DYNAMIC DUO
How the Houston Texans could find themselves adding lightning to thunder
Apr 5, 2023, 11:38 am
What if Dameon Pierce had an elite running mate? Composite image by Brandon Strange.
One of the most exciting and highly graded players in the NFL Draft is University of Texas running back Bijan Robinson. The thought of the Texans lining up with Bryce Young, Dameon Pierce, and Robinson this season, would certainly appeal to a lot of Texans fans.
But others would see Robinson as a luxury pick, based on the position he plays. The Texans already have Pierce and signed former Bills running back Devin Singletary to a 1-year deal. And let's face it, the Texans have a lot of holes to fill on the roster.
But keep this in mind, Robinson is considered to be a top 3 prospect in this draft, and if he falls into the twenties as many mock drafts are projecting, landing a player with his talent in the back of the first round could provide tremendous value.
Now, running back isn't seen as a need for the Texans, but let's look at that for a minute. Pierce had a phenomenal rookie year, but his lack of touches in college is one of the reasons he fell to the 4th round. And when he got a sizable workload in the NFL, he injured his ankle and was unable to finish the season.
That could be a fluke, but he hasn't proven he can be a bell cow running back to this point, despite showing tremendous talent. Plus, could you imagine the possibilities with a backfield tandem of Robinson and Pierce?
How about Devin Singletary?
Would his signing preclude them from taking a running back? Doubtful, he's on a 1-year deal, so there's no commitment to him long-term. Teams require more than two backs to get through a season. Just ask the 49ers.
49er ties
If we look at Texans OC Bobby Slowik, and DeMeco Ryans, they both came from San Francisco where they prioritize being able to run the ball, and have brought in countless backs to handle the workload. They even went all-in on arguably the best back in the league and traded for Christian McCaffrey after dealing with so many injuries at the position. So they're not philosophically opposed to spending significant draft capital on the position.
How does @Bijan5Robinson stack up against CMC & Saquon?
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— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2023
Would GM Nick Caserio be open to taking a running back in the first round?
While we don't know exactly how Nick feels about taking running backs early, we can look at last year's draft for some insight.
When the Texans were ready to pick at No. 5 in Round 2, we heard rumors that the pick was going to be Iowa State running back, Breece Hall. Of course, the Jets predictably traded in front of the Texans at No. 4 in the 2nd round and were the first team to draft a RB.
The Texans then pivoted and took safety Jalen Pitre, who had a nice rookie season for Houston.
So if we believe that rumor to be true, Caserio isn't opposed to taking backs early if he sees one he believes in. And Robinson is more highly regarded than Hall.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, do I believe Robinson could be in play for the Texans? Probably not, for all the reasons I laid out. He could also get drafted earlier than expected. But the new staff clearly values having multiple backs to keep the running game churning. And the Texans could do a lot worse than moving up into the back of the first round and taking a top 3 talent on draft night. This team needs good football players.
Especially if they are able to draft a QB at No.2, go best player available at No. 12, and then move up back into the first round if Robinson is free-falling into the late twenties. Ideally, they would only have to move up a few spots from their first pick of Round 2, No. 33 overall.
Three picks in the first round? Yes, please.
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Left-hander Mitchell Parker threw seven shutout innings, and Luis Garcia Jr. had three singles and two RBIs and the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-0 on Sunday.
The Nationals have won three of their past four series after starting the season 2-6.
After allowing two runs over five innings last Monday in his major league debut, a 6-4 win over the L.A. Dodgers, Parker (2-0) was even more effective in his second major league start, allowing three hits, striking out eight and walking none, throwing 57 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
“He has so much poise," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "He’s ready. He gets the ball, ready to get back on the mound. I watched him today. He threw a ground ball. The play was made and he got right on the mound and was holding his glove up as if, ‘hey, come on, give me the ball, like I’m ready to get back on there’. It was cool to watch. He understands what he wants to do.”
Parker mixed his 85-87 mph splitter, 81-82 mph curveball and 92 mph four-seam fastball. He struck out Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña a combined four times. Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes each added a scoreless inning for Washington.
Parker was thrilled to be able to throw the splitter for strikes, something that did not come as easy against the Dodgers.
“100 percent, yeah," Parker said. "We were able to get in there for more swings and misses. They were more competitive pitches. Going to keep working on it, seeing if we can keep it where it is at.”
Astros right-hander Hunter Brown replaced scheduled starter Cristian Javier, who was scratched from Sunday’s series finale with neck discomfort. Javier was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 14, and right-hander Spencer Arrighetti was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Manager Joe Espada said they have not decided yet on an MRI for Javier.
“Neck discomfort, started a few days ago,” Espada said. “He tried to work through it but just couldn’t happen. This kind of just came out of nowhere. So, we are going to see what happens here.”
Brown allowed three runs and three hits and a walk in the first but then settled down, lasting four innings when his pitch count reached 84.
“Even in the first I felt like made some good pitches," Brown said. "Came to the outing prepared. Kind of did what I wanted to and it just didn’t fall our way there.”
García Jr.’s two-run single to center field highlighted the three-run first inning for the Nationals.
“We try to score every inning,' Garcia Jr. said through a translator. "But definitely when we score the first inning it gives you a different kind of sense of confidence throughout the game and it carries on through the games a different feeling.”
Joey Meneses had a bases-loaded two-run single to right field off Shawn Dubin in the fifth to make it 5-0. Nick Senzel hit his first home run of the season in the sixth to close out the scoring.
The Astros' tailspin continues, having lost five of their past six and nine of their past 12.
“It is not ideal in the situation that we are in but we are in this situation,” Espada said. “And we got to fight through this. We have guys in there who are capable of giving us innings and some of them are doing that. We are going back to playing the style of baseball that everyone sees the Astros play. We feel pretty good about the guys that we have in there to get us some good innings."
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros left-hander Framber Valdez threw again Sunday and has a chance of starting one of the games in Chicago his week. “We will see how he feels,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Once we see how he feels, we will start talking about the possibilities if he can pitch in Chicago or not.”
Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz said he is about “90 percent” recovered from the flu that placed him on the 10-day injured list on April 12. Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Ruiz will go on a rehab assignment this week to play a couple of games before returning to the club.
UP NEXT
Houston travels to Chicago to begin a three-game series against the Cubs on Tuesday. Espada confirmed JP France and Justin Verlander will start two of the games, but did not specify the order. Spencer Arrighetti, who was called up for Javier, is an option for the opener.
Washington has a day off before hosting the L.A. Dodgers on Tuesday night. Left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-3, 8.06 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the second consecutive start.