Every-Thing Sports
Jermaine Every: 5 players who will be keys to the Texans' success in 2018
Jul 10, 2018, 7:49 am
Kevin Johnson will need to play better. Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images
I know what you’re thinking. “Jermaine, isn’t it a bit early to look at what five Texan players could be key to the team’s success this season?” To you I would reply: It’s NEVER too early to look into ANYTHING regarding football! Football has long been a year round sport. From the time the Super Bowl champ is crowned, most teams it begins as soon as their regular season is over, teams begin strategizing on what they can do to improve their chances at winning the next season.
This offseason saw some changes at the helm of the franchise. Former (?) general manager Rick Smith took an indefinite leave of absence to care for his wife as she battles breast cancer. The team brought in Brian Gaine to run things and gave him a five-year contract. His contract also matches the extension given to head coach Bill O’Brien (O’Brien got a four-year extension since he he had a year left on his original five-year deal). This essentially joined them at the hip.
The duo got to work remaking and remodeling the roster through a myriad of minor moves. They didn’t make a huge splash in free agency, even though they had the cap space, and were prohibited from doing so in the draft thanks to being without a first or second round pick. What they did manage to do was to make wise free agency acquisitions and smart mid to late-round draft picks. It’s not easy working without your top two draft picks, but those moves were made to create the cap space they have, and to draft Deshaun Watson, the team’s first true franchise quarterback.
Sure, it’s easy to name Watson, Jadeveon Clowney, JJ Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, and Whitney Mercilus or Lamar Miller as the top five Texans as keys to success next season. But that’s not what I’m about. If you know me and have followed my work, I’m not the type to follow the herd. Without further ado, here’s my list (in no particular order):
Kevin Johnson, CB
With Kareem Jackson moving to safety, Johnson will be relied upon just as much, if not more so, than he has before. Sure the team signed Aaron Colvin to provide depth at the position, but Johnson needs to prove he’s worth the first round pick and fifth year option the team picked up.
D’Onta Foreman, RB
Foreman showed some flashes of talent as a rookie. On the very run he tore his Achilles, he flashed his speed and power that made him a third round pick. He was considered the future at running back by many until his injury. If Foreman can come back mid to late season and show any amount of potential, he could help carry the load so Miller won’t be as burdened.
Julie’n Davenport, OT
At 6’7 and 318 pounds, Davenport is a physically imposing guy. However, coming in to play left tackle from Bucknell in his second year, he’s going to be relied upon in a starting role protecting Watson’s blindside. Tough task for a second year guy charged with protecting the franchise QB.
Justin Reid, S
Reid isn’t listed as a starter on the Texans’ depth chart, but he’s as important as anybody to their success. Jackson being moved to safety isn’t a permanent fix. Mathieu may leave after this year for greener pastures. Reid was widely considered a first round talent they got at the top of the third round. That alone places him as a potential building block considering his potential.
Zach Cunningham, LB
I don’t care if Benardrick McKinney got a contract extension this offseason. Cunningham is the future. His sideline-to-sideline speed and coverage ability is what teams are looking for nowadays. McKinney isn’t the cover linebacker Cunningham is. When teams go three and four wide and the Texans play nickel or dime packages, Cunningham should be the linebacker on the field.
It’s way too early to consider this as a definitive list of five surefire guys to be key contributors to Texans’ success this season. But I’d be willing to bet that some of these guys are going to play a major key in the team’s success this season. Give me praise or kill me later, but I’m standing by this way too early look.
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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.