Duke Ejiofor was all over the field. Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
The 2018 preseason kicked off Thursday night with the Texans claiming a meaningless win in Kansas City, 17-10. The numbers on the scoreboard may not matter, but the effort and playmaking from down the depth chart players is vital to the Texans’ season. There were some big plays from offensive rookies and consistent effort from the young defenders. All of that is a good sign going forward.
Here are my choices for players who had prime performances in the victory.
1. Jordan Akins—Tight End
One of the Texans top draft picks this year, there was high hope that Akins would be able to come in and shine as a receiver. He did exactly what was needed when he scored two touchdowns in the first half. They were his only two catches, but he did exactly what the Texans wanted when they selected him.
The first one was a shallow out route near the goal line. He created separation by running right at the linebacker in coverage, forcing him into the wash. Akins made a good catch on a ball thrown to the front corner where only he could catch it. His second touchdown came on a play the Texans hope to see a lot of this season, a tight end open in the middle of the field with good hands and the ability to make a move with the ball. It’s nice to see this kind of result early in the preseason. It means there is a high ceiling and the opportunity to really help the passing game.
2. Troymaine Pope—Running Back
The biggest offensive contributor of the night, this second-year pro put on a show when Lamar Miller’s night ended. He made huge contributions as a receiver, catching 3 passes for 47 yards, allowing screen passes to be effective at slowing the pass rush. He only averaged 3 yards per carry, but managed good yardage at opportune times. The need for a back to spell Lamar Miller is important and Pope made his case to be that guy.
His biggest play of the night came on a 34-yard screen pass that moved the ball from Houston’s 29-yard line to the Chief’s 37-yard line. It was a huge change of field position that eventually led to the second touchdown of the night.
3. Duke Ejiofor—Outside Linebacker
The sixth round pick made his presence felt all over the field early and often in this game. He’s credited three quarterback hits on the night, but he was applying a lot of pressure when he was in the game. His maximum effort will probably be of interest for special teams because his position already has a solid depth chart, but every team needs a guy with that kind of motor.
4. Julie’n Davenport—Left Tackle
Big position of need for Houston. Big debate about how the position will be filled. Big guy took the first game opportunity to say that the position is going to be his. I was looking closely at Davenport’s play in the first quarter, looking at his fundamentals against a generic pass rush. He passed the eye test.
He was quick into his setup on passing plays, moving his feet with the defender and most of the time keeping him out of his chest. On running plays, he was able to get into the second level and attack the linebackers, giving running backs more room to work with. This is still the preseason, so he will need to keep working hard for more complex pass protection, but game one was a great effort.
5. Dylan Cole—Inside Linebacker
The Texans are lucky, they have a great young pair of inside linebackers with Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham. But if Dylan Cole can continue to make plays like he did against the Chiefs he will add another name to that list. He finished the night with three tackles and two passes defensed. In a preseason game that’s a pretty good stat line. It’s even better that one of those passed he blocked resulted in an interception.
This was a full out effort by Cole to be all over the field. He may not have been credited with more tackles, but just like Ejiofor he made his presence felt. If he has developed significantly in year two he can be useful in creative defensive packages. That’s the kind of thing teams crave when looking at the depth chart.
There you have it. My list of prime performers in the first preseason game. There are three more to go and plenty of chances for more names to show up on the radar. It’s a great start to see this kind of performance from these young guys who are needed at positions that were liabilities last season.
Next week the Texans are home against the 49ers. Look for more guys to step up and get their name on the coaches sheet.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.