Nick Martin is looking forward to what the 2020 Texans offensive line can do.
The center enters year five in the NFL, and he's very optimistic about the combo--left to right--of Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil, guard Max Scharping, himself, guard Zach Fulton and tackle Tytus Howard.
"The nice thing, honestly, is we're going to have some cohesion," Martin said via a recent Zoom interview. "Everyone's going to be back for the first time in a long time. So we're going to have guys who have played with each other through a whole season, and then continued on.That's what we want to continue: keep playing with each other, keep getting better."
After the Texans drafted Howard and Scharping last April, they dealt for Tunsil in late August. That trio teamed with Martin and Fulton to start together for six games in 2019, with Houston winning five of those contests. Howard was lost to injury for the season after Week 12. Getting Howard back in the mix with the rest of the crew will be big for the Houston offense.
"Obviously LT doing his thing at left tackle, everyone knows how good he is," Martin said. "Max taking that big step, which most rookies do into their second year. Fulton doing his thing. He's a pro, he's been in the League forever now. And then Tytus getting healthy coming back on the field and just being the finisher he is. So it's going to be fun having all those guys back, having a year under our belt and continuing building on that in year two."
Martin said he and his linemates are constantly focused on improvement, whether it's been alone during garage workouts in the COVID-19 pandemic, or together at NRG Stadium.
"You're fighting, scratching, clawing to get better each day," Martin said. "Whether it's in the film room or the practice field. You just really have to find one thing to get better at each day. You can't focus on too much or it's not going to happen. It's kind of cliche, but you either get better or you get worse every day."
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 23. The Texans' first selection is in the second round at 40th overall, which is Friday, April 24.
