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Time for a poll - where to now?

What position helps the team most?

  • Total voters
    52
  • Poll closed .
Texansphan

Texansphan

Football connoisseur
After a dismally disappointing showing against the Ravens, we can glean some very relevant information.
We were good enough to get into the Divisional round, but the Ravens showed us we are still a ways off being bona fide contenders.
So now the Texans must keep on rebuilding.
This poll is aimed at finding what the HTMB members perceive as the best way to improve this team from a positional perspective. Select the one position you think Texans should prioritize to improve the team the most.
Obviously, you cannot fill all the needs from either the draft or Free agency alone, so this poll is predicated on the bigger picture of just needs.
So, you get one shot at what you think is the biggest single need to help this team's advancement - you cannot change your vote and it can be viewed publicly.
Take your time.
 
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I went DL but I could have just as easily have went OL. What happened in the 2nd half in Baltimore can't happen in the future. Being dominated at the line of scrimmage. Stroud had 13 pass attempts in the 2nd half as the Ravens had the ball 21 minutes. Another 5 WRs won't matter if the Texans don't have the ball. The Texans have to become the bully.
 
Keeping people healthy would be a big help but I don’t think there’s a single position on the field (other than QB) where they shouldn’t try to improve at.

LB and safety seem to be glaring holes at the moment. Losing hope with Pitre, and Ward doesn’t play. DL could be a hole too depending on free agency, signing their own or others. Breakout year for Greenard and those 12.5 sacks have to be replaced. LBs with some coverage skills and staying in their run fits would be nice. I like Cashman, and Harris seemed to be coming along so maybe it isn’t as bad there.

RB doesn’t really matter much if the OL can’t give him some breathing room. Does getting healthy there help or do we need to spend even more resources there? And yes, they do need a RB or 2 that fits the scheme. TE could be an issue if they don’t re-sign Schultz. And WR depth needs to get better.

And getting Fairbairn re-signed should be a top priority as well. Yeah he missed a FG Saturday and a PAT the game before, but he’s been extremely solid, particularly from 50+. Hard to find kickers you can count on like we have with Ka’imi. And those kicks can be difference makers.
 
Speedy said:
Keeping people healthy would be a big help but I don’t think there’s a single position on the field (other than QB) where they shouldn’t try to improve at.

LB and safety seem to be glaring holes at the moment. Losing hope with Pitre, and Ward doesn’t play. DL could be a hole too depending on free agency, signing their own or others. Breakout year for Greenard and those 12.5 sacks have to be replaced. LBs with some coverage skills and staying in their run fits would be nice. I like Cashman, and Harris seemed to be coming along so maybe it isn’t as bad there.

RB doesn’t really matter much if the OL can’t give him some breathing room. Does getting healthy there help or do we need to spend even more resources there? And yes, they do need a RB or 2 that fits the scheme. TE could be an issue if they don’t re-sign Schultz. And WR depth needs to get better.

And getting Fairbairn re-signed should be a top priority as well. Yeah he missed a FG Saturday and a PAT the game before, but he’s been extremely solid, particularly from 50+. Hard to find kickers you can count on like we have with Ka’imi. And those kicks can be difference makers.
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Yeah having to narrow it down to just one is difficult. There are four I would definitely like to upgrade - WR, RB, RT and DT.
There's still plenty of time until the draft so I'm reserving my vote for a minute yet.
I definitely want to see what they do in FA as well.
I have mentioned elsewhere that adding two nice pieces to both sides of the ball will be an upgrade to this team and is very doable. Cheaper options at other positions can still be done also so I am looking forward to seeing what Nick does.
 
Fortunately for us this isn't something that's limited to one move per year and we can improve on a lot of them fairly quickly. I think we should be trying to add depth on the OL and looking for a difference maker at RB. Lack of a running game gets ugly fast against the better teams. Texansphan has it right I think. Just keep drafting well and fill the holes when you miss with sensible free agents and it will come together.

