Entering the 2022 offseason, the Houston Texans’ secondary was one of the weakest links on the team. Their boundary corner play had been well below average in 2021 and the two most talented defensive back on the team, Justin Reid and Desmond King, were all but guaranteed to leave in free agency.
Despite running a defense that is primarily driven by its defensive lineman and linebackers, the weakness of the secondary was a major concern. That was until Nick Caserio decided it wouldn’t be. Houston invested massively in their cornerback group over the next few months.
Derek Stingley was drafted third overall, with new head coach Lovie Smith preaching that Stingley had the talent to shadow team’s best receivers every game. King was resigned to a very team-friendly contract. Steven Nelson was signed away from the Philadelphia Eagles to start at the boundary corner opposite Stingley.
Many now project that the cornerback group could be the strength of the team. This looks to be a potential great boost if Smith is to succeed at coach compared to his previous tenure in Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, there is still a glaring problem in the secondary.
The safety group is only marginally improved.
Defensive back Jalen Pitre was drafted 37th overall fin Round 2 from Baylor with many analysts projecting him to play a safety role at the next level. However, Pitre played more of a STAR role as a Bear, a cross between nickel corner and weakside linebacker, and has never been tasked with high safety coverage responsibilities before.
M.J. Stewart is a 29-year-old safety that was signed from the Cleveland Browns but he also requires some major projection to take up a larger role in Smith’s defense. Otherwise the position group went untouched during the free agency period. Caserio did a fabulous job addressing needs all around the roster but this is one that was seemingly ignored.
Entering June of the off-season, the options to upgrade are pretty limited but there is one name in…
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