Another year, another new head coach for the Houston Texans. This will
make 4 head coaches to start each of the last 4 seasons for the Texans.
I'm not real sure that's ever been done before. Bill O'Brien - 2020,
David Culley - 2021, Lovie Smith - 2022, and for 2023, former Texans 2nd
round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, DeMeco Ryans, becomes the Texans 6th HC in this their 22nd year of existence. For kicks and giggles, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had just 3 HCs since 1969. That's 55 years for those keeping score at home.
A new HC usually comes with a new coaching staff. With Ryans still expected to have a major influence on the defensive side of the ball, he has still hired a DC to help with scheme and installation. The Texans new DC is Matt Burke. Burke was the DC in Miami for 2 seasons from 2017-2018. Statistically those defenses were pretty bad, 31st against the run in '18. The Texans will be Burke's 4th different gig in the last 4 years.
On offense, Pep Hamilton has been let go of his OC duties and the Texans new OC will be Bobby Slowik. Slowik started his NFL coaching career as a defensive assistant with the Redskins in 2011 serving 3 seasons with them. From 2014-2016 he was an analyst for Pro Football Focus, an analytics company focused on NFL and college football. Slowik came back to coaching with the 49ers in 2017 as a Defensive Quality Control coach along with DeMeco. Slowik didn't coach offense until 2019 with the Niners as an offensive assistant, a pass game specialist in 2021 and pass game coordinator last season. So Slowik takes over as OC having had just 4 years coaching on the offensive side of the ball.
Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross and WRs coach/passing game coordinator Ben McDaniels are the only 2 coaches to survive the coaching purge. Both remain with the Texans in the same positions as last season.
So that's the coaching shake down for 2023. Here's how the roster shakes down for Training Camp 2023.
There will be just ONE cut down day this season so the entire 90 man camp roster will be available throughout the entirety of camp and the 3 preseason games. That cut down day is the Tuesday after the last preseason game, August 29th. Starters already see very limited snaps in these games, so keeping a full 90 man roster until the end could have them seeing even fewer snaps. Unlike the last few seasons, however, the Texans will be participating in joint practices, which means starters will be getting those important reps in against another team's starters. Fans just won't get to see it in any games.
The Texans will host joint practices with the Dolphins before their preseason game against them on Saturday Aug. 19th. The following week the Saints will host the Texans at their practice facility for joint practices before the preseason finale in the Superdome on Aug. 27. It's after that game that cuts will be made and the roster trimmed from 90 to 53 by the following Tuesday.
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| HC - DeMeco Ryans |
Ryans has spent his entire coaching career with the San Francisco 49ers after retiring as a player after the 2015 season. He signed on with the Niners as a Defensive Quality Control coach in 2017, was moved to Inside LBs coach from '18-'20, and has been the Niners
DC the last 2 seasons, where his defense has been top 5 in the NFL
those 2 seasons, including numero uno last year. So Ryans gets his first
HC gig after just 6 years in the ranks. Ryans is now the 3rd HC hire
during Nick Caserio's
reign as GM, as Caserio begins just his 3rd season as the GM. A GM
usually doesn't get to stick around long enough to have a 3rd HC, let
alone having those 3 in just 3 years.
A new HC usually comes with a new coaching staff. With Ryans still expected to have a major influence on the defensive side of the ball, he has still hired a DC to help with scheme and installation. The Texans new DC is Matt Burke. Burke was the DC in Miami for 2 seasons from 2017-2018. Statistically those defenses were pretty bad, 31st against the run in '18. The Texans will be Burke's 4th different gig in the last 4 years.
On offense, Pep Hamilton has been let go of his OC duties and the Texans new OC will be Bobby Slowik. Slowik started his NFL coaching career as a defensive assistant with the Redskins in 2011 serving 3 seasons with them. From 2014-2016 he was an analyst for Pro Football Focus, an analytics company focused on NFL and college football. Slowik came back to coaching with the 49ers in 2017 as a Defensive Quality Control coach along with DeMeco. Slowik didn't coach offense until 2019 with the Niners as an offensive assistant, a pass game specialist in 2021 and pass game coordinator last season. So Slowik takes over as OC having had just 4 years coaching on the offensive side of the ball.
Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross and WRs coach/passing game coordinator Ben McDaniels are the only 2 coaches to survive the coaching purge. Both remain with the Texans in the same positions as last season.
So that's the coaching shake down for 2023. Here's how the roster shakes down for Training Camp 2023.
QUARTERBACK (QB)
Before this year the Texans had drafted a QB in the 1st round just twice in franchise history. Their very 1st pick ever, David Carr, #1 overall in 2002, and Deshaun Watson, #12 overall in 2017. The 2023 draft saw the Texans take their 3rd ever QB in the 1st round, this time at #2 overall by selecting Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud. Stroud finishes his collegiate career with 85 TD and just 12 INT, with a 69.3% completion percentage. Stroud was the 2nd runnerup in the Heisman Trophy voting last season, and is the only QB in Big 10 history to have 30+ TD passes in conference play in back-to-back seasons. Football is a much more pass happy game now, even in college, but that includes QBs like Bob Griese, Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Griese is in the Hall of Fame, Brees and Brady will be soon. No, not saying go ahead a fit Stroud for a gold jacket, but I think the sky is the limit for him if he can translate to the NFL game.
Stroud is actually the 4th QB the Texans have taken with their 1st pick in the draft. In 2021 the Texans drafted Davis Mills with their 1st pick. That pick just happened to be in the 3rd round since they had no 1st or 2nd round picks that year. Mills was forced into action in the 2nd game of his rookie season, where he ended up starting 11 games. That's as many games as he started his entire collegiate career. With Mills under center the offense barely scored 10 points per game in his 1st 5 starts. Mills had 16 TD and 10 INT with an 88.8 passer rating in that rookie season, which in the end doesn't look terrible, but he just didn't have the experience nor the talent to really have much more success than that. That continued the following season as the sophomore slump kicked in where he had 17 TD and an NFL leading 15 INT with a passer rating 10 points lower at 78.8.
