'Healthy Competition!' DeMeco Ryans Reveals Texans' Plan for Henderson, Okudah

The Houston Texans have turned to former top 10 picks to replace cornerback Steven Nelson. Head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke about his vision for them in 2024.

Houston Texans v Atlanta Falcons / Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages

On Thursday, the Houston Texans found their second of two free-agent signings from the top 10 picks of the 2020 NFL Draft. Signing cornerback C.J. Henderson days after Jeff Okudah joined the ranks of Houston’s secondary has given the Texans upside in the place of veteran corner Steven Nelson’s steady hand.

With Nelson off to the open market, Houston is yet to replace him with a big-ticket signing. While there are still moves to make - including the NFL Draft - it seems Henderson and Okudah will be battling it out for the second boundary corner spot.

At the NFL Annual Meeting, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke about the new acquisitions.

Houston Texans v Atlanta Falcons / Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages

“With the two corners, I see young players. Young, talented guys who, for wherever they were picked, doesn’t matter to me,” Ryans said. “I see young, talented guys on tape, long guys who can run, play sticky coverage, who just have to be more consistent. And sometimes guys just need a new scene and hopefully, a change of scenery helps these guys out.”

While the first-round pedigree may be a preference of general manager Nick Caserio (or a timely coincidence), Ryans has eyes for the talent he can develop in his quarters-heavy scheme.

The Texans struggled to limit explosive plays last season, ranking in the bottom half of the league in expected points per dropback and success rate on those snaps. With a better pass rush, pairing either of them with corner Derek Stingley Jr. could pay dividends. Houston is looking to complement C.J. Stroud’s prowess with a defense with equal potency. 

However, it’s far from a guarantee, especially if Okudah and Henderson are going to be taking on the elite passing attacks of the AFC. By Pro Football Focus’ grading, Okudah and Henderson ranked 120th and 124th out of 132 corners with at least 176 snaps, respectively.

As such, they’ll be battling out for playing time, and perhaps a roster spot. That’s something Ryans is willing to embrace. 

“Adding those guys we just talked about, you want to come in and compete,” Ryans said. “So it’s competition and both guys understand that. And as much healthy competition as we can have on our roster, that means we’re getting better. Our depth is getting better, we have guys competing for spots, and our team is better.” 

How either corner steps up could be telling in how Houston deals with the burden of expectations in 2024.