The Houston Texans have had a very busy 2024 offseason so far and they've only continued to add to their burgeoning roster. The Texans made another big splash Wednesday after adding players like Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, Denico Autry, and Joe Mixon earlier in free agency. They traded a 2025 second-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for star receiver Stefon Diggs as well as two Day 3 picks.
These are the luxuries a team has when they have a young team that is ready to compete now. Houston built this team largely through the draft, and last year's class, which includes CJ Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. and Nathaniel ‘Tank' Dell, among others, was a big part of this accelerated rebuild.
It will be tougher for the Texans to replicate that this year without a first-round pick, but they still have two second-rounders and a third to work with. They could use those to draft sleepers like Georgia's Kamari Lassiter, Western Michigan's Marshawn Kneeland, and Florida State's Trey Benson.
Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
Perhaps the most glaring need on Houston's roster at the moment is cornerback. Last season, the Texans ranked 20th in EPA allowed per dropback. Among teams who made the playoffs last year, that was the third-worst in the league. Only the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles trailed them in that department.
Steven Nelson, one of their starting corners from a year ago, is still a free agent, and all Houston has done to replace him is sign Jeff Okudah and CJ Henderson. Neither has been able to live up to the hype they got entering the league.
That's where someone like Kamari Lassiter enters the fray. Lassiter has been as stout as any cornerback in college football. He only racked up one interception and 14 pass deflections over his three seasons at Athens, but for good reason. No one threw the ball in his direction on a frequent basis.
Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter last season:
🐶 408 Coverage Snaps
🐶 Zero TDs Allowed
🐶 48.7 Passer Rating Allowed
🐶 85.4 PFF Grade pic.twitter.com/SQGtKDYa5s— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 25, 2024
Lassiter has the build to hold it down on the outside at 6-feet and 180 pounds. Houston does already have one building block at the position in former LSU Tiger Derek Stingley Jr. but could use another. Lassiter looks like he can be that guy.
Marshawn Kneeland, Edge Rusher, Western Michigan
No one can ever have enough pass rushers, and there may not be one more underrated in this class than Western Michigan's Marshawn Kneeland. His production isn't the best out there. In four collegiate seasons, in the MAC no less, Kneeland registered only 13 sacks. But, sacks are not the end all be all with pass rushers. He also put up 28 hurries, was responsible for two safeties in 2023, and has a robust grade from PFF.
Don’t sleep on 6’3 270 lbs Western Michigan DE Marshawn Kneeland 🚨
🏈Explosive rusher, attacks with powerful 34” arms 🤯
🏈6 sacks, 28 hurries and an ELITE 90 PFF Grade 📈
🏈 Uses Speed-to-Power to sack the quarterback
Kneeland has potential👇👇pic.twitter.com/RqbgoHf6GQ
— Efram Geller (@Mr1rrelevant) February 6, 2024
The pass rush does not stand out as a big need for the Texans. They ranked third in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric a year ago and have two of the best at the position in Anderson Jr. and Hunter. But they did get older at the position by effectively swapping Jonathan Greenard with the Minnesota Vikings for Hunter. Derek Barnett and Mario Edwards Jr., Houston's current backups at the position, registered a combined 4.5 sacks in 29 games in 2023.
Both Barnett and Edwards Jr. signed one-year deals with the team in the offseason. Hunter is on a two-year deal. It wouldn't hurt to find a running mate for Anderson Jr. in the draft. Kneeland could be just that.
Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
The Texans traded for Joe Mixon earlier this offseason, but that shouldn't preclude them from looking for another one. Mixon has run for more than 4.1 yards per carry in a season once in his career, and that was all the way back in 2018. He's also about to turn 28 years old in July. Houston could stand to add some juice to that room
They could do that by drafting Florida State's Trey Benson. Benson was one of the most explosive backs in all of college football last season.
Trey Benson 2023 stats:
505 yards after contact
3.66 YCO/A
21 explosive runs
1.42 YPRR
41 MTF
55.7 BAY%Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more player cut-ups: https://t.co/RGORHvX85y pic.twitter.com/gMuYSopIQB
— Nick Penticoff (@NickPenticoff) February 24, 2024
He did himself a ton of favors with how he tested at the combine too. He looks nearly like a Breece Hall clone.
Seeing double👀 pic.twitter.com/PEstpiiUOQ
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) March 26, 2024
Hall plays in a similar zone scheme to what the Texans deploy. Houston won't need him to be a bellcow with Mixon in the fold, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Benson was better than Mixon as soon as this year. He'd be a tremendous addition to Houston's roster.