It is clear to anyone that watches football that the Houston Texans had a bad offensive line in 2024. Of course, the team could have gone anywhere with that information. They traded out offensive coordinators, so they could have simply blamed it on the offensive scheme. They also let the leading offensive line coach go. So, they could have easily blamed it on bad coaching.
Obviously, Nick Caserio and company didn’t just stop there. They also took three of the players that were starters on day one of the 2024 season and have replaced. PFF is not the end all be all of human existence, but it is one rating system. They ranked the Texans as the 22nd best offensive line in the NFL last season. Some rating systems had them higher, but most had them lower. Another group called Sharp rated them as 27th when looking at pressure rates and win rates.
However, they did break down some stats individually. They were 27th in pass blocking win rate, 6th in pressure percentage rate, 23rd in sack pressure percentage, 23rd in blitz percentage, and 20th in time to sack. So, based on most of the numbers, the Texans were in the bottom 25 percent of the league. So, for those shedding tears over the loss of the three guys we are ridding ourselves of, how good were they exactly? Well, let’s look at PFF grades for pass protection, run blocking, and overall production for the three guys leaving and four guys coming in.
Laremy Tunsil: 78.1 Overall, 89.1 Pass, 74.0 Run
Shaq Mason: 60.5 Overall, 63.6 Pass, 56.9 Run
Kenyon Green: 38.6 Overall, 39.7 Pass, 44.6 Run
Cam Robinson: 63.2 Overall, 67.2 Pass, 60.0 Run
Trent Brown: 65.2 Overall, 64.2 Pass, 68.4 Run
Laikan Tomlinson: 62.1 Overall, 65.1 Pass, 59.7 Run
Ed Pearson: 54.0 Overall, 49.1 Pass, 58.1 Run
Notice that all three of the linemen leaving had worse run grades than pass blocking grades. So, even when we leave aside locker room concerns I’ve mentioned before, we can see the direction they are moving. A 60 grade is essentially the water level for average. So, we replaced one good lineman, one average lineman, and one terrible lineman with three average lineman and one below average lineman.
The blueprint appears pretty clear. When you put them up against the linemen that are coming back it makes perfect sense, The Texans had by every definition a below average offensive line in 2024. it is probably way too optimistic for them to become a good offensive line overnight. However, let’s take a look at the returning linemen.
Tytus Howard: 70.2 Overall, 74.9 Pass, 61.3 Run
Jarrett Patterson: 64.1 Overall, 69.9 Pass, 58.8 Run
Juice Scruggs: 63.0 Overall, 62.1 Pass, 63.7 Run
Blake Fisher: 44.7 Overall, 46.7 Pass, 43.8 Run
So, regardless of position, the Texans have one above average lineman and five average linemen already under contract. Fisher was decidedly well below average, but he was also a rookie. It would be unrealistic to suggest that he would suddenly become good, but maybe he elevates his game to the level of average. Ed Pearson was below average, but maybe he elevates himself to average as well.
If we look at the 2024 cap hit for the top eight offensive linemen and compare that the 2025 version then it starts to come into a lot more focus. We also have not added any draft picks yet. Let’s look at the difference.
Laremy Tunsil: 25.85 million
Tytus Howard: 8.40 million
Shaq Mason: 5.87 million
Kenyon Green: 4.35 million
Juice Scruggs: 1.39 million
Kendrick Green: 1.32 million
Blake Fisher: 1.20 million
Jarrett Patterson: 0.97 million
Total Expenditure: 49.35 million
Cam Robinson: 12.00 million
Tytus Howard: 11.58 million
Laiken Tomlinson: 4.25 million
Ed Engram: 3.41 million
Trent Brown: 3.00 million
Juice Scruggs: 1.66 million
Blake Fisher: 1.50 million
Zachary Thomas: 1.38 million
Total Expenditure: 38.78 million
Obviously, there is some dead money tacked onto that, but teams have ways of getting around that. The whole idea is to piece together an average offensive line for less money than they paid the below average offensive line last year. That means they can afford maybe one other significant player at another position.
We also have the draft coming up where it might be possible to draft an average or above average lineman or two to add to the group. So, not only do you get an average line overall, but you also improve your depth. Of course, that is only the plan. Goodness knows whether it will work out or not.