The Texans also signed former University of Houston and former Texans QB Case Keenum this offseason with the thought that Case would mentor the QB the Texans drafted, and be a quality backup if things went awry. The Texans probably carry all 3 QBs with the new rule that a 3rd QB can be activated during a game if the other 2 are injured. Mills has been getting reps with the 1's the 1st week of camp so I'd assume he's 1st off the bench (QB2).
RUNNING BACK (RB, FB)
2nd year RB Dameon Pierce was a serious Rookie of the Year candidate last season before an ankle injury had him miss the final 4 games. Pierce still put together a 939 yard season which easily put him on pace for over 1,200 yards. Even with that kind of production though, the Texans were still 26th in the NFL in rushing at the time of his last game. That's because Pierce was literally the only one putting up rushing numbers. The Texans hope to change that this season with the addition of free agent RB Devin Singletary. The 5th year RB spent his 1st 2 seasons splitting time at the position for Buffalo. The last 2 seasons he's been the Bills primary back, leading them in rushing. Singletary has yet to record a 1,000 yard season, in fact, he's still looking to hit 900 yards. 870 yards is his career high in 2021. Singletary had 819 yards last season, just 57 more than Bills QB Josh Allen. Singletary averages 4.7 YPC for his career.
Including Pierce and Singletary, the Texans only have 4 other RBs on the roster, though they also have 2 FBs (fullbacks). 6th year RB Mike Boone and 7th year RB Dare Ogunbowale are the veterans of the bunch. Ogunbowale was a Texan last season carrying the ball just 42 times for 123 yards. Ogunbowale has just 422 yards for his career. Boone was a FA (free agent) pick up for the Texans. He spent the last 2 seasons with the Broncos with just 137 yards combined on 28 carries. Boone has just 516 yards in his previous 5 seasons.
Former University of Cincinnati RB Gerrid Doaks and rookie Xazavian Valladay have a combined zero NFL games played. Doaks spent a majority of last season on the Texans practice squad. The rookie Valladay led the Pac-12 in rushing TDs last year with 16. It wouldn't surprise me if Valladay actually made the roster.
The two FBs are Troy Hairston and Andrew Beck. I suspect at least one of those guys makes the team as I'm pretty confident the Texans will carry a FB. Last year the Texans broke camp with 4 RBs and FB Hairston, now in his 2nd season. Beck was a TE his 1st 3 seasons with the Broncos and moved to FB with them last season.
WIDE RECEIVER (WR)
The Texans WR room has become a bit crowded. Disgruntled WR Brandin Cooks was traded to the Cowboys leaving the Texans without a true WR1. The Texans picked up 10 year veteran Robert Woods in free agency. Woods has had just two 1,000 yard seasons in his 10 year career, coming in back-2-back seasons in '18 & '19 with the Rams. Woods barely has 1,000 yards combined in his last 2 seasons. Woods averaged below 10 yards per catch for the 1st time in his career last year with the Titans. The longest tenured Texan at WR, believe it or not, is Nico Collins, entering just his 3rd year. The Texans gave up 3 draft picks in 2021 to move up to draft Collins in the 3rd round, after he had opted out of the 2020 Covid season at Michigan. Collins has just 927 yards combined in his 1st 2 seasons and just 3 TD. Collins missed 7 games last season with groin and foot issues. He is still looking for his 1st 100 yard game. Last year the Texans gave up 3 more picks to move up into the 2nd round to draft John Metchie, who was coming off an ACL injury. Early in his rookie offseason Metchie was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and missed his entire rookie campaign. Metchie is now cancer free and working his way back this offseason.
The Texans continue the trading away of draft picks to move up for WRs, when they swap a 5th for a 6th this past draft to move up 4 spots to take UH Cougar Nathaniel "Tank" Dell in the 3rd round. Dell is the 1st University of Houston player ever drafted by the Texans. Tank led the nation in yards (1,398) and TDs (17) last season, and has 29 TD the last 2 seasons. He was also 2nd in the nation with 109 receptions last year. The Texans took a 2nd WR in this year's draft, Xavier Hutchinson, in the 6th round. Hutchinson led the Big 12 in receptions for the last 3 seasons. Then there's 6th year WR Noah Brown, signed in free agency. Brown has spent his entire career with the Cowboys until now. Last year Brown set career highs in games (13), catches (43), yards (555) and TD (3), the only 3 of his career.
Last year the Texans broke camp with just 4 WRs. We've already mentioned 6, and all 6 could legitimately make the team. There's also Jalen Camp and Johnny Johnson, both who have spent time on the Texans practice squad previously, and 4 other WRs that I don't expect to have much of a shot, on the roster as well. So it will be interesting to see how the Texans maneuver here.
TIGHT END (TE)
For just the 2nd time in the last 6 drafts, the Texans do not select a TE in the draft. That's likely because of one of their biggest free agent signings of the offseason, former Cowboys TE Daulton Schultz. A former 4th round pick in the 2018 draft, Schultz had just 13 catches his 1st 2 seasons. It wasn't until year 3 that he started getting implemented into the offense with 63 catches for 615 yards and 4 TD. In 2021 Schultz had career highs across the board with 78 catches for 808 yards and 8 TD. Last season though, just 55-577-5. Schultz's 17 TDs the last 3 seasons are just 3 fewer than all Texans TEs combined for the last 3 seasons.
With OC Bobby Slowik coming with DeMeco from San Francisco where the Niners offense made good use of TEs with All Pro George Kittle, I would imagine Slowik does the same in Houston with the addition of Schultz. The last half decade or more the Texans seem to have forgotten they could use TEs to catch passes way too often. If healthy, Schultz should see the bulk of the targets. The Texans have 5 TEs in camp. They broke camp with 3 last year, and one of those was placed on IR to start the season.
