ESPN Rates The Texans’ Offseason

The mother lord of sports, ESPN, recently rated each team’s offseason using a very scientific metric of “Elite,” “Above Average,” and “Too Soon To Tell.” Too soon to tell? Don’t you mean horrendously awful, a botched offseason that will hurt this team’s chances in 2019? That’s probably what they mean, but the Texans were lumped like canned crab meat in the “Too Soon To Tell” category, and this is what they had to say about the hometown team:

Offseason goals: Find a way to protect Deshaun Watson. Regardless of why Watson is getting hit -- whether it’s due to poor offensive line play or because his average time to throw last season ranked third among qualified quarterbacks -- the Texans need to figure out how to keep their franchise quarterback healthy. Houston hopes they’ve taken a step toward accomplishing that goal by drafting tackle Tytus Howard in the first round and tackle Max Scharping in the second and signing Matt Kalil in free agency.

Biggest question still to be answered: Who will play left tackle? This has been the question since the Texans traded Duane Brown to the Seahawks in 2017. Houston made some moves this offseason, but whether or not the offensive line has improved will depend on whether Howard can step in and play well in his rookie season. -- Sarah Barshop

Sure, the offensive line was important, and the Texans added additional competition to it, but they didn’t add any immediate impact starters to it. They have maybe one surefire starter on the entire offensive line in Zach Fulton; the rest will swish around like jello. Matt Kalil is 100% going to start at left tackle against the Saints. Who knows what the kids can do this season? Probably not much, but I’m trying to be optimistic.

This also doesn’t take into account the issues at cornerback, the lack of interior pass rush, and Jadeveon Clowney’s continued absence as the Texans try to stop an obscene schedule of passing offenses.

Oh, well. None of this matters until the season actually starts. Then we will know. I guess it is just too soon to tell after all.