The Houston Texans will be able to add the pieces necessary to bring coach Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 scheme to a dominant level.
With selections at Nos. 3 and 13 overall in Round 1, the Texans have options to address the pass rush and secondary to give Smith the needed assets to help his defense take the next step.
If the Texans want an edge rusher, Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux is it. If Houston wants a safety, Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton is the target. If the Texans are looking for a top cornerback as a cornerstone for the defense, then Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner may be Houston’s guy.
According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, Gardner has the ability to play all three types of coverages, which should provide Smith with some flexibility.
Gardner has made his way up the ranks as the No. 1 cornerback in the draft, according to many observers. He can excel in all three of these categories, but zone coverage is his strong suit. Gardner stays square at the line of scrimmage, allowing him to immediately close on receivers. When downfield, he stays close to the receiver’s chest, leaving zero separation, and his size and ball skills in coverage are unmatched.
Texans linebackers coach Miles Smith says their version of the Tampa 2 has “kind of turned into something unique” given its deployment at the University of Illinois from 2016-20.
“It helped out being in college,” Smith told reporters on Feb. 22. “We were able to see elements that were going to come to pro football a little bit sooner where we were able to adjust things a little bit.”
If the Texans want to add other coverage elements to their defense, then they need a cornerback who has no trouble playing all three, and that defensive back is Gardner.
The acquisition of Gardner is problematic only that No. 3 is too high a value for him, and he may not be available by the time Houston picks again at No. 13. Nevertheless if he is available when the Texans pick again in Round 1, Houston should strongly consider adding him as the key piece to their cornerback corps.
