DeMeco Ryans Reveals Starting Offensive Line Shakeup at Texans OTAs

On the first day of the Houston Texans' OTAs, all eyes were on the team's revamped offensive line as head coach DeMeco Ryans unveiled surprising lineup combinations and candidly admitted the team's evaluation strategy: "When it comes to finding our best group, it'll be a lot of mixing and matching guys, putting guys in different spots and seeing which five guys work well together."

The changes were immediately evident when the first-team offensive line—left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Laken Tomlinson, center Jake Andrews, right guard Tytus Howard, and right tackle Blake Fisher—took the field.

The "mixing and matching" continued, with center Jarrett Patterson rotating in with the OTA starters and rookie Aireontae Ersery seeing time with the first team at right tackle. On a promising note, Ersery—whom star edge rusher Will Anderson described simply as "a large human being"—is already getting first-team reps during OTAs, suggesting the rookie may genuinely compete for a starting role in the coming months.

Coach Ryans acknowledged the fluid nature of the evaluation process when discussing the team's approach to finding the optimal lineup, noting, "This is our first day of OTAs."

He praised the intelligence and adaptability of the players in the unit, stating, "One thing about the O-line is there are a lot of smart guys in that room, and they can move around; they can play multiple spots."