The Houston Texans know the road ahead will be more difficult than 2023.
They’ll no longer have a fourth-place schedule, the AFC South’s star quarterbacks will be healthier, and the offseason will require significant roster turnover – without the draft picks that made last year’s class so worthwhile.
As such, any opportunity to take advantage of their rival’s weaknesses and limit their own is an important one.
On Tuesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars reshaped their defense, franchise-tagging edge rusher Josh Allen and cutting multiple defensive backs. In releasing veteran cornerback Darious Williams, they have put a quality starter on the open market for their rivals to poach.
It’s an avenue Houston should heavily consider when free agency opens later in March.
The Texans will look to prevent explosive plays at a better rate than they had in 2023, and that starts with bolstering their cornerbacks alongside Derek Stingley Jr. Veteran Steven Nelson played well but is likely headed to free agency, and slot corner remains a need.
Per Pro Football Focus’ charting, few cornerbacks were better than Williams in 2023. His coverage grade was fourth amongst qualified corners and he didn’t commit a penalty on those 705 coverage snaps. That workload is impressive in itself, only Baltimore Ravens corner Brandon Stephens had more coverage downs at the position. He graded out far better than any cornerback in his ballpark of snaps played against the pass, a testament to his down-to-down consistency.
Furthermore, Williams isn’t just a consistent presence on the back end – his calling card is his ball production. His four interceptions ranked fifth at his position, giving him 10 for his career to go with 49 pass breakups.
It’s worth noting that Williams is entering his age-31 season, and his position doesn’t age particularly well. Houston isn’t afraid of adding corners on the wrong side of 30, but there’s some inherent risk, especially given his production won’t come cheap.
Likewise, versatility isn’t Williams’ best trait. He played in the slot more frequently early in his Jacksonville tenure but saw extensive struggles there. He’s sticking to the boundary, which shouldn’t be an issue in head coach DeMeco Ryans’ defense, but should be considered in his evaluation.
Ultimately, adding Williams’ track record of ball production and recent stretch of strong coverage skills opposite Stingley will have Houston well-equipped to take on the passing offenses of the AFC, all while capitalizing on a division rival’s loss.
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