His greatest in-game ability is to make plays with the chaos around him but that is hard to see in a controlled camp setting. His touch on the ball isn’t.
I’ve mentioned this before but I will be very plain and say this again. There have been times in Bill O’Brien’s Texans offseason camps where watching the offense made me actually nauseated. If you are throwing against no defenders, there shouldn’t be many drops. And obviously, if there is, then it isn’t likely going to be improved when the offense is facing practice defense or an actual defense.
Even with better-looking quarterback play, what are the limits of Watussin? I’ve asked this question before and I think it is more a concern now: "Who on the Texans offense do you identify as being better than league average?"
For the offensive line, I do not think you can identify anyone.
With no top draft picks, a thin draft, and limited free agents, improving the offensive line is hard. Good offensive lines tend to have the following characteristics:
Base athleticism and size.
Offensive line skill sets and experience.
Offensive line coaching with a history of developing NFL linemen.
Chemistry between the members.
Ability to stay healthy enough to play at a high level.
Competent quarterback and running back/tight end play.
I think on most of these factors, the Texans are below league average. In addition, if a line seems as thin and unproven in July, it is hard to think that this situation gets significantly better by the end of the season.
This coaching staff hasn’t had a track record of significantly improving O-line players but that may be a bit of chicken and egg, because they’ve had limited time working with competent quarterback play. (For a brutal local example, sacks went down by about half after David Carr left, with basically the same coaching staff and offensive line remaining).
When I asked O’Brien this offseason about the new offensive line members and building continuity, he explained where he saw them now:
"I think that has looked, relative to having no pads on, I think the continuity up front has looked good, though. With basically three new guys there with Seantrel (Henderson), Senio (Kelemete) and Zach (Fulton), all three of those guys have played a lot of football in this league. They’re pros. They understand how important communication is. There’s been a lot of meeting time. Now, really the continuity has to come together when we put pads on and we really start to play real football, but I like the foundation that we’ve laid moving forward here."
The limitations at offensive line means that the coaching staff has to figure out a way of protecting the subpar line from being exposed and killing their quarterback, using both play calling and formation. Some of that has been ugly.
As for the running back position, I thought the Texans would have done more in the offseason.
The 2018 running back class was supposed to have good depth, and running back is a position where a player can contribute quickly.
Last year’s running game was not efficient, even when Watson was playing.
Though D’Onta Foreman showed good promise last year before his Achilles injury. Because of the nature of that injury, I’m not sure you can reasonably rely on him coming back fully this season or at all. Reports of his progress have been positive but that is a serious injury for a running back.
Lamar Miller has had moments but he isn’t the back you want to rely on when you absolutely need a short yardage run. This was why Foreman was drafted.
From early preseason practices, you can’t really tell much about the running game because the focus is mostly passing and teaching.
If I had to guess right now, next year will continue to be the tandem of Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue with somebody else pitching in if either one of them gets injured. I anticipate lots of yards, not very efficient ones.
On the tight end position
The summed-up evolution of the tight end position for the Texans in their history is as follows:
Dom Capers: Skinny offensive linemen who had a few moments in the early years.
Gary Kubiak: Prolific pass catchers, sometimes substituting for having a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver.
Bill O’Brien: An often-underperforming unit, plagued with injuries and drops.
Out of the remaining WR candidates to keep offenses honest, the players that flashed in the early preseason practice sessions were Keke Coutee and Sammie Coates.
You could immediately see why the Texans drafted Coutee.
I got the same sensation I got watching Hopkins’ rookie year early practices though they have very different physical traits and styles: Coutee plays like he was meant to be wide receiver, not an athlete that they need to try to "improve his hands" into an NFL wide receiver or a pass catcher with physical skills that don’t project well for the NFL.
Looks effortless when he catches the ball and his quickness is easily apparent. Like Hopkins, he didn’t look like the rookie wide receiver or just blend in with the rest of the new wide receivers.
It can be slower for rookie wide receivers to develop versus running backs given scheme, route and contact differences from college but I think the early hype on Coutee is deserved. (Note: I’m someone who traditionally is pretty skeptical about hype on lower round draft pick WR rookies and have not liked some of the choices that the Texans have tried to develop traditionally).
As for Sammie Coates, the Texans have very limited veteran talent at the WR generally, and particularly wide receivers of size. His availability to the Texans was partially due to his untimely injury history, questions about ball tracking, and bad roster fits. He’s had moments in his short career where you could see his potential upside.
At the end of May, I asked DeAndre Hopkins about what Coates brought to the team. I did it that day because Hopkins was available to speak to the media and Coates had a number of good catches during an indoor practice, including one that looked too easy in the corner of the end zone.