The quick turnaround from 3 wins to 10 was a blast. It makes me think of how we used to always see the Texans start a rebuild and then start talking about how it's going to take years for it to come together while at the same time there was always some other team that seemed to change coaches, draft a guy, and just like that they're a powerhouse and their rebuild is done. Now it's finally our turn to experience some of that and it's awesome.
 
Hervoyel said:
Fortunately for us this isn't something that's limited to one move per year and we can improve on a lot of them fairly quickly. I think we should be trying to add depth on the OL and looking for a difference maker at RB. Lack of a running game gets ugly fast against the better teams. Texansphan has it right I think. Just keep drafting well and fill the holes when you miss with sensible free agents and it will come together.

The quick turnaround from 3 wins to 10 was a blast. It makes me think of how we used to always see the Texans start a rebuild and then start talking about how it's going to take years for it to come together while at the same time there was always some other team that seemed to change coaches, draft a guy, and just like that they're a powerhouse and their rebuild is done. Now it's finally our turn to experience some of that and it's awesome.
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Fix the running game and you get to play in February. It’s that simple.
 
maverick512000 said:
Honestly it will depend what positions and who they sign in FA. If they, for example, can sign Burns or Allen then no reason to draft an edge.
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Wilson said bringing back Greenard was a priority and I also think bringing back Barnett should be a priority. Hopefully Horton makes it back and they retain Sanders. But if a guy like Latu- or Turner falls you've gotta pick them. Impact edge guys are always a priority.
 
Lucky said:
Turner will not drop to 1.23. If Latu does, it's because of medicals. I don't want to use a 1st on a guy with bad medicals. Haven't we seen enough of that?
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His medicala should be the same as they were this last season. Dude has the speed and the wiggles. Reminds me of TJ Watt

Go big or go home.

No way to know this but if Larry was to fall to 1-13 the. You could let JG walk and spend that money on bringing Winfield home a long with bringing in a guy like Wilkins and you would have a dominant defense . Spend the rest of your draft capital on getting weapons for Stroud.
 
JB said:
Because of health?
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Laiatu Latu was a Washington Huskie from 2019-2021. He injured his neck during a practice and the injury was determined to be career ending by the Washington medical staff. At that point, Latu retired from football.

The following year, Latu transferred to UCLA, whose doctors passed Latu's physical. Latu went on to have 2 excellent seasons with the Bruins.

So, one school did not allow Latu to continue to play. One school did. When Latu is checked out at the combine, I would guess that medical opinions would also be split. The higher the pick, the more risk adverse teams usually are. Some team will likely draft Latu. In the 1st round? The 2nd round? TBD.

But based off play, Latu is a 1st round pick. There are some questions as to whether Latu will put up good combine numbers. And at 23, he's a bit older than other top prospects. So, a lot of questions on Latu heading into the draft process.
 
Dline was my vote.
Need some big, nasty space eaters that also rush the passers.

Need to get pressure on the QB with 4 instead of having to go jailbreak every down like they did against Lamar in the 1st half.

If I had 2 votes the 2nd would be Oline.
 
Lucky said:
Laiatu Latu was a Washington Huskie from 2019-2021. He injured his neck during a practice and the injury was determined to be career ending by the Washington medical staff. At that point, Latu retired from football.

The following year, Latu transferred to UCLA, whose doctors passed Latu's physical. Latu went on to have 2 excellent seasons with the Bruins.

So, one school did not allow Latu to continue to play. One school did. When Latu is checked out at the combine, I would guess that medical opinions would also be split. The higher the pick, the more risk adverse teams usually are. Some team will likely draft Latu. In the 1st round? The 2nd round? TBD.

But based off play, Latu is a 1st round pick. There are some questions as to whether Latu will put up good combine numbers. And at 23, he's a bit older than other top prospects. So, a lot of questions on Latu heading into the draft process.
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Unfortunately, that is a red flag.
Any team drafting him must be confident that his injury is not potentially serious considering the physicality of this game.
 
