Did PFF give the Houston Texans a good grade this offseason?

The Houston Texans have been very busy this offseason. They overhauled their defense in free agency, letting linebacker Blake Cashman and defensive end Jonathan Greenard leave without new contracts. Then they basically replaced them with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and defensive end Danielle Hunter. They also boldly chose to trade for Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs.

The rest of the free agency period was marked by good re-signings (Dalton Schultz) and low-risk, high-reward picks (Jeff Okudah). Overall, it was an offseason where the team improved on paper. Then we had the draft where the Texans got help for the secondary in two of the first three picks, while also addressing the offensive line.

Productive would be the word to describe the offseason. So, in the end, how did the “experts” rank the Texans’ improvements? Pro Football Focus (PFF) said the Texans had a “B+” offseason. Trevor Sikkema of PFF would go on to talk about the club:

“”I was afraid the Texans would lose Jonathan Greenard in free agency, which happened. However, they replaced him with Danielle Hunter, a huge plus.

I also liked the addition of Azeez Al-Shaair and the decision to trade for Joe Mixon to replace Devin Singletary. Folorunso Fatukasi, Denico Autry and Jeff Okudah were also all solid new players to enter the depth chart.

Houston followed up with a solid draft pick consisting of Kamari Lassiter, Blake Fisher and Calen Bullock. The team continues to move in the right direction.””

I agree with the “B+” rating. While Sikkema doesn’t detail why that’s the grade he gave him, I think there are a few reasons that help paint this picture.

The first would be the running back situation. Mixon may still have some gas left in the tank, but Singletary was a better option. Not to mention the team missed out on Saquon Barkley, the prize of the free agency period. They lost to Barkley because of money and nothing else. Then the desperate Texans traded for Mixon hours before he was set to be released. Essentially wasting a draft pick to get a free agent.

Then there is the question of the defensive tackle group. A group that is still not very well put together has received little to no help this offseason. Not even in the NFL draft. The unit can be improved from year to year simply through coaching but there has been no major addition that would make us believe things would get better.

Finally, the Stefon Diggs trade. Not the trade itself, as he should still be near or at Pro Bowl level, but the price (a second-round pick) and the decision to void the final three years of his contract. That, coupled with Nico Collins’ contract extension, has us all wondering if Digg is unique to Houston. And if so, why did they choose to exchange so much to get so little?