BRB Groupthink: Houston Texans Free Agent Targets

Who do the writers think the Texans should sign in free agency

I am writing this as Houston rookies completely sweep the NFL Honors. The Texans have successfully drafted the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.

What a time. Plus, Houston enters the offseason with the fifth most salary cap space according to Spotrac. They both have their future in hand and are able to invest in winning now. What a time to be a Texans fan. With that, I asked the Battle Red Blog writers the following:

As approach the Super Bowl and official start to the offseason, which free agent targets are you most looking for Houston to sign?

Vballretired:

It always depends on price. Ideally I’d like to see the Texans get another wide receiver to pair with Collins and Dell. Getting into specifics is hard. Mike Evans would look really good in a Texans uniform, but that would be on a short term contract considering he’s on the wrong side of 30. I’d like an upgrade at running back as well but that’s also tricky given the candidates and their likely asking price. So, I’ll stick with Evans as a qualified answer.

L4blitzer:

Bit of an interesting switch in that Houston has legit cap room and a team that has shown it can be good, to a point where targeted free agents can actually make a difference. While it is early and we don’t know who all Houston will retain and/or what other teams will do, this year’s free agent class seems to have plenty of DB/DL options that Houston could and should look to for shoring up some defensive deficiencies. Someone like Kendal Fuller or Antoine Winfield Jr. would be quality additions to this squad, especially if they can help the Free Safety gaps. Wouldn’t cry any tears if we ended up with an interior lineman like Justin Madubukie or Christian Wilkins. Not saying we will end up with any of those, but they would certainly help and are the type of players Houston could and should target in free agency.

Patrick.H:

Much like the draft, I don’t like to pine for particular players in free agency. Because when the Texans inevitably don’t sign the players I want, I will be disappointed. So instead, I’ll say that I want them to get a real bell cow RB on a short term deal to (hopefully) pair with Singletary and hope like hell Dameon Pierce can bounce back to his first year form. I also want a reasonably-priced WR2 or WR3 to add to the corps including Collins and Dell. And I’d really like to get a second CB to free up our draft needs.

Kenneth L. :

I am fully anti Saquon Barkley and Mike Evans. Evans will be 30 – nothing against the player but the return on investment for WRs after 30 is a bad deal. For Barkley, the guy wants to get P-A-I-D. Yes, we have the money…. but does that mean we need to spend it all in one place? I don’t see the point in spending all this capital on a RB if we can’t first figure out how to actually run the ball.

My top players are S Antoine Winfield Jr., CB L’Jarius Sneed, LB Frankie Luvu, D’Andre Swift, and A’Shawn Robinson. Sure, Winfield Jr. and Sneed are top defensive targets, but both would be cheaper than Evans or Barkley. Houston needs to continue it’s strategy of signing quality free agents on valuable contracts with a ‘prove it or lose it’ mentality.