The Houston Texans made a splash this offseason with the signing of safety Tyrann Mathieu. This gives the Texans another high-profile name in their star-studded defense.
There were a number of reasons that attributed to Mathieu signing with Houston. However, according to ESPN's Sarah Barshop, the big one was the team's intention to keep the Honey Badger at safety majority of the time:
“This is why I chose to play for the Texans,” Mathieu said. “[In Arizona], I had a lot on my plate. I couldn't really focus on really one position. I think a lot of times coaches may ask me to strictly rely on my instincts, but am I really getting better at football? I think those were questions I needed to answer, and I think Romeo answered those questions for me.
“I played four or five different positions, I had four or five different responsibilities and I never could really perfect one craft. I think right now, for me, it's just committing to safety, playing safety the best way. From there, like I said, the game plan kind of dictates, too, where I'll line up.”
It goes without saying that Mathieu's dynamic skill set makes him one of the most exciting defensive players in the NFL. Unfortunately, his versatile skill set was the reason that Arizona felt like he could be moved to a number of positions in the secondary.
This could be why he experienced a bit of a dip in production over the past couple of seasons. Mathieu registered 78 tackles, two interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble during the 2017 campaign. Although it was a solid year for any safety, it is a far cry from what was expected after playing in 16 games for the first time in his career.
That said, focusing all of his energy on one position could do wonders for Mathieu in the 2018 NFL season. Especially now that he joins two Pro Bowl-caliber players up front in defensive ends J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.
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