Hardcore Texan said:
I vote the same as I have for about 20 years now, answer is always the same. Fix the freakin' OLine!! We have to have a run game, and decent pass protection. Everything else is secondary.
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They got 4 1st round picks (2 for Tunsil plus he's the highest paid LT) and a 2nd rounder invested into this OL. It's not like they haven't been trying to address it. The problem is 2 of the 1st rounders played 7 games combined and the 2nd rounder played 7. Other than getting these guys snap counts up, how much more resources do you need to pour into it?
 
Speedy said:
They got 4 1st round picks (2 for Tunsil plus he's the highest paid LT) and a 2nd rounder invested into this OL. It's not like they haven't been trying to address it. The problem is 2 of the 1st rounders played 7 games combined and the 2nd rounder played 7. Other than getting these guys snap counts up, how much more resources do you need to pour into it?
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Allow me to add to that - if they stay healthy, you have Tunsil on the left, Howard (well above average) on the right and you find the best of the rest to play the guard spots.
Adding another decent blocking TE to take Schultz' vacancy and we should be okay there.
CJ also helps the oline with his excellent play so now you get a ground and pound running game and we should be good to go.
 
Really I feel we need weapons and Meco agrees we need a better run game. I think we should consider Saquon Barkley as a FA. I think he just needs a change of environment to become really really good. Also look edge and TE as FAs.

Draft a WR, DT and DB no question after that...go full on OL. Even snag one as a FA. Resign Greenard and Schultz no question.
 
With Barkley it’s health. How much are you willing to sink into a top end RB but with major injury history? I’m generally a fan of going cheap at RB. That said, if we go high end vet, Henry intrigues me. Not sure about his asking price, but I would do a 2 year deal if it wasn’t crazy money. And Henry has generally been relatively healthy. Tuning for into friend and let him take out his anger on the Titans.
 
Speedy said:
They got 4 1st round picks (2 for Tunsil plus he's the highest paid LT) and a 2nd rounder invested into this OL. It's not like they haven't been trying to address it. The problem is 2 of the 1st rounders played 7 games combined and the 2nd rounder played 7. Other than getting these guys snap counts up, how much more resources do you need to pour into it?
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A RT should be drafted high.
 
I waffled back and forth between RB and Oline for a bit before finally voting for Oline. Better pass protection helps us keep Stroud healthier for longer, better run blocking gets us more yards on the ground. If a superstar running back is somehow available to us when it's our turn to draft I might like to get him instead, but if I had all the answers I'd be running things.
 
Speedy said:
They got 4 1st round picks (2 for Tunsil plus he's the highest paid LT) and a 2nd rounder invested into this OL. It's not like they haven't been trying to address it. The problem is 2 of the 1st rounders played 7 games combined and the 2nd rounder played 7. Other than getting these guys snap counts up, how much more resources do you need to pour into it?
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For me the question is which ones of those resources are going to actually play 17 games for us next year at a quality level? We know what we have in Laremy Tunsil and we know what we have in Shaq Mason. We do not know what we have at left guard, Center or right tackle. Do we wait and hope things work out or do we proactively try to improve?
 
SnakeEyes said:
Really I feel we need weapons and Meco agrees we need a better run game. I think we should consider Saquon Barkley as a FA. I think he just needs a change of environment to become really really good. Also look edge and TE as FAs.

Draft a WR, DT and DB no question after that...go full on OL. Even snag one as a FA. Resign Greenard and Schultz no question.
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Would you be okay signing free agent Chris Jones for your DT and using that draft pick elsewhere?
 
Porky said:
With Barkley it’s health. How much are you willing to sink into a top end RB but with major injury history? I’m generally a fan of going cheap at RB. That said, if we go high end vet, Henry intrigues me. Not sure about his asking price, but I would do a 2 year deal if it wasn’t crazy money. And Henry has generally been relatively healthy. Tuning for into friend and let him take out his anger on the Titans.
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$9.5 m? What about 2 year $10m gtd with part being roster bonus 2025?
 
