The Houston Texans drafted Ben Tate with the 58th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was expected to be the man to shoulder the load and balance the Texans offense.
Then tragedy struck. Tate broke his ankle in the Texans first preseason game, and was lost for the rest of the season.
Then, in a strange turn of events, Arian Foster turned out a 231-yard rushing game against the Indianapolis Colts, and was the leading rusher in the NFL.
Foster's emergence as an elite running back places Houston's administration in a strong situation. They have a highly touted rookie running back who should be a dominant NFL runner, and the 2010 season's leading rusher.
The problem for the Texans front office is that both Foster and Tate are similar types of running backs, who are tough backs who will be productive in the zone blocking scheme that Houston run.
Tate is a bit faster, and Foster is a bit more powerful, but they are pretty much the same back, just with a different name.
There are a few options available to them, which I will seek to elaborate in this article.
The first option available to the Texans is to trade away Ben Tate. Since he was a middle second-round pick only last season, and is a very athletic for a 220-pound back, he will have not lost much of that value while losing his rookie season to a broken ankle. I think a late second-round pick would be able to wrest him away from the Texans' sticky little fingers.
While this may seem too soon to trade away a second-round pick, but the Texans were an explosive offense last season without him (third in the league). This would probably imply that the Texans will have a great offense with or without him, and a late second-round pick would be invaluable as they convert to a 3-4 defense.
The teams who could show the most interest are the Detroit Lions, the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants.
The Lions need a good powerful back to carry the load for Jahvid Best, and Tate would be better and more polished than any running back in the draft other than Ingram. However, the Lions also have plenty of needs, and giving up a second-round pick for a possible injury risk at running back could backfire spectacularly on them.
Indianapolis also needs a good running back to take the pressure off Peyton Manning. Tate would be able to make the most of the weak Colts offensive line with his athletic ability. He would also add some power to the Colts team, which has been seriously lacking recently.
The Giants have a good offensive line which paved the way for Ahmad Bradshaw in 2010. Tate would be able to be plugged in if Brandon Jacobs leaves as a power back, or as a full-time runner if they let go of Bradshaw.
Another option for the Texans would be to trade away the NFL's leading rusher, Arian Foster. While this seems mad, and could be terrible for the organization if Tate never comes off, Foster's value will never be higher, and the zone blocking scheme that Houston runs relies on the ability of the line more than the running back.
Most teams in the NFL would love to trade for Foster, and the Texans should get a first-round draft pick plus something else of value. This would help Houston's rebuilding effort even more than the Tate trade scenario.
A challenge with this is that Foster is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. This means that the Texans would have to sign him, then trade him.
The final obvious option is to keep hold of both running backs. Foster could be used as the primary back and Tate could be a change-of-pace runner. This would make Steve Slaton expendable, but he is likely not to have a high trade value.
Tate still has three years left on his contract, and by this time the Texans will know which back they want to continue with in the future.
I think the best option would be to trade away Tate. The risk involved in giving up one of the best running backs in the league for an unknown quantity is too great. It is also not sensible to keep carrying two carbon copy running backs in a team which suits a featured running back.
The draft pick they could acquire for him would also be important to rebuild the defense.
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