Offense 

This Texans offense is seeing some drastic changes from top to bottom with getting a new play caller, additions to the WR room, and more than anywhere else their OL room has completely been turned on its head from last season. 

As far as the changes to their OL room goes they traded away their best player along that group in Laremy Tunsil. While Tunsil hasn’t been perfect the last year or so, having some issues with penalties mainly, losing him certainly hurts this room and while I like the additions they made with Can Robinson and Trent Brown in FA along with Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota) in the draft it’ll be hard to find someone that is as solid at LT for them as Tunsil was, even considering the locker room issues they had with him. They also have Blake Fisher who should be able to win one of the starting T jobs, most likely RT, but I don’t expect him to have a huge impact either. All in all this T group could find more success than last season but not having an absolute rock at LT anymore may outweigh them collectively being a better group. When it comes to the IOL part of this OL room is wheee I really have my concerns. This group really struggled last season at their G spots especially with Kenyon Green playing really poor in pass protection and while I liken moving Tytus Howard inside adding Laken Tomlinson to fill in the other G spot is just as risky as bringing back Kenyon Green in my opinion. Tomlinson has really struggled with pass protection the last two seasons especially and I don’t know that I can trust him to play all that much better than Green/his replacements did and not to mention the C position is questionable as well with Jarrett Patterson starting there and really no competition unless they really believe in Jake Andrews. I don’t hate the young depth pieces here with Juice Scruggs and Ed Ingram but Scruggs has struggled to stay healthy and hasn’t played all that well when he’s been out there and Ingram has shown flashes for the Vikings in the past but is far too inconsistent to count on. Overall I think this group has a chance at being more capable than last season considering the depth they have but I don’t imagine it being leaps and bounds better which is really what they needed. I could be wrong but it doesn’t look super promising at first glance. 

As far as the WR room goes this has to be up there with best in the league when you account for depth on the roster. Losing Tank Dell to injury (Dislocated kneecap, Torn ACL,  Torn MCL, Torn LCL, and damage to meniscus) late last year and in turn the entirety of this upcoming season is certainly frustrating and disappointing considering the impact he has when he out there. The good news is you added Christian Kirk through trade who can be a nice vertical threat out of the slot for you and if need be can play on the outside as a off the ball Y option and then you go into the draft and add not just one Iowa State WR but two and both of them being absolutely awesome players in college. Jayden Higgins (Iowa State) and Jaylin Noel (Iowa State) may not elite guys straight out of the draft but the versatility they add to this room is going to be awesome for this team moving forward. Higgins is a big body X WR that has some versatility in my opinion that could allow him to slide into the slot occasionally and Noel is going to be another Christian Kirk for them where he’ll be that vertical threat out of the slot but has a really complete game as well and should add something more of the middle of the field than Kirk will. When you add in the fact that they have Nico Collin’s who has established himself as a true #1 WR in the league and solid depth pieces in John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson there’s almost too many guys to keep on a 53 man roster. What I love about this group though is the versatility, you can now play Collins anywhere you want with Higgins being able to line up at X and eat up press effectively and Kirk/Noel being able to play in the slot but also versatile enough to slide out and play on the outside here and there. There’s so much talent and they all mesh together really well which should allow new OC Nick Caley to be unpredictable with  alignment for these guys. Not to mention last year they struggled with injuries in this room and was a big reason they struggled down the stretch and with the additions they made it allows them to protect themselves not just this year but down the road as well. 

     They also have a very solid group of TEs to pair with this WR room that makes this passing attack all that more dangerous and gives more options for CJ Stroud to target. While Dalton Schultz, Brevin Jordan, and Cade Stover aren’t world beater they all add their own strengths that makes this offense all that more versatile when it comes to formations and alignment. 

