Last Year:
Record: 9-7
Offense: 347.8 YPG (19th), 21.2 PPG (21st)
Defense: 310.2 YPG (3rd), 19.6 (7th)
The Texans were 1 of the surprise teams of 2015 as not a lot of people thought they could win the AFC South coming into the year. It was all about defense, especially down the stretch, as the Texans were even better than the “vaunted” Broncos defense near the end of the regular season. J.J. Watt had another elite season, continuing his play as 1 of the league’s best defensive players. But he also got a lot of help. Vince Wilfork turned back the clock and showed he still had something left in the tank. Whitney Mercilus emerged as a premiere edge rusher accumulating 12 sacks, and Jonathan Joseph might have had the best season of his career playing absolutely lights out at corner. Offensively the Texans used 4 different QBs on the year and none of them were overly impressive, but Hoyer was the best of the bunch. Arian Foster was hurt and missed most of the year, which left the Texans run game essentially depleted. The Texans offense did have 1 great thing going and that was wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who became a flat-out superstar last year.
Offseason:
Key Acquisitions: QB. Brock Osweiler, RB. Lamar Miller, G. Jeff Allen
Key Loses: QB. Brian Hoyer, RB. Arian Foster, OG. Brandon Brooks, C. Ben Jones, DE. Jared Crick, S. Rahim Moore
2016 Draft Picks
| RD(PK) |
PLAYER |
POS |
SCHOOL |
| 1(21) |
Will Fuller |
WR |
Notre Dame |
| 2(19) |
Nick Martin |
C |
Notre Dame |
| 3(22) |
Braxton Miller |
WR |
Ohio State |
| 4(21) |
Tyler Ervin |
RB |
San Jose State |
| 5(20) |
KJ Dillon |
S |
West Virginia |
| 5(27) |
D.J. Reader |
DT |
Clemson |
2016 Outlook
Coaching Staff
HC: Bill O’Brien
OC: George Godsey
DC: Romeo Crennel
ST: Larry Izzo
Projected Depth Chart
Offense
QB. Brock Osweiler, Brandon Weeden
RB. Lamar Miller, Alfred Blue
FB. Jay Prosch
WR. DeAndre Hopkins, Cecil Shorts
WR. Will Fuller, Jalen Strong
WR. Braxton Miller
TE. CJ Fiedorowicx, Ryan Griffin
LT. Duane Brown, Chris Clark
LG. Xavier Su’a-Filo, Chad Slade
C. Nick Martin, Greg Mancz
RG. Jeff Allen, Oday Aboushi
RT. Derek Newton, Jeff Adams
Defense
DE. J.J. Watt, Brandon Dunn
NT. Vince Wilfork, Chistian Covington
DE. Jeoffrey Pagan, Devon Still
OLB. Whitney Mercilus, Carlos Thompson
MLB. Brian Cushings, Akeem Dent
MLB. Benardrick McKinney, Brian Peters
OLB. Jadeveon Clowney, John Simon
CB. Jonathan Joseph, AJ Bouye
SS. Quintin Demps, K.J. Dillon
FS. Andre Hal, Antonio Allen
CB. Jonathan Joseph, Robert Nelson
NB. Kevin Johnson
Special Teams
K. Nick Novak
P. Shane Lechler
Breakdown
Offense:
The Texans look to start a new era in 2016 on offense that will feature a lot more youth and plenty of new faces. It all starts at QB with the arrival of the 6’8 former Bronco Brock Osweiler, who is mobile and has a big arm and a ton of potential. We saw a little of what he can do in Denver when he filled in for Peyton but now, after signing a big contract, there is no doubt he’s the man in Houston. He’ll need to be more comfortable in the pocket and better with his accuracy, but the tools are there for Brock to succeed in the NFL. Another newcomer is RB Lamar Miller, who the Texans also acquired via free agency. He was very good in Miami and looks to bring a much needed boost to the Texans run game. As well as Hopkins played in 2015, Houston still had a very weak group of receivers overall. Consider the problem fixed after a very strong draft as the Texans came away with 2 of the best receivers in the class. Both have already been impressive early in camp and I expect both to play more than any receiver on the team not named Hopkins. At tight end, Fiedorowicz is more of blocker than a receiver. The Texans really don’t have any viable threats to be difference makers in the passing game. The Texans offensive line was an average group in 2015, but could be a lot better in 2016 especially on the left side with improved health from Duane Brown, who is an elite LT when healthy, and continued growth from 3rd year man Su’a-Filo. On the right side, Jeff Allen comes over from the Chiefs to replace Brooks, who left in free agency. He’s not as good as Brooks but Allen can play and will hopefully negate the loss. Derek Newton will be the RT and might have been the team’s most consistent guy on the line in 2015. He was definitely their best run blocker. The 1 question mark is rookie center Nick Martin, who the team selected in the 2nd round.Overall this isn’t going to be some juggernaut offensively but if those rookie receivers can play well and take some heat off Hopkins and Lamar Miller continues to do what he did in Miami they should be decent.
Defense:
Whether or not the Texans are back in the playoffs in 2016 will largely hinge on the play of their defense. I think the Texans have the talent to be the best defense in the NFL. It all starts up front where JJ Watt is perhaps the best at his position. He can play on the interior or on the edge – it simply doesn’t matter. You have to figure father time will catch up to Wilfork at some point, but if they keep his snap count down, I have to believe he can thrive as a early down run stopper in their base packages. The other starting end for the Texans is up in the air at the moment. The most probable options right now are Pagan and Dunn. On the edge, the Texans have the potential to have the best duo of 3-4 OLBs in the NFL. Whitney Mercilus had a break out season last year and now they’re looking for former 1st overall pick Jadeveon Clowney to do the same in 2016 and I believe he will. In the middle, Brian Cushing leads the way as he’s steadily been 1 of the better LBs in the NFL for years now. Next to him will be 2nd year man Benardrick McKinney, who eventually took over the starting job as a rookie and showed a lot of potential. The secondary is loaded as well, led by the cornerback position, which is headlined by Joseph. Kareem Jackson had a good year last season as well and the Texans are looking for more out of Kevin Johnson, their 1st-round pick in 2015. They have plenty of talent at corner. At safety, Andre Hal leads the way as a converted corner turned free safety. He led the team in interceptions a year ago. Quintin Demps started most of the year last season at strong safety, but there are reports he might have to compete to keep the job. Overall this is a Super Bowl caliber defense the only question is how much help will they get on offense?
