CJ Stroud and his Houston Texans had one of the best seasons a rookie quarterback as well as his rookie head coach could ever dream of. Making the playoffs on the back of smart and solid play, they exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Heading into the upcoming season, especially after their additions in the offseason and the draft, they are expected to only be better. However, analyst Mina Kimes has a concern. While speaking on ESPN’s NFL Live, she revealed that concern.
I’ll start by saying that the defensive line was excellent last year. I think that should be sustainable given some of the additions despite the departures. The reason why this wasn’t one of the best defenses in the NFL despite that, were issues in coverage. This is the biggest challenge for DeMeco Ryans, who of course is brilliant defensive coach. Can you get this defense to play better on the back end. Because on the front end, they should be one of the best groups in the NFL. Mina Kimes said
Mina Kimes did add that the additions to the cornerback room have to step up immediately. Else other teams will torch them even though their front seven can win the battle.
The Houston Texans signed free agent cornerback Jeff Okudah in the early days of the off-season. Then they drafted Georgia Bulldogs corner Kamari Lassiter. Kimes believes that head coach DeMeco Ryans will have to coach the two and get them up to speed.
She believes if the two do not play well, they could end up being the reason the Texans do not get to try for a Super Bowl. That is considering the team has improved pretty much in every other department with marquee signings and trades.
CJ Stroud and Houston Texans expected to go deeper in the playoffs
After their fairytale ending, the expectations were that the Texans would only go further in this season. To take advantage of CJ Stroud‘s rookie contract, the team went on a blitz this off-season. They picked up stars on defense such as Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair and Denico Autry.
But the real blockbuster deals were on the offensive side when they traded for running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Add to this they resigned a few key players from last season. Essentially, the team has no excuses and are expected to contend for a Super Bowl.
Only if DeMeco Ryans can coach the defensive backs enough, the Texans should not have any problems dealing with any teams. As Mina Kimes suggested, that is the only question mark they need to solve.