Brevin Jordan and Teagen Quitoriano, both 5th rounders from the previous 2 drafts, return for the Texans from last season. Jordan, taken in 2021, had just 14 catches for 128 yards last season with no TDs in 11 games, starting just 3 of those games. Quitoriano, a rookie last season, started his NFL career on IR for the 1st 8 weeks of the season. He ended up playing in 9 games, starting 6, with just 7 catches for 113 yards and 2 TDs. Quitoriano, however, starts camp on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform) with an undisclosed injury. That has the Texans signing Eric Tomlinson, who was on the Texans practice squad in 2015-16. Tomlinson has just 27 catches in his 8 year career. 6th year TE Mason Schrek has just 2 career catches for 6 career yards, all coming in the 3 games he played for the Texans last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)
The Texans have spent a lot of assets on the OL the last few years, still waiting for something to pan out. And a lot of money spent too when you considered 8th year LT Laremy Tunsil signing an extension making him the highest paid OT in NFL history. The 3 time Pro Bowl LT will begin his 5th season with the Texans this year and doesn't officially become a free agent until 2027.
Including Tunsil, the Texans have 3 former 1st round OL picks in camp. RT Tytus Howard was taken 23rd overall in the 2019 draft. Howard would be starting the final year of his rookie contract this season but he just signed a big new extension before camp started. So the Texans are set at both T spots for the next few years. The other 1st rounder is G Kenyon Green, taken 15th overall last season. Green is hoping to bounce back from a very rough rookie season. The Texans also have a couple of 2nd round picks on the OL in camp. One is their own, Juice Scruggs, taken in the 2nd round (62nd overall) in this past draft. Scruggs is likely to be the Texans C of the future, but can play G as well, and would likely man LG if Green can't get up to speed. The other 2nd rounder is 5th year OT Greg Little, taken 37th overall by the Panthers in 2019, the same draft Howard was taken. Little missed the entire 2021 season due to inactivity and injuries. He's started just 13 games in his career.
9 year veteran Shaq Mason will also be in the mix. In fact, Mason is expected to be the starting RG. The Texans traded a 6th round pick to Tampa Bay for Mason, who has started 115 of the 120 career games he's played in. The last time he didn't start was 2016. 6th year C Scott Quessenberry started 16 games for the Texans last year, 6 more starts than he had in his 1st 4 seasons. He'll be challenged for that starting spot this season likely by 2 rookies, Scruggs and this year's 6th round pick Jarrett Patterson. 2020 fourth rounder Charlie Heck started 13 games for the Texans 2 years ago, but only 3 last season. Heck likely resumes his role as backup T but he starts camp on the PUP list and there's word it might be awhile before he's available. As a result the Texans just signed 7th year veteran T George Fant who started 14 games at RT for the Jets in 2020 and 15 games at LT in 2021. Former 3rd rounder from the Dolphins, Michael Dieter, and 3rd year lineman Jimmy Morrissey, who has spent most of his 1st 2 seasons on the Texans practice squad, are a couple of other names on the fringe. 11 OL mentioned here of the 15 in camp. The Texans broke camp with 9 last year and 8 the year before.
DEFENSIVE LINE (DE, DT, NT, EDGE)
Do the Texans finally have a replacement for JJ Watt? Considering they traded their 2nd round pick this season, and a 1st round pick next year to move up from 12th overall to 3rd overall to take EDGE rusher Will Anderson Jr they are certainly hoping so. Anderson's 34½ sacks at Alabama are the 2nd most in school history behind Hall of Fame LB Derrick Thomas. The Texans are hoping Anderson helps with a pass rush that has been pretty anemic since, well, JJ donned the Deep Steel Blue.
The Texans made a couple of free agents signings on the DL that include former 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Sheldon Rankins. Playing inside, Rankins won't have the big sack numbers (just 3 last season for the Jets), but the Texans hope he helps get a handle on the run defense that has been horrid for them the last couple of seasons. Rankins started camp on the NFI list (Non Football Injury) with an undisclosed injury, but was activated Sunday. Former 4th rounder in the same draft (2016) is Hassan Ridgeway, the other free agent pickup, following DeMeco from San Francisco. He will also be inside at DT trying to help improve the run D. Both of those additions will likely take snaps away from Texans 6th round pick in 2021, Roy Lopez, who has started 29 games in his 2 seasons. Impressive for a 6th rounder but that was likely due to the Texans lack of overall talent the last few years. 8th year veteran Maliek Collins was tied for 2nd on the team in both tackles for loss and QB hits for the Texans last season. He should definitely be in the rotation. 2nd year UDFA DT Kurt Hinish should be in the rotational mix as well.
Texans 3rd round pick in 2020, Jonathan Greenard, showed promise in 2021 picking up 8 sacks. Greenard spent the 1st half of the season on IR last year and had just 1½ sacks in the 8 games he played. 4th round rookie Dylan Horton hopes to add to the pass rush. Horton had 10½ sacks last season for TCU. Jerry Hughes had 8 sacks in the 1st 9 games last season but the then 34 year old, 13 year veteran had just 1 sack the rest of the season.
The Texans broke camp with 10 DL the last 2 seasons so some tough cuts lie ahead this season. Former Patriots 3rd rounders Derek Rivers and Chase Winovich, 2017 & 2019 respectively, could find themselves fighting for a spot. The Texans seem to like Rivers a lot but he's spent most of his 4 year career on IR, only playing 5 games for the Texans last season. Winovich had 11 sacks combined his 1st 2 seasons but has had just 1 in his last 2. He starts camp on the PUP list. Last year's 5th rounder Thomas Booker will also be in the mix.
