Texans DC Lovie Smith likes Lonnie Johnson’s position flexibility

Lovie Smith wouldn’t say whether Lonnie Johnson would play cornerback or safety for the club’s new Tampa-2 scheme in 2021.

However, the new Houston Texans defensive coordinator and associate head coach would praise the third-year defensive back’s versatility in the secondary when he met with the Houston media via Zoom on Thursday.

“I’ll say this here, Lonnie has position flexibility,” Smith said. “You’re going to hear that word an awful lot. I think it’s safe to say, we see Lonnie as a safety right now. He feels good about that.”

Johnson produced 76 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, and three quarterback hits in 16 games, five of which he started.

“He’s got excellent size,” said Smith. “He’s got a corner skillset, too. Really feel good about him fitting into our defense. As you look at our roster right, we’ve gone through that evaluation process and if a guy’s here right now, we think that there’s a perfect role for them to fit within our system.

The Texans have depth at cornerback with Bradley Roby, Vernon Hargreaves, Desmond King, Terrance Mitchell, Keion Crossen, and John Reid. The club also has safeties they can rely on in Eric Murray, A.J. Moore, and Justin Reid. Given Johnson’s size at 6-2, 213 pounds, the Texans would like to find a way to utilize that length on the back end.