We are nearly 75 percent of the way through training camp, in terms of number of practices, and still have two preseason games left, and yet, the Houston Texans have a handful of position battles that still haven’t come fully into focus yet.
This is the deepest roster that Nick Caserio has constructed, and as such, there will be players let go on final cuts, in the last week of August, that land on other NFL rosters after being discarded by the Texans. Here are four position groups where there are too many capable players for the Texans to hang onto all of them:
WIDE RECEIVER
LIKELY NUMBER on 53 man roster: 6
LOCKS: Nico Collins, Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel
TOP AUDITION CANDIDATES: John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson, Braxton Berrios, Justin Watson
The four locks make up a nice quartet for C.J. Stroud to target. After that, I can tell you that the other four players on the audition list have all had some big moments in camp. Berrios seems to have separated himself a bit, with some excellent days stacked up and his ability in the return game. The most interesting one is Metchie, who came into camp, in my eyes, as an odd man out, but he’s had his best camp as a pro, by far. Ultimately, I could see the Texans trading him for a Day 3 draft pick.
RUNNING BACK
LIKELY NUMBER on 53 man roster: 4
LOCKS: Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Woody Marks
TOP AUDITION CANDIDATES: Dare Ogunbowale, Dameon Pierce, Jawhar Jordan, JJ Taylor, British Brooks
This room is a complete mess, due to injuries. Mixon is likely to miss all of camp with some sort of leg injury, and Chubb has missed the last week with a concussion. Meanwhile, Dameon Pierce just returned from the PUP list, but is limited in practice. These are your top three backs, according to the depth chart! We know Marks is making the team, as a fourth round rookie pick. The team loves Ogunbowale’s contributions on special teams. Like Metchie, I could see Pierce getting traded in his contract year for a low level draft pick. I’m hoping Jordan and Brooks, in particular, are brought back on the practice squad.
LINEBACKER
LIKELY NUMBER on 53 man roster: 5 (maybe 6)
LOCKS: Azeez Al-Shaair, Henry To’o To’o, Christian Harris
TOP AUDITION CANDIDATES: E.J. Speed, Jake Hansen, Nick Niemann, Jamal Hill
One thing I feel fairly certain about — if you’re a linebacker on the Houston Texans, DeMeco Ryans, himself a former Pro Bowl linebacker, is going to extract the best version of yourself. That’s manifesting itself with the number of linebackers flashing in camp. The health of Harris is still somewhat of a mystery,, as he’s been very limited in camp, but he is making the team. Speed seems to have an inside track, based on his experience and playmaking in the preseason. After that, it might boil down to special teams, where Niemann excels and where Hansen has found a way to contribute for three seasons now. Hill, last year’s sixth round pick, flashed big in the game against the Vikings on Saturday.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LIKELY NUMBER on 52 man roster: 9
LOCKS: Aireontae Ersery, Tytus Howard, Jake Andrews, Laken Tomlinson, Cam Robinson
TOP AUDITION CANDIDATES: Jarrett Patterson, Ed Ingram, Juice Scruggs, Blake Fisher, Zach Thomas, Jaylon Thomas, LaDarius HendersonIf Cam Robinson is healthy, then the five locks to make the roster are the five guys on the first string, with Jake Andrew’s edging out Jarrett Patterson. Patterson also has a strong likelihood of making the team. The biggest question mark is whether Blake Fisher’s horrific training camp, thus far, will cost him his job with the Texans. Fisher, a second round pick in 2024, has played very few snaps with the first team during camp, and in Saturday’s game in Minnesota, he was still playing late in the third quarter. These are bad signs. That said, he’s only one season into his career, and there’s a chance the light goes on, or there’s a chance that Nick Caserio could trade Fisher to a team that thinks they can unveil a good version of him. Either way, the clock is ticking on Fisher.
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