Jonathan Owens: Potential Breakout Year For Texans?

Jonathan Owens has the opportunity to potentially become a starter for the Houston Texans in 2022.

Owens earned the chance to start two games towards the end of the 2021 season and it is safe to say that he made the most out of his opportunity.

Owens first start of the 2021 season came against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week fifteen. Owens was flying all over the field and finished the game allowing only one reception for eleven yards. His next start the following week against the Los Angeles Chargers was his true breakout game. Once again, he was flying all over the field and not only had a clutch interception against one of the best quarterbacks in football in Justin Herbert but also had a fumble recovery. He did not allow a single reception that game and finished with a 90 overall coverage grade, 81 overall tackle grade and a 91.4 overall defensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

Unfortunately, Owens suffered a wrist injury during the 49ers game the following week and would be done for the rest of the season. Although his season ended earlier than he would’ve hoped, Owens still made a strong impression to the Texans staff and that will not go unnoticed moving forward.

The Texans safety position is up in the air and the starting spots will be up for grabs throughout training camp, which will start in about six weeks. The safeties on the roster include Jonathan Owens, Jalen Pitre, Eric Murray, MJ Stewart and Terrence Brooks.

Owens said recently during an interview at Texans OTA’s with team reporter Deepi Sidhu that he has worked tirelessly this offseason to get bigger, stronger and quicker with his pre-snap recognition.

If Owens can build upon his success in 2021 and continue to impress this offseason leading into training camp, he could wind up becoming a week one starter for the Texans in 2022.