LINEBACKERS (LB, OLB, ILB)
On defense, at least, linebacker has been one of the weakest positions on the Texans the last couple of years. With former LB DeMeco Ryans now the HC, the Texans hope to get that position much stronger. They get the ball rolling by bringing in 9 year veteran Denzel Perryman. Perryman made the Pro Bowl 2 years ago with the Raiders. He had a career high 154 tackles that season, more than doubling his previous career high. Injuries cost him 5 games last season. Another former Pro Bowl LB was added this offseason, Corey Littleton, in his 8th season. Littleton's Pro Bowl year was a while ago though (2016) where he was also named a 2nd team All Pro. The Texans are high on their own 3rd round pick from last year, Christian Harris. The Texans didn't even suit him up the 1st 5 weeks of last season. In the 12 games he did play, he was tied for the 3rd most passes defended on the team and was 5th in tackles with all 4 ahead of him playing the full 17 games. The Texans pick up Jacob Martin in free agency. If that name sounds familiar it's because he played 3 seasons with the Texans from 2019-2021. Martin is listed as a LB but has played most of his career snaps as a DE.
For the 2nd consecutive year the Texans draft an Alabama LB. Harris last year. This year Henry To'oTo'o was taken in the 5th round. To'oTo'o averaged over 100 tackles per season in his 2 season at 'Bama. Returning is 10 year veteran Christian Kirksey who started all 17 games for the Texans last season. He might struggle to get half of those this season, if that many. 5th round pick by the Texans in 2021, Garrett Wallow should be in the mix. As bad as the Texans LB group has been the last couple of seasons, Wallow, whom the Texans moved up twice in the draft to take in the 5th round, has barely seen the field on defense his 1st 2 seasons. Blake Cashman (5th year) and Jake Hansen (2nd year), both had a vast majority of their snaps coming on special teams. That could really help them both make the roster, but the Texans only have 10 LBs in camp. Last year they broke camp with 8, the year before 6.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (DB, CB, SS, FS)
Lots of questions in the secondary, particularly at CB. The first is the health of Derek Stingley. Stingley was taken by the Texans with the 3rd overall pick last year despite a ton of injury red flags. His final 2 seasons at LSU were plagued with injuries and the Texans basically seemed to ignore that and drafted him that high anyway. And right on que his NFL rookie season ends with him missing the last 8 games of the season. The other issue is 9th year CB Steven Nelson who is looking for a contract extension, hasn't gotten it ... yet ... and started making fun of GM Nick Caserio on Twitter. I don't think that's how you go about getting a raise. Nelson's agent is none other than David Mulaghetta, the same guy who screwed the Texans over with Deshaun Watson. So it's possible Nelson is done as a Texan, but he has arrived at camp and all seems to be going well at the moment.
7th year CB Desmond King was tied for the team lead in passes defended last season. 7th year CB Shaquill Griffin was picked up in free agency. Griffin has had a passer rating against of over 100 the last 2 seasons and hasn't had an INT since 2020. The Texans re-signed 6th year CB Tavierre Thomas who played in just 10 games for the Texans last season but has good completion percentage against (low 60's) and passer ratings ranging from 63.3 to 72.8 in his 2 seasons with the Texans. After that it gets pretty thin at CB. 5th year CB Kendall Sheffield was cut out of camp by the Texans last year and spent the entire 2022 season on the Cowboys practice squad. Ka'dar Hollman has spent the last 2 seasons on practice squads and hasn't played a single NFL snap in that time. Hollman was also a camp cut by the Texans in 2021 after trading for him about a week or so prior. Then you've got Grayland Arnold, in his 4th year, who has taken exactly 3 snaps on defense for the Texans the last 2 seasons.
The starting safeties for the Texans should be pretty solid. 2nd year S Jalen Pitre, taken 37th overall last year, was a tackling machine, and could have had even more if not for a ton of missed tackles. It's never good that your safety is among the league leaders in tackles though. Pitre also led the Texans with 5 INTs in his rookie season. Free agency pickup Jimmie Ward follows DeMeco from San Francisco. Ward enters his 10th season. He's had a passer rating against of 92 and higher in 4 of the last 5 seasons, but was at 87.4 last year. That, however, was with a 73.2% completion percentage against.
It falls off pretty quick at safety after those 2. 6th year DB M.J. Stewart, can play corner as well, saw about 15% of the defensive snaps last season. Somehow Eric Murray is still on this team. In his 8th year, 4th with the Texans, Murray has had a passer rating against of over 100 in each of the last 3 seasons, and 2 of those years it was above 130. There's 7th round rookie Brandon Hill who decided to skip his college team's bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, then almost didn't get drafted. And after that it's a bunch of practice squad fodder in guys like Tyree Gillespie and Jacobi Francis. So yeah, Eric Murray still has a very good chance to make this team again.
SPECIAL TEAMS (KR, PR, K, P)
K John Christian Ka'iminoeauloameka'ikeokekumupa'a Fairbairn, or sometimes referred to as Ka'imi Fairbairn, enters his 7th NFL season, all with the Texans. Fairbairn had a career high 93.5% FG percentage last season, 2nd best in the NFL with at least 30 attempts. Fairbairn was also a perfect 24-24 on extra points, which is equivalent to kicking a 32 yard FG. He was also perfect from 50+ yards (6-6) making him 1 of just 2 kickers in the NFL with more than 2 attempts from 50+ to make them all. Fairbairn has a career 70.6% success rate from beyond 50 yards, which is pretty darn good. His career long is 61 yards.
For the 3rd year in a row Cameron Johnston, entering his 6th season, will handle punts for the Texans. Johnston tied a career high set in his rookie season averaging 48.1 yards per punt last year. That was still only good enough for 12th best in the NFL. Johnston had the 3rd most punts last season after having the most the year before. He was tied for the 2nd most punts inside the 20 last season, but that was mostly because of the high volume of punts as his percentage inside the 20 was only 10th best.
