Offseason Outlook 2015: Houston Texans

Offense

With the Texans it starts at the offensive line. Losing Chris Myers should not have anybody worried. This is a good O-line. Brandon Brooks is an absolute mauler and his development at RG will be fun to watch. Duane Brown is a franchise LT and everybody in the NFL knows it. Xavier Sua-Filo will most likely be taking over the starting LG spot this year, and I have high hopes for him as I'm sure Houston's front office does too. Ben Jones at C and Derek Newton or Tyson Clabo at RT will be solid yet unspectacular, but these guys are thumpers and between Arian Foster and Alfred Blue, expect some big games out of their running backs. Any casual fan would know that the Texans are lacking a quarterback. Brian Hoyer was decent in the first half of last year, then atrocious the second half, and Ryan Mallet is at best an unproven big arm. That being said, whoever is at QB will have an abundance of weapons. The O-line and running backs I already mentioned, but this team has some talented wide receivers too. DeAndre Hopkins is a star. I will argue that with anybody who wants to argue that, but he is a star WR in this league. The recently signed Cecil Shorts is a talented WR when healthy, and Houston stole Jaelen Strong in the third round this year, as many people, including me, had him going late first. On top of that, expect some development out of their young TE's Garrett Graham and C.J. Fiedorowicz. Bill O'Brien is a very good coach, and he'll get a lot out of his players. In most situations, when an offense lacks a QB it is set up to fail, but this isn't necessarily like that. If the Texans start the big armed Ryan Mallet, which at this point I would say it is likely to happen, then this offense can be an explosive field stretching offense. DeAndre Hopkins can stretch a field by himself, and that will open up huge holes for Arian Foster and the O-line to put in work. Expect quite a few turnovers, but the strength in the O-line and skill position players is very tantalizing.

Defense

J.J. Watt. I should really just end the outlook right there because they have the best player in any sport (sorry Mike Trout) on the planet. I'll move on though because there is quite a bit of talent across the board for the Texans. The enigma that is Jadaveon Clowney will be fun to watch this year. Barring injury, he is so ridiculously talented that it will be hard for him not to post double digit sacks this year, especially across from Watt. Vince Wilfork was a good signing, although I did want to see more of Louis Nix III, getting a proven space eater beside J.J. Watt is good for the whole defense. The Texans have a lot of talent at linebacker too. I mentioned Clowney, but Brian Cushing and the recently drafted Benardrick McKinney are both very talented linebackers. Whitney Mercilus still might end up being a very good player, as the talent is there, but right now he's just an average starter for them. The retooled secondary is where the questions are for this team. Jonathan Joseph will hopefully continue being a good CB for Houston, although he is aging and you can never know when his play will fall off. Kareem Jackson was a good resigning, as he is a very good young cornerback. Kevin Johnson who was drafted in the first round by the Texans this year is a very promising player, but rookie CB's are known to have a rough transition to the NFL (see Justin Gilbert last year) so not much should be expected out of him next year. The safety tandem of the Texans is worrisome though. They recently released D.J. Swearinger so now they have even less depth, but Rahim Moore and whomever steps up to be their other starting safety, be it Stevie Brown or someone else, will need to step up their game. Overall though, the Texans have surrounded J.J. Watt with some extremely promising players, and a lot of talent. A top 5 defense would not be out of the question this year, and a top ten finish should be expected.

The Texans are a quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender. That might be ambitious, but looking at their roster they are stacked with young talent. It will be interesting to see how Bill O'Brien works Mallet this year, as he has done great things with big armed QB's in college like Christian Hackenberg. If he can get enough out of him, then the Texans could be looking at a wildcard berth this year. The future is definitely bright for the Texans, although this year still might not be the year they challenge the Colts and Andrew Luck for the division... But watch your back Luck, Watt and Houston are coming soon.