STRONG TAKE

Deshaun Watson's mentor on the Texans being better without Hopkins

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans begin training camp with a franchise quarterback in Deshaun Watson firmly in place but without an obvious number one wide receiver for Watson to throw to. The trade of All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins was one of the most controversial trades in recent NFL history and how Houston will attempt to make up for the loss of Hopkins' production could define the Texans 2020 season.

Even without Hopkins, with Watson entering his 4th season under center for the Texans expectations should still remain high according to Watson's mentor and former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer. Palmer, 35, who is the personal coach of the Jets' Sam Darnold, the Bills' QB Josh Allen, and now the Bengals' Joe Burrow, privately trained Watson leading up to the 2017 draft and has seen the signal-caller take massive steps forward during his first three seasons in the league.

"Deshaun has really grown into himself," Palmer said on The Jake Asman Show on SportsMap Radio. "It's not just that he is smart, he also has the study habits to go with it. Deshaun's a kid that was on honor roll starting in third grade every single year until he graduated on the dean's list at Clemson in three years. So that foundation has allowed him to go further faster in that offense."

Last season in 15 games with the Texans, DeAndre Hopkins, accounted for over 100 catches, 1,100 yards, and 7 touchdowns. How will Watson adjust to not having Hopkins in the offense anymore? Not many have come out on the record and said they support the off-season that Bill O'Brien has had. However, Palmer actually believes that with Hopkins taking up a large portion of Houston's salary cap the Texans actually made a smart move dealing him to Arizona.

"I think there are going to be areas of the game that makes things more difficult," Palmer said. "At the same time, they added Brandin Cooks and David Johnson. Now neither of those guys are DeAndre Hopkins but you have to make up for productivity, not just a person... David Johnson played with my brother (Carson) in Arizona and I know how dynamic of a runner and pass catcher he is."

With Brandin Cooks, he's really similar to a lot of the body types of receivers that Deshaun played with in college. Brandon is such a consummate pro and veteran and look at who Cooks has played with? He's played with Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Jared Goff. So Brandon is a guy who is also bringing a wealth a knowledge and contributes more than just statistically… I think the addition of those two players if they stay healthy, the productively will be offset and I think this could potentially be an upgrade particularly with what DeAndre was going to chew up in cap space for them, so I actually think big picture this is the right move."

You can listen to The Jake Asman Showweekdays from 8 AM -10 AM Central on SportsMap Radio.

You can listen to the full interview with Jordan Palmer below:


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When we look back at last year's championship roster, we remember the big home runs from Yordan Alvarez and the combined no-hitter against the Phillies. But we often forget the total lack of production from the DH position throughout the postseason.

Whether it was Trey Mancini, David Hensley, or Aledyms Diaz, the Astros couldn't find anyone to consistently produce in that role.

In the ALCS against the Yankees, Yordan only hit as the DH in 1 of 4 games. In the other three games, the DH spot in the lineup went hitless.

In the World Series, Alvarez was only used as a DH twice. And when that happened, Aledmys Diaz started in left field. In his two starts in left, he went 0-7 with 4 strikeouts.

It wasn't until Game 6 when Dusty Baker finally started Christian Vazquez, that the club finally got some production out of the DH spot.

So why bring this up? When looking at the 2023 version of the Astros, they have a rookie phenom in Yainer Diaz and a quality left-handed bat in Michael Brantley (health pending). If Yordan continues to play primarily in left field throughout the postseason, Yainer can give the Astros all the thump they need at DH.

And the Astros are going to need it. They've fallen to 21st in team ERA over the last 30 games. But on the bright side, they're No. 1 in team OPS over that same time period.

Of course, to make this work, the club may have to add another catcher to the postseason roster for Dusty Baker to feel comfortable starting both Diaz and Maldonado in case an injury should occur. When Vazquez finally started at DH in Game 6 last season, the team added another catcher after Yuli Gurriel went down with a knee injury.

But if this plan is put into place, the 2023 Astros offense should be even more potent than last year's version. The only question is, will Dusty use it to his advantage?

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion.

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