It will be interesting to see who handles return duties for the Texans this season. The kickoff has nearly been eliminated, though there's talks of the NFL bringing it back and doing it like the XFL does theirs. Will get more in-depth on that if it ever comes to fruition. Punt returns were handled by CB Desmond King last year, who averaged 9.4 yards per return. That was 8th best in the NFL. WR Tank Dell had limited returns for the Houston Cougars last year (9), but averaged 17 yards per return. Not sure the Texans would want to risk putting the tiny 165 pounder in that line of fire, especially since he figures to play a prominent role on offense. DB Darius Phillips and WR Steven Sims have return experience.
LONG SNAPPER (LS)
#46 JON WEEKS
No other player has snapped the ball on a punt or FG attempt in a game for the Texans since the 2009 season. Jon Weeks was an undrafted free agent (UDFA) by the Texans after the 2010 draft. Weeks made his NFL debut in the 2010 season opener, and he has never missed a game since. His regular season consecutive game streak stands at 210 games, and if you include the playoffs it's 220 games straight. The NFL record for a LS is 262. The 37 year old Weeks would need to play into the 2025 season to break that record, where he'd, of course, be 39.
Weeks made the Pro Bowl in 2015 and if you believe the reports that he's never made a bad snap in his career, it's hard to believe he hasn't made another Pro Bowl. Starting his 14th season, all with the Texans, Weeks is easily the longest tenured Texan ever. Andre Johnson is 2nd with 12 seasons and just 173 games, including playoffs, and AJ's games weren't consecutive.
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| QB - C.J. Stroud |
Before this year the Texans had drafted a QB in the 1st round just twice in franchise history. Their very 1st pick ever, David Carr, #1 overall in 2002, and Deshaun Watson, #12 overall in 2017. The 2023 draft saw the Texans take their 3rd ever QB in the 1st round, this time at #2 overall by selecting Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud. Stroud finishes his collegiate career with 85 TD and just 12 INT, with a 69.3% completion percentage. Stroud was the 2nd runnerup in the Heisman Trophy voting last season, and is the only QB in Big 10 history to have 30+ TD passes in conference play in back-to-back seasons. Football is a much more pass happy game now, even in college, but that includes QBs like Bob Griese, Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Griese is in the Hall of Fame, Brees and Brady will be soon. No, not saying go ahead a fit Stroud for a gold jacket, but I think the sky is the limit for him if he can translate to the NFL game.
Stroud is actually the 4th QB the Texans have taken with their 1st pick in the draft. In 2021 the Texans drafted Davis Mills with their 1st pick. That pick just happened to be in the 3rd round since they had no 1st or 2nd round picks that year. Mills was forced into action in the 2nd game of his rookie season, where he ended up starting 11 games. That's as many games as he started his entire collegiate career. With Mills under center the offense barely scored 10 points per game in his 1st 5 starts. Mills had 16 TD and 10 INT with an 88.8 passer rating in that rookie season, which in the end doesn't look terrible, but he just didn't have the experience nor the talent to really have much more success than that. That continued the following season as the sophomore slump kicked in where he had 17 TD and an NFL leading 15 INT with a passer rating 10 points lower at 78.8.
The Texans also signed former University of Houston and former Texans QB Case Keenum this offseason with the thought that Case would mentor the QB the Texans drafted, and be a quality backup if things went awry. The Texans probably carry all 3 QBs with the new rule that a 3rd QB can be activated during a game if the other 2 are injured. Mills has been getting reps with the 1's the 1st week of camp so I'd assume he's 1st off the bench (QB2).
RUNNING BACK (RB, FB)
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| RB - Dameon Pierce |
2nd year RB Dameon Pierce was a serious Rookie of the Year candidate last season before an ankle injury had him miss the final 4 games. Pierce still put together a 939 yard season which easily put him on pace for over 1,200 yards. Even with that kind of production though, the Texans were still 26th in the NFL in rushing at the time of his last game. That's because Pierce was literally the only one putting up rushing numbers. The Texans hope to change that this season with the addition of free agent RB Devin Singletary. The 5th year RB spent his 1st 2 seasons splitting time at the position for Buffalo. The last 2 seasons he's been the Bills primary back, leading them in rushing. Singletary has yet to record a 1,000 yard season, in fact, he's still looking to hit 900 yards. 870 yards is his career high in 2021. Singletary had 819 yards last season, just 57 more than Bills QB Josh Allen. Singletary averages 4.7 YPC for his career.
Including Pierce and Singletary, the Texans only have 4 other RBs on the roster, though they also have 2 FBs (fullbacks). 6th year RB Mike Boone and 7th year RB Dare Ogunbowale are the veterans of the bunch. Ogunbowale was a Texan last season carrying the ball just 42 times for 123 yards. Ogunbowale has just 422 yards for his career. Boone was a FA (free agent) pick up for the Texans. He spent the last 2 seasons with the Broncos with just 137 yards combined on 28 carries. Boone has just 516 yards in his previous 5 seasons.
Former University of Cincinnati RB Gerrid Doaks and rookie Xazavian Valladay have a combined zero NFL games played. Doaks spent a majority of last season on the Texans practice squad. The rookie Valladay led the Pac-12 in rushing TDs last year with 16. It wouldn't surprise me if Valladay actually made the roster.
The two FBs are Troy Hairston and Andrew Beck. I suspect at least one of those guys makes the team as I'm pretty confident the Texans will carry a FB. Last year the Texans broke camp with 4 RBs and FB Hairston, now in his 2nd season. Beck was a TE his 1st 3 seasons with the Broncos and moved to FB with them last season.
