The Houston Texans could use help along both the offensive line and defensive line.
However, the Texans promoted their defensive coordinator to coach, which means Lovie Smith may be more inclined to campaign general manager Nick Caserio use the team’s high-value draft picks to add more firepower along the defensive line.
Not so fast.
The 63-year-old Smith was once the coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004-12, and for the first seven years of his tenure in the Windy City, Olin Kreutz was a dominant center who went to land on the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2000s. Smith knows how much a good offensive line can mean to a team.
“My time up north, I had Olin Kreutz, a center who played the game tough, what you wanted to be,” Smith said. “Got a chance to see him every day, how he prepared through the week, how he played. I know how important it is on both sides. It is about the trenches on both sides.”
The Texans had trouble forming cohesion along the offensive line due to injuries and availability issues. Houston’s run game was nonexistent as they churned a 3.4 yards per carry and 83.6 rushing yards per game, both the lowest in the NFL.
While the Texans may not have a six-time Pro Bowler at center presently, they do have Justin Britt, a former 2014 second-round pick for the Seattle Seahawks. The former Missouri product has been a guiding light and set the tone for the rest of the offensive line.
“It starts up front,” said Smith. “That’s why a guy like Justin Britt is so important and the rest of our offensive lineman. We have a few high draft picks on our offensive line, but you can never have enough and in order to have success, we have to be good there.”
The Texans have picks in Round 1 at Nos. 3 and 13 overall, giving them a chance at a trio of offensive linemen that include NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu, Alabama’s Evan Neal, and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross.
