Last week's free agent shopping haul gave the Texans a huge lift on the way to possibly improving their record and taking a step closer to their ultimate goal. But the cake is not ready to go into the oven yet. There are still some very important items to throw into the mix.
Let's take a peak at some position groups that will get attention.
-- If the Texans played this weekend Christian Covington might start on the defensive line along with J.J. Watt and Vince Wilfork. He could possibly land the job by September but that's a position to watch as we go deeper into the free agent wilderness and the draft. Jared Crick is still out there as a free agent and he's got a lot of company.
-- There's also a vacancy on the depth chart at the safety position with Quintin Demps becoming a free agent. Andre Hal played well last year at one spot. The other safeties currently on the roster are Eddie Pleasant, Kurtis Drummond, Corey Moore and Lonnie Ballentine, who is eager to stay healthy and contribute.
-- Tight end is another position group that should be getting a boost. Ryan Griffin and C.J. Fiedorowicz were the two mainstays down the stretch. Now, with Garrett Graham gone, the team might look to the draft or possibly the rest of the free agent pool, where there are some interesting names. Prospect Anthony Denham spent the year on injured reserve and Eric Tomlinson helped out in practice.
-- There are five receivers on the roster now so it's evident more talent will be added before OTAs. There are still some 'names you know' remaining in free agency but with last week's big investment at quarterback and running back it wouldn't be a surprise to see a receiver getting picked relatively high in the draft.
-- The pundits are speculating whether the Texans might still take a quarterback at some point in the draft. The roster still contains DeAndre Hopkins, Tom Savage and B.J. Daniels. It'll be interesting to see if they go with two or three QBs on the 53-man roster come September. Last year they had two after putting Savage on injured reserve. But we all know what eventually happened.
The roster is clearly a work in progress and almost every position group will change leading into OTAs. But the Texans checked big boxes at starting quarterback and running back last week while also fortifying their offensive line. The process continues.