WIDE RECEIVER (WR)
The Texans WR room has become a bit crowded. Disgruntled WR Brandin Cooks was traded to the Cowboys leaving the Texans without a true WR1. The Texans picked up 10 year veteran Robert Woods in free agency. Woods has had just two 1,000 yard seasons in his 10 year career, coming in back-2-back seasons in '18 & '19 with the Rams. Woods barely has 1,000 yards combined in his last 2 seasons. Woods averaged below 10 yards per catch for the 1st time in his career last year with the Titans. The longest tenured Texan at WR, believe it or not, is Nico Collins, entering just his 3rd year. The Texans gave up 3 draft picks in 2021 to move up to draft Collins in the 3rd round, after he had opted out of the 2020 Covid season at Michigan. Collins has just 927 yards combined in his 1st 2 seasons and just 3 TD. Collins missed 7 games last season with groin and foot issues. He is still looking for his 1st 100 yard game. Last year the Texans gave up 3 more picks to move up into the 2nd round to draft John Metchie, who was coming off an ACL injury. Early in his rookie offseason Metchie was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and missed his entire rookie campaign. Metchie is now cancer free and working his way back this offseason.
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| WR - Tank Dell |
The Texans continue the trading away of draft picks to move up for WRs, when they swap a 5th for a 6th this past draft to move up 4 spots to take UH Cougar Nathaniel "Tank" Dell in the 3rd round. Dell is the 1st University of Houston player ever drafted by the Texans. Tank led the nation in yards (1,398) and TDs (17) last season, and has 29 TD the last 2 seasons. He was also 2nd in the nation with 109 receptions last year. The Texans took a 2nd WR in this year's draft, Xavier Hutchinson, in the 6th round. Hutchinson led the Big 12 in receptions for the last 3 seasons. Then there's 6th year WR Noah Brown, signed in free agency. Brown has spent his entire career with the Cowboys until now. Last year Brown set career highs in games (13), catches (43), yards (555) and TD (3), the only 3 of his career.
Last year the Texans broke camp with just 4 WRs. We've already mentioned 6, and all 6 could legitimately make the team. There's also Jalen Camp and Johnny Johnson, both who have spent time on the Texans practice squad previously, and 4 other WRs that I don't expect to have much of a shot, on the roster as well. So it will be interesting to see how the Texans maneuver here.
TIGHT END (TE)
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| TE - Daulton Schultz |
For just the 2nd time in the last 6 drafts, the Texans do not select a TE in the draft. That's likely because of one of their biggest free agent signings of the offseason, former Cowboys TE Daulton Schultz. A former 4th round pick in the 2018 draft, Schultz had just 13 catches his 1st 2 seasons. It wasn't until year 3 that he started getting implemented into the offense with 63 catches for 615 yards and 4 TD. In 2021 Schultz had career highs across the board with 78 catches for 808 yards and 8 TD. Last season though, just 55-577-5. Schultz's 17 TDs the last 3 seasons are just 3 fewer than all Texans TEs combined for the last 3 seasons.
With OC Bobby Slowik coming with DeMeco from San Francisco where the Niners offense made good use of TEs with All Pro George Kittle, I would imagine Slowik does the same in Houston with the addition of Schultz. The last half decade or more the Texans seem to have forgotten they could use TEs to catch passes way too often. If healthy, Schultz should see the bulk of the targets. The Texans have 5 TEs in camp. They broke camp with 3 last year, and one of those was placed on IR to start the season.
Brevin Jordan and Teagen Quitoriano, both 5th rounders from the previous 2 drafts, return for the Texans from last season. Jordan, taken in 2021, had just 14 catches for 128 yards last season with no TDs in 11 games, starting just 3 of those games. Quitoriano, a rookie last season, started his NFL career on IR for the 1st 8 weeks of the season. He ended up playing in 9 games, starting 6, with just 7 catches for 113 yards and 2 TDs. Quitoriano, however, starts camp on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform) with an undisclosed injury. That has the Texans signing Eric Tomlinson, who was on the Texans practice squad in 2015-16. Tomlinson has just 27 catches in his 8 year career. 6th year TE Mason Schrek has just 2 career catches for 6 career yards, all coming in the 3 games he played for the Texans last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE (LT, LG, C, RG, RT)
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| LT - Laremy Tunsil |
The Texans have spent a lot of assets on the OL the last few years, still waiting for something to pan out. And a lot of money spent too when you considered 8th year LT Laremy Tunsil signing an extension making him the highest paid OT in NFL history. The 3 time Pro Bowl LT will begin his 5th season with the Texans this year and doesn't officially become a free agent until 2027.
Including Tunsil, the Texans have 3 former 1st round OL picks in camp. RT Tytus Howard was taken 23rd overall in the 2019 draft. Howard would be starting the final year of his rookie contract this season but he just signed a big new extension before camp started. So the Texans are set at both T spots for the next few years. The other 1st rounder is G Kenyon Green, taken 15th overall last season. Green is hoping to bounce back from a very rough rookie season. The Texans also have a couple of 2nd round picks on the OL in camp. One is their own, Juice Scruggs, taken in the 2nd round (62nd overall) in this past draft. Scruggs is likely to be the Texans C of the future, but can play G as well, and would likely man LG if Green can't get up to speed. The other 2nd rounder is 5th year OT Greg Little, taken 37th overall by the Panthers in 2019, the same draft Howard was taken. Little missed the entire 2021 season due to inactivity and injuries. He's started just 13 games in his career.
