The Houston Texans have made a bevy of trades since Aug. 8, five in total, with the most recent being for Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley, a former 2017 first-round pick from Ohio State.
According to Marc Sessler of NFL.com, the Texans need to be buyers at the trade deadline and get more help to shore up their injured cornerback group that currently has Johnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby battling hamstring injuries with Phillip Gaines sidelined due to a season-ending ankle injury.
Who should the Texans trade for?
HOUSTON TEXANS: Buy cornerback Desmond Trufant. Texans coach Bill O’Brien has made the most of his interim general manager duties, shipping away picks for bookend Laremy Tunsil and wideout Kenny Stills. BOB followed this up with a swap for Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley, but that hardly solved Houston’s issues in the secondary. Rookie slot corner Lonnie Johnson is the team’s lowest-graded defensive regular, per Pro Football Focus. With Bradley Roby banged up and Phillip Gaines shipped to injured reserve, the Texans still need plenty of help at CB. Trufant is under contract through 2022 and would give Houston a proven-if-not-spectacular piece to build around. Potential compensation: 2021 third-round pick.
Trufant is 29 years old, just two years older than Roby and six years younger than Joseph. By adding Trufant, the Texans wouldn’t exactly get younger at the position and he could become the new Joseph, an old veteran who provides leadership to an otherwise youthful unit.
The former 2013 first-round pick from Washington has collected two interceptions, four pass breakups, and five combined tackles in his five games played for Atlanta in 2019. Trufant earned Pro Bowl honors in 2015 when he intercepted a pass, broke up 11 others, recovered two fumbles, collected 1.0 sack, and recorded 42 combined tackles along with a tackle for loss in 16 starts. If the Texans could get that level of production from Trufant in his arrival to Houston, it might be worth the trade.
