Training camp is finally here. Well, it's a scant 144 or so hours away. Close enough, if you ask me. My next Breakfast with the Bulls will definitely be from West Virginia next week and, like many of you, I can hardly contain my excitement. As such, here are the 11 players I'm most excited to see at The Greenbrier.
11. Left tackle Julien Davenport - People, in particular nationally, are sleeping on his potential and what he can be in the future. That future truly begins next Thursday.
10. Linebacker Josh Keyes - He was claimed by the Texans this offseason and is a bit of mystery for many. There's not a ton of depth at inside linebacker, so Keyes has a shot to contribute there and on special teams.
9. Wide receiver Sammie Coates - If he catches everything thrown his way, it's going to be hard to not find a spot for a guy on this roster with his assets/attributes.
8. Guard Senio Kelemete - He was banged up during OTAs, not that offensive linemen did much anyway. I love his tenacity, toughness and quickness and I'm curious how that translates once they get into pads.
7. Cornerback Dee Virgin - The secondary has seen plenty of upgrades but with the movement of former corners to safety, there's plenty of opportunity for Virgin to compete for that fourth corner spot.
6. Cornerback Kevin Johnson - We all know why, but I just want to see Kevin get his confidence back. He can play, we've seen it, but he has to stay healthy and excel in training camp.
5. Rookie tight ends Jordan Akins and Jordan Thomas - These two are going to put pressure on the coaching staff to find ways to get them the ball in the passing game. But, most importantly, we'll finally see whether they'll be able to hold their own in the run game out on the edge.
4. Tackle Martinas Rankin - I don't know whether he'll be ready to go on day one due to the injury that caused him to miss most of the offseason. But, if he is, I'll be watching him intently.
3. Safety Kareem Jackson - The move to safety won't be seamless, but Jackson could be a perfect fit at the position, especially in the absence of Andre Hal.
2. Running backs, not named Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue - Which guy steps up to take reps on a consistent basis behind those two? Troymaine Pope got plenty of reps during OTAs and minicamp and will be fun to watch, amongst others.
1. Safety Tyrann Mathieu - It'll still be surreal to see him as a Texan and I can't wait.
The Houston Texans roster in photos.
DL Mario Addison, #56 (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
QB, Kyle Allen, #3
RB, Darius Anderson, #30
DB, Grayland Arnold, #35
TE, Antony Auclair, #83
DL, Ross Blacklock, #90
DL, Thomas Booker, #96
OL, Justin Britt, #68
DB, Terrence Brooks, #8
TE, Pharaoh Brown, #85
RB, Rex Burkhead, #28
WR, Jalen Camp, #17
OL, A.J. Cann, #60
LB, Blake Cashman, #53
DL, Maliek Collins, #97
WR, Nico Collins, #12
WR, Chris Conley, #18
WR, Brandin Cooks, #13
TE, Darrell Daniels, #47 (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
WR, Davion Davis, #14
LB, Tae Davis, #19
OL, Austin Deculus, #76
WR, Phillip Dorsett, #4
QB, Jeff Driskel, #6
DL, Michael Dwumfour, #98
WR, Drew Estrada, #81
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, #7
DB, Jacobi Francis, #38
RB, Royce Freeman, #26
OL, Carson Green, #62
DL, Jonathan Greenard, #52
WR, DaeSean Hamilton, #5
OL, Kenyon Green, #59
DL, Rasheem Green (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
LB, Kamu Grugier-Hill, #51
LB, Christian Harris, #48
DL, Demone Harris, #94
WR, Damon Hazelton, #86
OL, Charlie Heck, #67
LB, Neville Hewitt, #43
QB, Kevin Hogan, #16 (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
OL, Tytus Howard, #71
DL, Jerry Hughes, #55 (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
FB, Andy Janovich, #41
An image from the Aug. 21, 2021 Houston Texans preseason game 2 against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Texans won 20-14.
WR, Johnny Johnson III, #89
P, Cameron Johnston, #11
TE, Brevin Jordan, #9
DB, Desmond King II, #25
LB, Christian Kirksey, #58
DL, Roy Lopez, #91
RB, Marlon Mack, #2
DB, Tristin McCollum, #39
OL, Justin McCray, #64
WR, John Metchie III, #88
QB, Davis Mills, #10
WR, Chris Moore, #15
OL, Jimmy Morrissey, #79
DB, Eric Murray, #23
DB, Steven Nelson (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
DB, Steven Nelson, #21
DL, Adedayo Odeleye, #75
OL, Cedric Ogbuehi, #77
RB, Dare Ogunbowale, #33
DL, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, #45
DB, Jonathan Owens, #36
RB, Dameon Pierce, #31
LB, Kevin Pierre-Louis, #57
DB, Jalen Pitre, #42
FB, Paul Quessenberry, #45
OL, Scott Quessenberry, #54
TE, Teagan Quitoriano, #84
LB, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, #34 (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
DL, Derek Rivers, #95
OL, Max Scharping, #74
DB, Kendall Sheffield (AP Photo/Kevin Sabitus)
DB, Tremon Smith, #24
OL, Jordan Steckler, #70
DB, M.J. Stewart, #29
DB, Derek Stingley Jr., #24
DB, Tavierre Thomas, #37
OL, Laremy Tunsil, #78
LB, Garret Wallow, #32
WR, Connor Wedington (AP)
LS, Jon Weeks #46
DB, Isaac Yiadom, #20
