Bill O'Brien Might Be Dumb Enough to Accept This OJ Howard Trade
By Michael Luciano
The Houston Texans went from one of the most promising young teams in football to a major question mark after Bill O'Brien traded away DeAndre Hopkins without getting a first-round pick back and replacing him with Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks.
O'Brien's itchy trigger finger might lead to him making another deal, as he could be interested in trading for OJ Howard, who's firmly on the market after another year of being underutilized by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
O'Brien's relationship with second-round picks is a complicated one, as he simultaneously thinks that a second-rounder is adequate compensation for Hopkins in a trade, but also traded one away for an underperforming player in Cooks. With one second-rounder left, No. 40 overall, don't be surprised if that pick gets flipped to Tampa for Howard, who caught just 34 passes and one touchdown last year.
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What would make this trade even worse is the fact that Houston doesn't even need Howard. Darren fells and Jordan Akins are a fine 1-2 punch at that position, and the team invested a third-round pick into tight end Kahale Warring during the 2019 draft. That won't stop O'Brien from at least taking the call.
As enticing as Howard is, given his athletic potential and deemphasis in Arians' offense last year, he wouldn't be the best fit in Houston's offense, which means that O'Brien would naturally love to bring him in.