HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Second-year right tackle Tytus Howard feels good about his run-blocking from a season ago, but he’s focused on improving in pass protection this season.
Recovering from a torn meniscus, Howard plays an important role on this Texans offensive line, which is returning all five of its starters for the first time in nearly a decade.
Howard, who was drafted by the Texans from Alabama State in 2019 with the 23rd overall pick, played in just eight games his rookie year because of the injury. He debuted at left guard to begin the season before sliding over to right tackle.
Now that he’s healthy and firmly planted in his position, Howard wants to get better in pass protection to give quarterback Deshaun Watson more time in the backfield.
“I feel like if I can get better and win the one-on-one blocks that I need to win, it’s just going to only help the team,” Howard said during a conference call Tuesday. “That’s my goal for this year, to improve in pass protection so we can be better on offense.”
Howard had a busy offseason. He got married and now his wife, Chelsea, is expecting their first child in October. He’s also had knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus, so much of his offseason training has been academic.
“I think with me, it was more film study and watching what did I do to get beat on the plays that I did get beat on and how can I improve that? Looking at other guys who have been successful in the NFL before and watching how they go about pass blocking and what can I do to be on the same level as those guys. Because I want to be one of the greats. I watched the greats and I got one of the best on my team at left tackle, Laremy (Tunsil). So, I try to watch and see how patient he is, how he stays inside-out. Coach (Mike) Devlin always coaches me to stay inside-out and stuff like that. I think for me, that’s the biggest part of my game, being patient and staying inside-out and just playing a game that my coaches coach me to play. I think that’s going to help me out in this Year Two and I’m looking forward to helping my offensive line.”