Predicting the Texans roster ahead of Preseason Week 1
2019 Houston Texans 53-man prediction
Aug 6, 2019, 5:11 pm
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The Houston Texans will kick off their preseason slate Thursday in Green Bay against the Packers. I didn't head north to face the balmy Wisconsin heat for the Texans' two joint practices against the Cheeseheads, before their Thursday night showdown.
Despite not seeing the last couple of practices, I feel like I have a good feel for where the roster is as of this moment. I've decided to lay out my first prediction for what the Texans' final 53-man roster might look like, once the rosters cuts are finished, before the kickoff to the regular season.
It's worth noting that injuries will happen and the team is most likely to make roster additions via trade, claiming guys as they are waived and/or signing guys off the street. This article should serve as a simple exercise in letting you know, based off of my sole observations, where I believe the roster stands as the Houston Texans enter Preseason Week 1.
53 -man roster
K - Ka'imi Fairbairn
Not enough is made out of how great of an addition Fairbairn has been. The kid is golden.
P - Bryan Anger
Trevor Daniel may be the safer pick here, but I like the boom or bust of Anger. I believe Anger has the bigger leg, but Daniel is more consistent and safe. Brad Seely turned the Texans' special teams into a Top 10 unit in his first season. In a game of inches, I could see Houston going with the guy that can swing the field.
LS - Jon Weeks
He plays a position that isn't the most glamorous and that's the only reason that he's not a household name.
QB - Deshaun Watson / AJ McCarron / Joe Webb
Watson is king, AJ has been a pleasant surprise (assuming the injury that saw him leave joint practices isn't severe) and Webb is a value third string quarterback that sticks due to his ability to play specials.
RB - Lamar Miller / Damarea Crockett / Karan Higdon / Cullen Gillaspia / Taiwan Jones
Lamar is the stalwart that actually looks quicker than in his past, if you can believe it. Crockett looks to impress with his size, blended with patience, vision and instincts. Higdon, another undrafted running back like Crockett, brings a stoutness and ability to get north and south quickly with great balance. Gillaspia brings the fullback position back into the fold and gives the offense even more versatility. Taiwan Jones gives the position return ability and all around special teams coverage. Jones is also another veteran, despite limited carries in his career. Overall, this is a young running back group outside of Miller and Jones.
NOTE: I'd be surprised if this is the roster come week 1 as I expect the Texans to sign, trade or claim another running back that's not on the current roster.
WR - DeAndre Hopkins / Will Fuller / Keke Coutee / Vyncint Smith / Tyron Johnson
DeAndre Carter has struggled to get healthy. In his absence, the young guys, Smith, Johnson and Steven Mitchell Jr. have stepped up. Keeping five running backs and mainly, Taiwan Jones, makes Carter's spot disappear. I couldn't get Mitchell onto the roster, but he's right there in the running with Smith and Johnson. Starting the year on the practice squad will be most likely for Mitchell and it gives the Texans insurance for injury or even struggles from the other young wideouts.
TE - Darren Fells / Jordan Thomas / Jordan Akins / Kahale Warring
It's hard to keep four tight ends, but that's what the Texans need due to their talent at the position and the versatility of the unit. Fells gives an offensive line with issues, extra protection. Thomas is that hybrid weapon that can inline block, along with move the chains and become a red zone threat. Akins is a move tight end that gives Watson another weapon in the passing game. Warring is developmental with a nice upside. While he may not factor in a lot in his rookie season, his status as a third round pick and future potential prevents the Texans from trying to slide him to the practice squad as he would be quickly picked up in the waiver process.
OL - Matt Kalil / Tytus Howard / Nick Martin / Zach Fulton / Seantrel Henderson / Max Scharping / Greg Mancz / Julien Davenport / Martinas Rankin / Roderick Johnson
Yes, 10 offensive lineman. Quantity over quality, I guess. The guy that will draw the most wide eyes is Johnson. It was a struggle to pick between Senio Kelemete and Roderick Johnson. Houston has a bigger issue at offensive tackle than on the interior in my opinion. Johnson has shown flashes and with Henderson and Davenport as the right tackle and swing tackle ahead of him, I believe it's worth keeping him around for a long season in the case that Henderson and Davenport either struggle or get bit by the injury bug.
DL - JJ Watt / Jadeveon Clowney / DJ Reader / Angelo Blackson / Charles Omenihu / Brandon Dunn / Carlos Watkins
It's difficult to leave Joel Heath off of the 53-man roster. He's an NFL player and could easily beat out Watkins for the seventh spot among the defensive line. Watkins is in year three and was always a three-year project. I wouldn't cut bait with him too early.
LB - Whitney Mercilus / Benardrick McKinney / Zach Cunningham / Dylan Cole / Brennan Scarlett / Peter Kalambayi
Scarlett could find competition in the form of a player cut from another team as they fight to get their own roster to 53. Kalambayi was a freak on special teams last season and has shown up a few times in training camp at the linebacker position.
CB - Johnathan Joseph / Bradley Roby / Aaron Colvin / Johnson Bademosi / Lonnie Johnson Jr / Briean Boddy-Calhoun
Bademosi is that special teams stud for the cornerback group and it'd be a surprise if he's not around, especially due to the lack of talent at the position that would force him off. Boddy-Calhoun needs to be on alert, even after making the 53-man roster, as the Texans will have to upgrade the position at some point. Houston needs to look for superior cornerback talent via the trade market but could settle for a roster cutdown addition.
S - Justin Reid / Tashaun Gipson / Jahleel Addae / AJ Moore
As weak as the cornerback position is, Houston really has replaced the talent at safety. Reid is a veteran, despite the fact that he's only going into year two of his career and was a third round pick. The Gipson and Addae additions were solid. Moore has been a ballhawk in training camp and can leave a mark on special teams. The Texans would be wise to play a lot of "big dime" this season as opposed to the regular dime formation that puts four cornerbacks on the field with two safeties. They're better equipped to play three safeties along with three cornerbacks in a "big dime" look.
First 5 Off:
1) Joel Heath
2) Senio Kelemete
3) Jerell Adams
4) Steven Mitchell Jr
5) DeAndre Carter
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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