Going into the offseason, the Texans were faced with a difficult decision in re-signing pending free agent Dunta Robinson. After tagging the now disgruntled cornerback with the franchise tag, they can now turn their attention to other pressing matters like DeMeco Ryans' impending contract extension and addressing team needs. Because Rick Smith is a young GM, I'll try to help him out a bit.
Safety: A need that has never really been addressed in the franchise's history, unless you count Eric Brown's magical tenure. Eugene Wilson can be considered the best Free Safety in franchise history, but his tenure could be short lived as he is a free agent and may seek employment elsewhere. I predict he'll be back, but not without competition; I expect Dominique Barber to get more playing time as the season progresses and we'll see something much better than Brandon Harrison's less than impressive play this past season. In the draft, I expect the Texans to pick a safety in the second day.
Defensive Linemen: With the release of Anthony Weaver, the Texans have admitted their mistake and will search for a new defensive end to go along with, hopefully, a new starting defensive tackle. DelJuan Robinson and Tim Bulman are great guys, certainly the type of players you want in your rotation, but on the starting front, Amobi Okoye should partner up with a big DT who can plug a line, leaving him to rush the passer like he did the first few games of his career. I don't believe there is a veteran out there who can come in and make an impact for the Texans, so I expect them to look for a guy in the first day who can rush the passer and look for a more talented Frank Okam in the second day of the draft.
Linebacker: While Xavier Adibi and Zac Diles played better than anyone expected, and Kevin Bentley certainly didn't disappoint, Rick Smith told HoustonTexans.com's Brooke Bentley that he liked the talent at the top of the linebacker class in the upcoming draft, hinting that it's a position the Texans could look to improve. Clay Matthews is a guy I like for our team, the lesser known of the USC linebacking trio that could all go in the first round. If the name sounds familiar, he's actually Clay Mathews III, son of Clay Matthews Jr., linebacker for the Falcons and brother of Houston Oiler Bruce Matthews. Rey Maualuga, while not the son of Mike Renfro, is predicted to be the top drafted USC linebacker and someone who could team up with DeMeco to make the NFL's best young linebacking corps, with Adibi, Diles giving offensive tackles headaches off the bench.
