Tytus Howard willing to play anywhere to make the Texans’ offensive line successful
Tytus Howard has mostly been an outside guy.
Through his first eight games of his NFL career, the former 2019 first-round pick from Alabama State played right tackle for the Houston Texans — save for Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he started at left guard.
The Howard experiment at left guard didn’t end when then-offensive line coach Mike Devlin left. Even after 14 games at right tackle in 2020, current offensive line coach James Campen is also tinkering with Howard’s ability to play inside.
For the 6-5, 322-pounder, going from right tackle to left guard isn’t difficult.
“I’m pretty smart,” Howard said after Monday’s practice at NRG Stadium. “I played guard as a rookie and I played it throughout training camp. Started my first game plan against the Jags my rookie year, so, I still remember mostly everything.”
The 25-year-old says that playing inside does mean he has to be “more tight” with his technique.
“For me, just technique-wise, just picking up stuff a little bit faster, being more tight when I’m inside versus I have a lot more room to do stuff when I’m at tackle,” said Howard.
If the Texans decide that the best five-man combination of offensive linemen involves putting Howard back at right tackle, he is ready to go.
Said Howard: “I think I can just go back out and do it again. I practice it every day, so they prepare me for something like that. I think that’s why the coaches took it the way they did, moving me from tackle to guard, tackle to guard, stuff like that.”
The Texans have experimented with former 2020 fourth-round pick Charlie Heck at right tackle while Howard has been inside. When Howard has played right tackle, Justin McCray has taken the snaps at left guard with the first-team offense.