9 year veteran Shaq Mason will also be in the mix. In fact, Mason is expected to be the starting RG. The Texans traded a 6th round pick to Tampa Bay for Mason, who has started 115 of the 120 career games he's played in. The last time he didn't start was 2016. 6th year C Scott Quessenberry started 16 games for the Texans last year, 6 more starts than he had in his 1st 4 seasons. He'll be challenged for that starting spot this season likely by 2 rookies, Scruggs and this year's 6th round pick Jarrett Patterson. 2020 fourth rounder Charlie Heck started 13 games for the Texans 2 years ago, but only 3 last season. Heck likely resumes his role as backup T but he starts camp on the PUP list and there's word it might be awhile before he's available. As a result the Texans just signed 7th year veteran T George Fant who started 14 games at RT for the Jets in 2020 and 15 games at LT in 2021. Former 3rd rounder from the Dolphins, Michael Dieter, and 3rd year lineman Jimmy Morrissey, who has spent most of his 1st 2 seasons on the Texans practice squad, are a couple of other names on the fringe. 11 OL mentioned here of the 15 in camp. The Texans broke camp with 9 last year and 8 the year before.
DEFENSIVE LINE (DE, DT, NT, EDGE)
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| EDGE - Will Anderson |
Do the Texans finally have a replacement for JJ Watt? Considering they traded their 2nd round pick this season, and a 1st round pick next year to move up from 12th overall to 3rd overall to take EDGE rusher Will Anderson Jr they are certainly hoping so. Anderson's 34½ sacks at Alabama are the 2nd most in school history behind Hall of Fame LB Derrick Thomas. The Texans are hoping Anderson helps with a pass rush that has been pretty anemic since, well, JJ donned the Deep Steel Blue.
The Texans made a couple of free agents signings on the DL that include former 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Sheldon Rankins. Playing inside, Rankins won't have the big sack numbers (just 3 last season for the Jets), but the Texans hope he helps get a handle on the run defense that has been horrid for them the last couple of seasons. Rankins started camp on the NFI list (Non Football Injury) with an undisclosed injury, but was activated Sunday. Former 4th rounder in the same draft (2016) is Hassan Ridgeway, the other free agent pickup, following DeMeco from San Francisco. He will also be inside at DT trying to help improve the run D. Both of those additions will likely take snaps away from Texans 6th round pick in 2021, Roy Lopez, who has started 29 games in his 2 seasons. Impressive for a 6th rounder but that was likely due to the Texans lack of overall talent the last few years. 8th year veteran Maliek Collins was tied for 2nd on the team in both tackles for loss and QB hits for the Texans last season. He should definitely be in the rotation. 2nd year UDFA DT Kurt Hinish should be in the rotational mix as well.
Texans 3rd round pick in 2020, Jonathan Greenard, showed promise in 2021 picking up 8 sacks. Greenard spent the 1st half of the season on IR last year and had just 1½ sacks in the 8 games he played. 4th round rookie Dylan Horton hopes to add to the pass rush. Horton had 10½ sacks last season for TCU. Jerry Hughes had 8 sacks in the 1st 9 games last season but the then 34 year old, 13 year veteran had just 1 sack the rest of the season.
The Texans broke camp with 10 DL the last 2 seasons so some tough cuts lie ahead this season. Former Patriots 3rd rounders Derek Rivers and Chase Winovich, 2017 & 2019 respectively, could find themselves fighting for a spot. The Texans seem to like Rivers a lot but he's spent most of his 4 year career on IR, only playing 5 games for the Texans last season. Winovich had 11 sacks combined his 1st 2 seasons but has had just 1 in his last 2. He starts camp on the PUP list. Last year's 5th rounder Thomas Booker will also be in the mix.
LINEBACKERS (LB, OLB, ILB)
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| LB - Denzel Perryman |
On defense, at least, linebacker has been one of the weakest positions on the Texans the last couple of years. With former LB DeMeco Ryans now the HC, the Texans hope to get that position much stronger. They get the ball rolling by bringing in 9 year veteran Denzel Perryman. Perryman made the Pro Bowl 2 years ago with the Raiders. He had a career high 154 tackles that season, more than doubling his previous career high. Injuries cost him 5 games last season. Another former Pro Bowl LB was added this offseason, Corey Littleton, in his 8th season. Littleton's Pro Bowl year was a while ago though (2016) where he was also named a 2nd team All Pro. The Texans are high on their own 3rd round pick from last year, Christian Harris. The Texans didn't even suit him up the 1st 5 weeks of last season. In the 12 games he did play, he was tied for the 3rd most passes defended on the team and was 5th in tackles with all 4 ahead of him playing the full 17 games. The Texans pick up Jacob Martin in free agency. If that name sounds familiar it's because he played 3 seasons with the Texans from 2019-2021. Martin is listed as a LB but has played most of his career snaps as a DE.
For the 2nd consecutive year the Texans draft an Alabama LB. Harris last year. This year Henry To'oTo'o was taken in the 5th round. To'oTo'o averaged over 100 tackles per season in his 2 season at 'Bama. Returning is 10 year veteran Christian Kirksey who started all 17 games for the Texans last season. He might struggle to get half of those this season, if that many. 5th round pick by the Texans in 2021, Garrett Wallow should be in the mix. As bad as the Texans LB group has been the last couple of seasons, Wallow, whom the Texans moved up twice in the draft to take in the 5th round, has barely seen the field on defense his 1st 2 seasons. Blake Cashman (5th year) and Jake Hansen (2nd year), both had a vast majority of their snaps coming on special teams. That could really help them both make the roster, but the Texans only have 10 LBs in camp. Last year they broke camp with 8, the year before 6.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (DB, CB, SS, FS)
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| CB - Derek Stingley |
Lots of questions in the secondary, particularly at CB. The first is the health of Derek Stingley. Stingley was taken by the Texans with the 3rd overall pick last year despite a ton of injury red flags. His final 2 seasons at LSU were plagued with injuries and the Texans basically seemed to ignore that and drafted him that high anyway. And right on que his NFL rookie season ends with him missing the last 8 games of the season. The other issue is 9th year CB Steven Nelson who is looking for a contract extension, hasn't gotten it ... yet ... and started making fun of GM Nick Caserio on Twitter. I don't think that's how you go about getting a raise. Nelson's agent is none other than David Mulaghetta, the same guy who screwed the Texans over with Deshaun Watson. So it's possible Nelson is done as a Texan, but he has arrived at camp and all seems to be going well at the moment.
