Howard has a rosy view on second year
Right tackle is part of an offensive line that stays intact
Surrounded by roses and champagne toasts, Tytus Howard celebrated his wedding in February.
His wife, Chelsea, is pregnant, and the couple is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a baby in October.
These are happy times for the Texans’ starting right offensive tackle. The 24-year-old has made a full recovery from knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus that abbreviated his first NFL season.
The Texans’ first-round draft pick from Alabama State still garnered all-rookie status, denoting him as one of the top young offensive linemen in the league. His first year in the NFL was a success story. Now, Howard wants to build on that foundation.
“My offseason went pretty good,” Howard said during a Zoom video call. “I was mostly in the building five days a week rehabbing, getting ready for the season. I got married in the offseason, so I spent a lot of time with my wife.”
Howard excelled at his natural right tackle position after being shifted from left guard before a road victory over the Chargers as the Texans inserted fellow rookie Max Scharping as his replacement at left guard next to left tackle Laremy Tunsil. An early preseason experiment with Howard at left tackle didn’t click.
He’s also resilient. Howard initially hurt his knee against the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs but missed only two games.
A classic late bloomer, Howard (6-5, 322) has gained roughly 100 pounds since high school, adding necessary bulk he attributes partially to Chelsea’s chicken spaghetti dishes.
“Tytus has a similar story to mine because he played a little bit of quarterback back in the day,” Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “I remember he interviewed with Philly during the draft process. He’s a guy who’s versatile, can play guard and tackle. The more you can do, the more valuable you are. He’s young. The first few years in the league is when you have the biggest growing pains. That’s when you start climbing.”
Signed to a four-year, $12.2 million guaranteed contract with a 2023 fifthyear club option, Howard committed just five penalties and allowed two sacks as a rookie while protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“I’m very excited about Tytus Howard,” said Duke Manyweather, a private offensive line coach based in Plano who coaches Johnson, Saints offensive tackle Terron Armstead and Texans right guard Zach Fulton among several others. “When you turned on the film with Tytus, you saw a long, explosive, aggressive offensive lineman whose skills would translate immediately and become something special in the NFL.
“He kind of got derailed with some injuries last year. I’m looking forward to him coming back this year and solidifying himself. I’m excited. It will be really cool to see that line come together with those good young tackles with him and Laremy.”
As a run blocker, Howard consistently was able to drive heavy defensive linemen off the football. He displayed potential as a pass blocker but could still use refinement in his technique.
Howard is athletic enough to become a better pass blocker. It’s a matter of his maintaining his balance and patience while fanning out his feet and hands to engage pass rushers. He occasionally got off-balance when he would overcommit his initial pop, get caught leaning and drop his helmet, which allowed veteran rushers to slip past him. It didn’t happen often but occurred frequently enough that Howard is making pass blocking a special point of emphasis.
“Yeah, I feel like I did pretty good in the run game,” Howard said. “This year, I’m trying to take a step and get better in the pass protection so Deshaun has more time back in the backfield. I feel like if I can get better and win the oneon-one blocks that I need to win, it’s just going to only help the team. That’s my goal for this year: to improve in pass protection so we can be better on offense.”
The Texans, who regard Howard as an emerging young player, are confident they got it right by picking him. They zeroed in on him in the draft process after meeting with him at the Senior Bowl and the NFL scouting combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.05 seconds, along with a private workout and an official visit.
“Tytus had a really good rookie year,” Texans coach and general manager Bill
O’Brien said. “Very tough, very physical, very athletic, great guy, great teammate. He’s got a really bright future.”
Howard studies a lot of film and doesn’t have to look far for a role model. He watches Tunsil closely and takes advice from him and offensive line coach Mike Devlin, among other mentors.
“Because I wasn’t able to do as much because I was recovering from a knee injury, 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?” Howard said. “(I’m) 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’ve got one of the best on my team at left tackle: Laremy. So I try to watch and see how patient he is, how he stays inside-out. Coach Devlin always coaches me to stay inside-out and stuff like that. 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.”
The Texans return all five starting offensive linemen for the first time since 2011, bringing back Tunsil, Scharping, center Nick Martin, Fulton and Howard.
As a family man, Howard contemplated briefly whether he should opt out of the season. Many NFL players, including offensive and defensive linemen, have done so because of health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ultimately, Howard’s conversations with his wife and parents led him to a firm decision that he was committed to the team, and he has gained a comfort level with the safety procedures the league and the Texans have implemented, which include daily COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and social-distancing enforcement through proximity recording devices, and medical-grade cleaning standards at NRG Stadium.
“When it comes to my family, I thought about it,” Howard said. “But in my eyes, I had a talk with my wife and my parents, and I think it was in my best interest to play. At the end of the day, yeah, I have a family, but the team is my family, too. I had to think about the team.”