Offseason Review Series Day 1: Houston Texans

Team: Houston Texans

Division: AFC South | Previous Season Record: 3-13-1(4th in the AFC South)

Hello and welcome to the annual Houston Texans offseason review, aka the only time of the year I put any thought into a reddit post.

The Houston Texans this offseason showed two things: that they have the balls and the determination to get better over the offseason and keep figuring out ways to make the team good again. And that's all we can ask of them.

Draft:

Round	Pick no.	Name	Position	School
1	2	CJ Stroud	QB	OSU
1	3	Will Anderson Jr.	LB	Alabama
2	62	Juice Scruggs	C	Penn State
3	69	Nathaniel Dell	WR	Houston
4	109	Dylan Horton	DE	TCU
5	167	Henry To'oTo'o	LB	Alabama
6	201	Jarrett Patterson	C	Notre Dame
6	205	Xavier Hutchinson	WR	Iowa State
7	248	Brandon Hill	S	Pittsburgh

• Right at the top there you see picks 2 and 3, Houston's big gambit this year. Anderson and Stroud were both projected at no. 1 at one point or another last year. To potentially get the best offensive and defensive players in the draft is a crazy scenario. It's enough to give even the most miserly Texan fan hope.
• In the draft and in free agency we see a lot of investment in weapons and on the line for CJ, maybe not as much as we'd hope from free agency, but the effort is definitely there. They believe they have the guy (well, guys) and they are going to proceed as such.

Free Agency:

Departures:

Name	Position	New Team	Method
Brandin Cooks	WR	Cowboys	Trade
Jalen Reeves-Maybin	LB	Lions	Signing
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo	DE	Browns	Signing
Rasheem Green	DE	Bears	Signing
Kyle Allen	QB	Bills	Signing
Justin McCray	G	Panthers	Signing
Tremon Smith	CB	Broncos	Signing
Jeff Driskel	QB	Cardinals	Signing
OJ Howard	TE	Raiders	Signing
Jordan Akins	TE	Browns	Signing
Jonathan Owens	LB	Packers	Signing
Phillip Dorsett	WR	Raiders	Signing

• I'll miss Brandin Cooks, but this was inevitable, the man will never leave on his own he will always be traded somewhere else, it's his destiny.

• I'll miss being the answer for the trivia for the team that has Mr. Simone Biles on it.

Players signed:

Name	Position	Previous Team	Method
Robert Woods	WR	Titans	Signing
Shaq Griffin	CB	Jaguars	Signing
Dalton Schultz	TE	Cowboys	Signing
Jimmie Ward	S	49ers	Signing
Shaq Mason	G	Buccaneers	Trade
Sheldon Rankin	DT	Jets	Signing
Jacob Martin	DE	Broncos	Signing
Case Keenum	QB	Bills	Signing
Denzel Perryman	LB	Raiders	Signing
Greg Little	OT	Dolphins	Signing
Hassan Ridgeway	DT	49ers	Signing
Noah Brown	WR	Cowboys	Signing
Steve Sims	WR	Steelers	Signing
Devin Singletary	RB	Bills	Signing
Chase Winovich	DE	Browns	Signing
Byron Cowart	DT	Colts	Signing

• Woods and Schultz should be great weapons for Stroud, Shaq Mason will help the offensive line tremendously.

• Devin Singletary has been my #4 fantasy RB for like forever so it's nice to have him on the team.

• A few nice mid-level guys for the defense too, here.

• We were hoping to add Nuk to this team, but I think he wants a playoff-bound team.

Coaching Changes:

The entire coaching staff rotated, so let's cover the major ones:

• DeMeco Ryans replaced Lovie Smith as head coach: Well, that last game didn't help, but it was understandable given that Lovie was gone anyways. DeMeco Ryans was a defensive stalwart for the Texans in his time, and now he comes back to become their head coach. Sounds like destiny. Here's hoping.

• Bobby Slowik replaced Pep Hamilton as offensive coordinator: I liked Pep, I really did. But new regime means new coordinators. Slowik has come up in the popular Shanahan system and if he can get something like that going here, it'd be awesome.

• Matt Burke replaced Jacques Cesaire as defensive coordinator: Cesaire's still with the Texans, but he's a line coach now. Burke is an experienced hand who's been practically everywhere.

Schedule Predictions:

-Week 1 @ Ravens(L): They're just better. They are.

-Week 2 vs Colts(W): I honestly give us the edge here. Especially if they start Richardson this year

-Week 3 @ Jaguars(L): Jags take the division this year, easily

-Week 4 vs Steelers(L): I'm not betting against Tomlin.

-Week 5 @ Falcons(W): Don't know what they're doing, but I'm just gonna slot us in here.

-Week 6 vs Saints(W): There are 2 trash divisions in the south this year, huh?

-Week 7 Bye

-Week 8 @ Panthers(W): Off the bye week, CJ's gonna play his ass off in the rookie deal

-Week 9 vs Buccs(L): Yeah, I'm not getting ahead of myself here.

-Week 10 @ Bengals(L): They're my choice for the AFC this year.

-Week 11 vs Cardinals(W): They're bad, this year.

-Week 12 vs Jaguars(W): I think maybe we're good enough to beat them at home this year.

-Week 13 vs Broncos(W): Still no faith in the Broncos this year.

-Week 14 @ Jets(L): They're very good this year.

-Week 15 @ Titans(L): Titans are still pretty good this year. We lose to them at their house.

-Week 16 vs Browns(W): They are better this year, but no way in hell the Texans don't want this.

-Week 17 vs Titans(W): I'm more confident in us that I thought.

-Week 18 @ Colts(L): Just a hunch there. Dunno why.

So that's 9-8, a lot more optimistic that I thought I'd be. We probably end up somewhere in the 6-7 win range. As long as we don't have to regret that big trade this year.

Other reviews for the year: https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/14cr8hj/offseason_review_series_call_for_writers_and/