rehabbing a torn ACL that cost him his rookie season in 2016.

Houston seemingly turned to free agency for help, bringing safeties Aaron Williams and Jaiquawn Jarrett in for workouts this week, but declined to sign either for the time being. Instead, they are looking for creative solutions to their safety scheme within their current roster, and part of that solution could be Kareem Jackson. (Back in February, most of the BRBers hoped for a safety in the Draft, and a few even mentioned moving Jackson to safety).

Jackson has shown incredible dimension as a defensive weapon over his career, lining up outside and in the slot; he could add safety to his list of potential positions this fall. The Texans’ newly promoted defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, seems to be exploring Jackson’s versatility, presumably attempting to spread Houston’s cornerback talent around the secondary. Jackson taking snaps at safety could address some of the struggles at that position, leaving Joseph and Johnson as the starting corners in those situations. Jackson told NFL.com that lining up at safety this season is “always in the deck."

What do you think, Texans fans? Would you like to see Jackson taking snaps at safety this season? Is there a free agent safety you’d like to see the Texans to pursue? You can discuss all of our options in the comments section below.