Battle Red Blog
Could a once great back be the missing piece of the offense?
One of my favorite books growing up was a book titled “The Missing Piece” by Shel Silverstein. In fact, I use it now as a teaching tool when I work high school retreats at my church. Obviously, the story has a lot of deep themes that we really shouldn’t get to here, but the title seemed to ring true for me as I think about the Texans offense.
If you asked most Texans fans what they wanted in one additional player they would probably say a center or guard. That’s certainly fair as the offensive line is still a huge question mark for the upcoming season. However, that may not in fact be the team’s biggest need. Good or bad, the Texans have depth at those positions. It may not be good depth, but it is competition and if one guy goes down we can reasonably be sure that another will play at a similar level. It might not be a good level, but it is what it is at this point.
The Texans drafted wide receiver depth and an additional tight end that could make an impact. While the team did draft Woody Marks and he is certain to fill a role this team needs, the depth at running back might be biggest remaining hole. A 17 game schedule is grueling and expecting a starting running back like Joe Mixon to make it through all 17 games and the playoffs is unrealistic. Who takes his place when he is out?
We need not be pollyanna about this. Last year was a rough year for Chubb. He had gained over 1500 yards in a previous season and near that amount in another. Chubb is likely not that same guy. He averaged 3.3 yards per attempt last season in an injury-riddled campaign. After all, there is a reason why guys are still available in late May.
He suffered a torn MCL and ACL in 2023 and lost the first half of the 2024 season recovering from those injuries. He missed from week 15 on with a foot injury. So, 2024 was a lost season for him. In six previous seasons, he never averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per carry. He is at nearly 7000 career yards despite missing much of the last two seasons.
The Texans have done this before and it worked. They signed Cam Akers who had a similar injury history. In the end, they flipped Akers for a future draft pick. I’m not sure I would have done that at the time, because it showed continued faith in Dameon Pierce. Pierce simply hasn’t stepped up as a consistent backup running back. Thus, the Texans need to augment the room with someone.
Chubb has been a bell cow in the past, so if Mixon were to go down for a few games he could step in and carry the load some....
