With training camp nearing, Blake Fisher is one of the Texans players who has plenty to answer for. That’s the reality for a team that keeps pushing to get better across the board: there are only 53 roster spots, and even on game day only 47 can suit up. In a crowded offensive line room, that squeeze gets real fast.
No position group feels that pressure more than the line. The Texans have loaded up with Wyatt Teller, Braden Smith and Evan Brown in free agency.
They also brought back Ed Ingram and Trent Brown, then added Keylan Rutledge and Febechi Nwaiwu in the draft. That’s seven new or returning names right there, and it doesn’t even count Jarrett Patterson, Aireontae Ersery and Jake Andrews, who were already under contract.
Ten linemen, not ten spots.
That math is what puts Fisher in the spotlight. There’s usually some patience for a high draft pick, and the Texans have shown that before.
Kenyon Green got three years before they moved on, and Juice Scruggs also got extended runway as a second-round pick. But eventually the league stops waiting.
Patterson was a sixth-round pick, Matthews started last season but could still be vulnerable if someone else wins the center job, and Fisher is the one who most clearly needs a strong camp to hold his place.
The depth chart doesn’t make life any easier. Ersery, Smith and Brown are already ahead of him at tackle, and that’s before you even get into the other linemen who can move around.
Fisher’s first two seasons have been uneven, too. He played more as a rookie, but the results were only so-so.
Last season, the numbers looked much better, though his role was heavily limited to run-heavy packages as the sixth lineman.
2024: 50.4 overall, 49.1 run block, 48.3 pass block
2025: 73.5 overall, 75.2 run block, 59.5 pass block
Nick Caley deserves credit for finding a way to get value out of him. Fisher was effective in that specialized role, which is why the overall grade jumped. For those who don’t live in the PFF world every day, the scale generally works like scouting grades: most players land between 20 and 90 when the sample is big enough, with 40 to 60 usually reserved for bench types, 60 to 70 for rotational players or borderline starters, 70 to 80 for solid starters, and 80-plus for the elite.
That makes Fisher’s 2025 season look better on paper, but the bigger picture is still pretty clear. He was useful in a narrow role, especially on running plays, but he still profiles more like a quality backup than a locked-in starter.
Whether that’s enough depends on what you expect from a former high pick. If you already have strong starters, a dependable reserve is a nice problem to have.
If you spent premium draft capital, it’s harder to call that a win.
His best route to sticking around starts with circumstances. Trent Brown signed for less because he’s often injured, so if he misses time again, Fisher could have the inside track as the swing tackle. After that, it’s on Fisher to show he can handle the job and do it consistently.
There are still reasons to think he can take a step. Year two to year three is usually a good window for growth, and this time he’ll have the benefit of staying in the same offense for a second straight season after starting over in each of his first two years.
He’ll also have the same offensive line coach for the second year in a row. That’s enough to give him a chance.
But with the Texans’ history on players like Green and Scruggs, nothing is guaranteed. Training camp will sort that out, and Fisher is one of the names worth watching closely.
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