It didn’t take much to read these tea leaves, but The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain is predicting that Texans defensive tackle and 2007 first rounder Amobi Okoye will probably not make the 2011 roster.
[Comment From JJones]
So with your response on Amobi Okoye not being on the team, do you think we trade him? What do you realistically think we could get for him?John McClain: I don’t know. I’m just saying when the season starts I’ll be surprised if he’s on the team. I may be wrong. He can play the run, but he doesn’t look like a 3-4 DL to me, even in Phillips’ defense.
It would have been a massive stunner if Okoye actually did make the roster, considering he’s a 4-3 off-tackle and Wade Phillips has switched to the 3-4. I’d bet he’ll get a look at 3-4 DE throughout the abbreviated preseason, but it also wouldn’t surprise me at all if he was on the outs in Houston.
Okoye hasn’t been worth the first-round pick the Texans used on him, but he’s been a serviceable off-tackle. Used in a rotation instead of as an every down lineman, he may recover some burst and value. It’s clear that the Texans aren’t interested in being the team that gets that out of him considering the amount of hype that Earl Mitchell and Shaun Cody have received thus far this offseason, but with his youth and talent, Okoye could be a nice bargain for some 4-3 team out there.