The Houston Texans held their second scrimmage of training camp Wednesday evening at NRG Stadium. Here are four takeaways from the scrimmage.
1. Jacob Martin may be the star of camp
When coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was asked who stood out to him during the scrimmage, the former Seattle Seahawks 2018 sixth-round pick was a name that kept popping up.
O’Brien mentioned that Martin played well during the scrimmage, but also added that he has “has a good camp.” From O’Brien to defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Martin is a name that continues to appear when asked about top performers in scrimmage or throughout training camp.
2. The Texans like P.J. Hall’s development
Houston claimed Hall off waivers after he failed his physical as part of a trade between the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. Since arriving in Houston, Hall has done his part to get in shape to contribute to the Texans.
“He’s lost weight,” O’Brien said. “He’s shown up every day. He’s worked hard in the weight room. He’s trying to work hard on his diet. I thought he played well the last couple days, and I thought he played pretty well tonight from what I could see from the field level there. We’ll continue to work with him and we’ll see where it goes.”
The club already released defensive tackle Albert Huggins. Hall brings the veteran experience O’Brien is placing a premium on in this pandemic-affected season.
3. What will happen to Keke Coutee?
DeAndre Carter is a receiver that O’Brien has mentioned as having grown as a player due to his constant availability. Carter’s role has expanded from that of a returner to now possessing some slot receiver responsibilities.
Carter isn’t the only wideout who pushes Coutee; Steven Mitchell is another one of those players, and he stood out to O’Brien when asked for his players that caught his attention Wednesday evening.
4. Scottie Phillips is sticking around
Running backs can’t exactly be brought to the ground in training camp, which means their ability to hold on to the football can’t be tested. Similarly, when they reach a crowd at the line of scrimmage or second level, the play is blown dead; they can’t fight through it.
With all of these considerations in place, O’Brien still found a way to praise Phillips, who he said “ran hard” in the scrimmage.
“A lot of it’s not live, but you can see on tape, you can look at their vision, you can look at their cutting ability, you can look at their — you can judge whether they would have broken that tackle or not,” said O’Brien. “He ran hard tonight, Scottie did. That was good to see.”
It is doubtful that Phillips will beat out special teamer Buddy Howell purely on his abilities as a runner. However, the Texans may do what they can to sneak Phillips onto the practice squad.
