The Houston Texans are pretty thin at cornerback with their two starters battling injuries with Johnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby. While Joseph could return against the Indianapolis Colts, Roby’s absence could be much longer.
The Texans have nine draft picks in the 2020 NFL draft, and thus, have capital to make some deals. Here are four cornerbacks Houston should pull the trigger and trade for immediately.
1. william jackson
The Cincinnati Bengal corner is a local kid from Phillis Wheatly High School, who played college ball for the Houston Cougars, would relish at the idea of helping fortify his hometown NFL team’s secondary, playing alongside J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Johnathan Joseph. Jackson has a pick and two pass breakups on the season through his six starts. A 2016 first-round pick, Jackson hasn’t lived up to his billing and is a part of the Marvin Lewis regime. A fourth-round pick should do the trick to bring Jackson home.
2. patrick peterson
Even though there is no Tyrann Mathieu in Houston to let there be an LSU reunion in the Texans secondary, adding Peterson would give the Texans another topflight cornerback. It would be akin to getting a better version of Johnathan Joseph when the Texans did in 2011, though Peterson is 29 years old and Joseph was 27. Peterson’s first game back is in Week 7 versus the New York Giants. The eight-time Pro Bowler was serving a six-game suspension for violation of the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy. A fresh start in a new NFL city may be just what Peterson needs, and playing for a contender is something he hasn’t done since 2015. The trade package would have to include multiple picks, possibly a third, fifth, and swapping of sevenths.
3. jourdan lewis
For some reason, the 2017 third-round pick from Michigan can’t find any playing time with the Dallas Cowboys despite producing three interceptions, 13 pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and 73 combined tackles in 36 games played, eight of which he’s started. The Cowboys seem to like Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie, and Anthony Brown more. Perhaps Dallas would be interested in a fourth-round pick.
4. chris harris
The Texans like what they got from Bradley Roby. How would his ex-teammate from the Denver Broncos fit in? Harris is long in the tooth at 30 years old, but he could provide the stability to Texans need just to get through the season. If the Texans were to trade for Harris, it would be along the lines of when they dealt for receiver Demaryius Thomas last season: a rent-a-player to help the Texans with their win-now aspirations and maybe not a player for the future. The Texans shouldn’t go higher than a third for Harris, perhaps more along the lines of a fifth-rounder given his age.