While I don’t have to talk about this as he’s solidified himself as a plus starter in the league CJ Stroud does deserve a bit more respect for what he’s done throughout his first two seasons in the league. While it hasn’t been perfect acting like last season was some sort of failure or disappointment for him is just crazy to me. Stroud played behind a IOL that consistently let pressure right into his face before he could even get to his first read, his top three WRs were banged throughout different points of the season and never got a chance to really click as a group along side him, and he also had an OC that failed to evolve after his first year of being in that position. Stroud made all of that look like an above average offense in the league and kept them competitive and got them to the playoffs at the end of the year. That’s why I view Stroud as borderline elite QB with the likes of Matt Stafford, Justin Herbert, and as crazy as it may sound.. Jayden Daniels is already getting there as well and while Stroud may not be in that top four conversation right now I wouldn’t doubt that he pushes into it by the end of this year. There’s still flaws on this offense but I think he’s talented enough to make them look right more often than not and to me that speaks to just how special of a player he is.

Defense

As far as this Demeco Ryans lead defense goes there wasn’t much change and for good reason. They added some depth pieces throughout the roster with guys like EJ Speed, Nick Niemann, Sheldon Rankins, and Darrell Taylor who should all find roles along this team but I wouldn’t expect any huge impact from them. This defense has all the pieces to be great and the best part is their young and when you pair that with the coaching that they have here on this side of the ball that has to excite you. 

The secondary really stands out to me as they’ve built up one of the best groups in the league from top down. You have an absolute superstar at CB in Derek Stingley Jr and opposite of him a really talented Kamari Lassiter who continues to show just how special of player he is despite the poor athletic testing before his draft. In the S room you have a really talented young player in Calen Bullock who has his flaws but is an absolute ball hawk on the back end and you pair him with the new addition of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson who may be a little outspoken and certainly a character on the field but plays with a real attitude and physicality on the back end which will pair nicely with Bullock. In the slot you have a combination of Jalen Pitre and Myles Bryant, Bryant being the more “restricted” player in terms of him being only a slot while Pitre has experience at S and can be a bit of a puzzle piece for you but plays best when he’s in the box and can make plays in the run game. They also added a couple of draft picks in the secondary with Jaylin Smith (USC) and Jaylen Reed (Penn State) I personally didn’t see it with Smith and thought he was over drafted but Reed is a solid backup S that needs to work on consistency with his tackling and pursuit when chasing the ball but plays with a real aggression and you can tell absolutely loves being an enforcer on the field. Overall this group is really solid and doesn’t have many flaws if any, outside of possibly depth. 

     We’ll also have to see what they get from Jimmie Ward after this situation with him being arrested because he could be another puzzle piece of a player that they can matchup where and when they want to. 

As for the seven there’s really not much to say other than this could be the best front seven in the league next year. You have your true alpha/#1 guy in Will Anderson Jr and the rest of the guys along the DL are either plus starters or league average at worst, not to mention the depth is phenomenal as well. I mean Danielle Hunter, Folorunso Fatukasi, Tim Settle Jr, Denico Autry, Sheldon Rankins, Mario Edwards Jr, Darrell Taylor, and Derek Barnett plus Will Anderson Jr is just insane. There’s youth, vets, depth, plus starters, and just options upon options of archetype of players just flat out awesome and I don’t know how else to put it. You add in the fact you have a group of LBs that are extremely talented as well with Azeez Al-Shaair being the vet Mike LB in the room and two talented young players that HC Demeco Ryans has taken under his wing with Christian Harris and Henry To’oTo’o and I’m not sure you can put together a better coached and more talented front seven from top down. They also have guys that have real starting experience at LB that are depth players here as well with EJ Speed and Nick Neimann who may not be the greatest starters at LB but are capable and are certainly great pieces to have as depth. Overall this unit is just flat out phenomenal and should be one of the best units in the entire league next year. 

Overview 

• This Texans once again looks geared up and ready to take the AFC South and while they certainly have some flaws, specifically along the OL, this team is more complete and ready to go challenge for the AFC title than they ever have been before in my opinion. They have so many ways that they can hurt you on offense and so long as the offensive play calling is up to par they should be able to compete with just about anyone in a track meet type of game. The defensive roster is absolutely awesome from top to bottom and when you pair that with the coaching of Demeco Ryans I’m not sure there will be a better defense in the entire league. There’s flaws for sure but when you have Demeco Ryans at HC and CJ Stroud at QB and at least an average roster surrounding, which this team has far more than, you’re going to be good. Ultimately it comes down to what this team can accomplish in the playoffs and while it may not be a Super Bowl this year they certainly have a chance and any team will take that headed into a season.