SnakeEyes said:
Really I feel we need weapons and Meco agrees we need a better run game. I think we should consider Saquon Barkley as a FA.
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I could get behind that, on a 1 or 2 year deal.
badboy said:
Would you be okay signing free agent Chris Jones for your DT and using that draft pick elsewhere?
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As long as Jones is a true FA, and not tagged, then absolutely.
 
steelbtexan said:
A RT should be drafted high.
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I would not be opposed to Jordan Morgan at 23 or either Paul or Amegadjie round 2. Now I would be preferring Paul at 59 leaving 23 open. If we signed Trent Brown we can go other positions. I am sure I'm going to be disappointed in free agency, but I really hope we get three to four solid vets.
 
badboy said:
For me the question is which ones of those resources are going to actually play 17 games for us next year at a quality level? We know what we have in Laremy Tunsil and we know what we have in Shaq Mason. We do not know what we have at left guard, Center or right tackle. Do we wait and hope things work out or do we proactively try to improve?
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You’ve got to do something until you get it right, of course. What that is I don’t really know. I was just making the point that trying make improvements there has not been neglected. They are trying.
 
Lucky said:
I could get behind that, on a 1 or 2 year deal.

As long as Jones is a true FA, and not tagged, then absolutely.
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Do you think Barkley would agree to a one to two year deal? What I have been reading about Chris Jones, he does not expect to come back to Kansas City and I think he is suggesting he wants a huge deal. I am willing to give him that.
After the rookie draft pool of about 8 million, Kansas City will only have 20 left. If 2024 for Jones has a $6 million to 8 million cap hit, that leaves them virtually nothing to improve their team. I think that is what his agent is looking at and guiding him elsewhere, my opinion. Ryan's defense must look really good with the salary cap we have.
 
Speedy said:
You’ve got to do something until you get it right, of course. What that is I don’t really know. I was just making the point that trying make improvements there has not been neglected. They are trying.
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I agree and I think the draft of Juice and Patterson [ sounds like a new drink] was extremely well done barring injuries which no one could have anticipated. Mason has worked out and would have been much better with solid players on either side of him. I definitely do not blame the GM for that. It will be interesting to see what he is going to do.
 
badboy said:
Do you think Barkley would agree to a one to two year deal?
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Will he have a choice? RBs just aren't getting long deals any longer. Barkley will have choices. But not a choice for a long term deal.
badboy said:
What I have been reading about Chris Jones, he does not expect to come back to Kansas City and I think he is suggesting he wants a huge deal.
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The Chiefs might be able to get Mahomes help with pushing a roster bonus to a signing bonus. But they have a lot of holes. And tagging Jones will be a huge cap hit. I think Jones hits the FA untagged and resets the DT market.
 
Lucky said:
Will he have a choice? RBs just aren't getting long deals any longer. Barkley will have choices. But not a choice for a long term deal.

The Chiefs might be able to get Mahomes help with pushing a roster bonus to a signing bonus. But they have a lot of holes. And tagging Jones will be a huge cap hit. I think Jones hits the FA untagged and resets the DT market.
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I agree and ruled out changing Mahomes roster bonus as that will reduce 2024 cap but it would push money into the next year or three that they don't need extra cap hit in already.

If $ was right, what about Barkley and Henry rotating?
 
Texansphan said:
Howard is above average at RT.
I see four pieces in place for now
LT. Tunsil
LG Scruggs (plays well there)
C. Patterson
RG Mason
RT Howard
That's not a bad line, just gotta keep them healthy to gel.
Where we can improve them is with another better blocking TE and also a blocking H/FB.
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Do you agree that we must have a backup plan for Howard? I think that Jordan could be our blocking fullback / tight end. I continue to see 2024 with Stroud in an empty backfield. He was very successful in that set.
 
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