BRB GroupThink: Where Do The Texans Go From Here?

So far the Texans have had a disastrous offseason. Their offense will be significantly worse with DeAndre Hopkins gone and David Johnson here. Randall Cobb is a desperation addition and isn’t a viable Hopkins replacement...well, no one is. The only free agent they’ve added is Eric Murray. They’ve retained their own guys: Dylan Cole, Darren Fells, Bradley Roby, Vernon Hargreaves III, AJ McCarron, DeAndre Carter, Ka’imi Fairbairn, and Phillip Gaines. What’s the best move the Texans can make in an attempt to improve the team now since everything else they’ve done has failed dramatically?

This is the question I asked the masthead. These are their answers:

MIKE BULLOCK:

Fire O’Brien.

CAPT. RON:

Throw O’Brien into the Ship Channel.

Then sell the damn team to an owner who cares.

BIGFATDRUNK:

Just kinda going systematically:

QB: Jameis Winston to back up Deshaun Watson. AJ McCarron is a waste of a roster spot.

WR: Robby Anderson and Breshad Perriman. We can’t at all count on Will Fuller to be healthy, so we need somebody with a similar skill set to work with DeAndre Hopkins.

Wait. What happened?

OT: Cameron Fleming as a swing tackle to replace Chris Clark NOW NOW NOW.

EDGE: JADEVEON CLOWNEY.

DL: Timmy Jernigan and Marcell Dareus.

It’s just too bad that the man in charge of free agency has been completely absent. We’ve missed so many opportunities to improve the team so he could trade the best player on the roster for a half-eaten, stale candy bar.

CARLOS FLORES:

Alrighty, let’s do this.

Jadeveon Clowney is still available. Atone for at least one sin, BOB. The market is saying no no no, but our defensive line is screaming yes yes yes. However, it’s very plausible that former players might not want to come back to good ol’ Billy OB. Everson Griffen is another option. Coming into his 11th year in the league, he’s no spring chicken. Also, don’t count out BOB bringing back Christian Covington. Doesn’t make sense, but nothing he’s done recently has.

For the love of Durga, no more running backs.

The secondary could certainly use some more help. Many of the top targets have already signed, but Logan Ryan is still somehow available. The Texans sat on their hands and threw an absolute meatball of a contract to Eric Murray. Now, they will have to look to the NFL Draft to find some sort of solution.

Wide receiver has suddenly become a dire position of need. With Hopkins gone, there is a clear hole at WR1, and Randall Cobb isn’t the guy to fill it. Most of the remaining free agents aren’t going to do that either. Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon aren’t “high character” guys BOB would want to hang out with on a Sunday afternoon. If someone had to be chosen, I’d prefer it to be Robby Anderson. Luckily, there is a exceptionally deep draft class for WRs this year.

The Texans spun their wheels this offseason. It seemed there was no desire to improve, only to sustain. That’s exactly what they did. Minus trading away one of our top two best offensive players for a broken running back and a box of sea monkeys.

MATT WESTON:

The offense has been set. I wouldn’t drop anymore money into it, other than at swing tackle. They should have tendered Roderick Johnson and spent the summer teaching him out to pass set better. They didn’t do that. I’d love Cameron Fleming to fulfill my unfulfilled desires from 2017 even if he wasn’t as good in Dallas as he was in New England. Send me an email. You all owe me an apology for Seantrel Henderson.

It’s all about the pass defense. It should have been from the get go, but it hasn’t been, because free agents are bad because big, sad Bill O’Brien had his feelings hurt by [NAME REDACTED] and Jeff Allen. The Texans have to improve the pass rush. They have to add an additional corner. The pass defense was bad because of a lack of talent in 2019, not because of misfortune.

I’d still like to see them release Angelo Blackson and Senio Kelemete to create additional space. Then sign Jabaal Sheard, Markus Golden, and see if Logan Ryan would come here on a one-year contract. Lonnie Johnson Jr., Vernon Hargreaves III, Bradley Roby, and Gareon Conley isn’t going to be enough.

What about you? What do you think Houston can do to pivot from here to cobble something together to improve the team for 2020?