7th year CB Desmond King was tied for the team lead in passes defended last season. 7th year CB Shaquill Griffin was picked up in free agency. Griffin has had a passer rating against of over 100 the last 2 seasons and hasn't had an INT since 2020. The Texans re-signed 6th year CB Tavierre Thomas who played in just 10 games for the Texans last season but has good completion percentage against (low 60's) and passer ratings ranging from 63.3 to 72.8 in his 2 seasons with the Texans. After that it gets pretty thin at CB. 5th year CB Kendall Sheffield was cut out of camp by the Texans last year and spent the entire 2022 season on the Cowboys practice squad. Ka'dar Hollman has spent the last 2 seasons on practice squads and hasn't played a single NFL snap in that time. Hollman was also a camp cut by the Texans in 2021 after trading for him about a week or so prior. Then you've got Grayland Arnold, in his 4th year, who has taken exactly 3 snaps on defense for the Texans the last 2 seasons.
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| FS - Jalen Pitre |
The starting safeties for the Texans should be pretty solid. 2nd year S Jalen Pitre, taken 37th overall last year, was a tackling machine, and could have had even more if not for a ton of missed tackles. It's never good that your safety is among the league leaders in tackles though. Pitre also led the Texans with 5 INTs in his rookie season. Free agency pickup Jimmie Ward follows DeMeco from San Francisco. Ward enters his 10th season. He's had a passer rating against of 92 and higher in 4 of the last 5 seasons, but was at 87.4 last year. That, however, was with a 73.2% completion percentage against.
It falls off pretty quick at safety after those 2. 6th year DB M.J. Stewart, can play corner as well, saw about 15% of the defensive snaps last season. Somehow Eric Murray is still on this team. In his 8th year, 4th with the Texans, Murray has had a passer rating against of over 100 in each of the last 3 seasons, and 2 of those years it was above 130. There's 7th round rookie Brandon Hill who decided to skip his college team's bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, then almost didn't get drafted. And after that it's a bunch of practice squad fodder in guys like Tyree Gillespie and Jacobi Francis. So yeah, Eric Murray still has a very good chance to make this team again.
SPECIAL TEAMS (KR, PR, K, P)
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| K - Ka'imi Fairbairn |
K John Christian Ka'iminoeauloameka'ikeokekumupa'a Fairbairn, or sometimes referred to as Ka'imi Fairbairn, enters his 7th NFL season, all with the Texans. Fairbairn had a career high 93.5% FG percentage last season, 2nd best in the NFL with at least 30 attempts. Fairbairn was also a perfect 24-24 on extra points, which is equivalent to kicking a 32 yard FG. He was also perfect from 50+ yards (6-6) making him 1 of just 2 kickers in the NFL with more than 2 attempts from 50+ to make them all. Fairbairn has a career 70.6% success rate from beyond 50 yards, which is pretty darn good. His career long is 61 yards.
For the 3rd year in a row Cameron Johnston, entering his 6th season, will handle punts for the Texans. Johnston tied a career high set in his rookie season averaging 48.1 yards per punt last year. That was still only good enough for 12th best in the NFL. Johnston had the 3rd most punts last season after having the most the year before. He was tied for the 2nd most punts inside the 20 last season, but that was mostly because of the high volume of punts as his percentage inside the 20 was only 10th best.
It will be interesting to see who handles return duties for the Texans this season. The kickoff has nearly been eliminated, though there's talks of the NFL bringing it back and doing it like the XFL does theirs. Will get more in-depth on that if it ever comes to fruition. Punt returns were handled by CB Desmond King last year, who averaged 9.4 yards per return. That was 8th best in the NFL. WR Tank Dell had limited returns for the Houston Cougars last year (9), but averaged 17 yards per return. Not sure the Texans would want to risk putting the tiny 165 pounder in that line of fire, especially since he figures to play a prominent role on offense. DB Darius Phillips and WR Steven Sims have return experience.
LONG SNAPPER (LS)
#46 JON WEEKS
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| LS Jon Weeks |
No other player has snapped the ball on a punt or FG attempt in a game for the Texans since the 2009 season. Jon Weeks was an undrafted free agent (UDFA) by the Texans after the 2010 draft. Weeks made his NFL debut in the 2010 season opener, and he has never missed a game since. His regular season consecutive game streak stands at 210 games, and if you include the playoffs it's 220 games straight. The NFL record for a LS is 262. The 37 year old Weeks would need to play into the 2025 season to break that record, where he'd, of course, be 39.
Weeks made the Pro Bowl in 2015 and if you believe the reports that he's never made a bad snap in his career, it's hard to believe he hasn't made another Pro Bowl. Starting his 14th season, all with the Texans, Weeks is easily the longest tenured Texan ever. Andre Johnson is 2nd with 12 seasons and just 173 games, including playoffs, and AJ's games weren't consecutive.
There will be just ONE cut down day this season so the entire 90 man camp roster will be available throughout the entirety of camp and the 3 preseason games. That cut down day is the Tuesday after the last preseason game, August 29th. Starters already see very limited snaps in these games, so keeping a full 90 man roster until the end could have them seeing even fewer snaps. Unlike the last few seasons, however, the Texans will be participating in joint practices, which means starters will be getting those important reps in against another team's starters. Fans just won't get to see it in any games.
The Texans will host joint practices with the Dolphins before their preseason game against them on Saturday Aug. 19th. The following week the Saints will host the Texans at their practice facility for joint practices before the preseason finale in the Superdome on Aug. 27. It's after that game that cuts will be made and the roster trimmed from 90 to 53 by the following Tuesday.
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