NFL Team Previews: Houston Texans
Exactly, DeAndre Hopkins, "what do you think about the rest of my team???" Well, JJ Watt is good, and you are coached by a pretty darn good one in Bill O'Brien, and Rick Smith is your general manager. It also appears that he has set up your team for success. But are you a contender? That will be determined despite being the champions of the AFC South last season.
DRAFT RECAP: Outside of DeAndre Hopkins, the Houston Texans were pretty thin with significant playmakers last season. This year, they selected WR Will Fuller from Notre Dame in the third round and WR/Wildcat Braxton Miller in the third. Add these two guys to Cecil Shorts and second year pro Jaelen Strong, you have a young, talented receiving corps behind Hopkins. This group is what new QB Brock Osweiler needs in order to live up to his big deal in the offseason. In between Fuller and Miller, the Texans selected C Nick Martin, brother of Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin. He can fill in many spots of the offensive line, specifically the interior, and is expected to have a similar impact to that of his brother.
FREE AGENCY: The problem with Houston since QB Matt Schaub left, or even since the franchise began if you want to argue that, has been who is the quarterback? This offseason, the Texans signed QB Brock Osweiler away from the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos to lead the offense. Of course, he wasn't the starter, backing up Peyton Manning. Apparently, the few games he played showed that he is worth $72 million over four years. Granted, he's better than what they have had, but is he worth that much? Time will tell, obviously. Outside of Osweiler, the Texans brought in a running back to replace longtime RB Arian Foster in Lamar Miller, and he will be the starter and hopefully won't have the injury issues Foster has had in the past. The Texans also signed G Jeff Allen to replace Brandon Brooks.
PLAYERS LOST: Speaking of Foster, he is still a free agent, and though it seems he has spent more time injured than on the field, he still counts as a player lost. And when he was playing, he was highly effective. Outside of Foster, the Texans let a couple of offensive linemen walk away in G Brandon Brooks and C Ben Jones. They should be replaced by Allen and Martin, respectively. QB Brian Hoyer went to Chicago to backup up the incumbent Jay Cutler, WR Nate Washington joined New England, and S Rahim Moore decided to end his career by joining the Cleveland Browns (kidding, but not really). The biggest loss seems to be DE Jared Crick going to Denver, but the front seven in Houston is so talented that it seems they don't even need him anymore.
STRONGEST POSITION: I'll go with outside linebacker, and I want to include DE JJ Watt in this group. Be techincal all you want, but Houston's pass rush is it's biggest strength, and is probably better than what you have on your team's roster (I'm not a Texans fan, I'm mostly neutral towards them). JJ Watt, 17.5 sacks, which is a down year for him. Whitney Mercilus, 12 sacks, pretty good year and I'm assuming you all agree. Ja'Daveon Clowney, former number 1 pick, 4.5 sacks (but honestly, how much of an opportunity does he have with Watt and Mercilus?). John Simon, 5 sacks, backup OLB. The Texans are stacked here, and there is no doubt about it anywhere.
WEAKEST POSITION: Tight end. Sorry, Ryan Griffin, but your 251 yards and 2 touchdowns don't qualify you as a starting tight end, and barely let you get by as a backup. To be fair, you had Brian Hoyer as your QB, but Gary Barnidge had the dumpster fire at QB that is the Cleveland Browns (I don't know why I'm making fun of the Browns so much in a Houston Texans post, it's really weird), so having a bad QB is not an excuse. These tight ends need to spread open the middle of the field and help new QB Brock Osweiler and the wide receivers.
FIVE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS TO THE TEXANS SUCCESS: DE JJ Watt, QB Brock Osweiler, WR DeAndre Hopkins, RB Lamar MIller, CB Jonathan Joseph. JJ Watt is the best defensive player in the NFL, so obviously he's important to Houston. WR DeAndre Hopkins needs to show that he really is a number one receiver, and that last year was not a fluke. RB Lamar Miller was brought in to be durable, and to stabilize the running back position. CB Jonathan Joseph is the veteran of the Texans' secondary, and is needed to keep that group in tact to help the rest of the defense live up to expectations. Finally, Brock Osweiler is the key to how far the Texans can really go, because if he can play up to his contract, they are a Super Bowl contender. If not, they are barely a division contender.
PREDICTON: The Texans are the anti-Colts, meaning they are built around everything besides QB, and their success is determined by how he does. With the Colts, the QB makes up for all of the flaws on the team, ,and they try to ride him to a title. I personally like the Texans way better, which is why I think they will win the AFC South. I don't, however, think they will do much better than that, since I'm still uncertain about Osweiler. 10-6 is my best guess, with 8-8 being my worst.
