The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams in the month leading up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 7. Today, the Houston Texans.
Head coach: Bill O’Brien
Last season’s record: 9-7
Playoff result: Lost Divisional game to Patriots.
Key free agent gains: Unfortunately for the Texans, they saw a lot more losses than additions to their roster in the off-season and it’s put their top-ranked defence from last year in jeopardy.
The only free agent move of significance Houston made was bringing in veteran defensive back Marcus Gilchrist. The former second-round pick can play behind and spur the reliable Andre Hal at free safety. And he could get starts alongside Hal at strong safety in the case that predicted starter Corey Moore is unable to live up to expectations with the departure of Quintin Demps.
Besides Glichrist, Houston had a disappointing off-season free agent-wise, but could still end up alright if three-time defensive player of the year J.J. Watt can remain healthy and play more than just the three games he got into last season.
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Key free agent losses: This was Houston’s main problem in the off-season. The Texans lost Vince Wilfork to retirement, traded starting quarterback Brock Osweiler, saw Demps get signed by the Chicago Bears and, most disparagingly, allow star cornerback A.J. Bouye to walk and head to division rival Jacksonville.
Retirement happens and we’ll go into the Osweiler situation a little further down, but being unable to lock up two key members of their secondary – Bouye in particular – is a loss that not even a healthy Watt may be able to make up for, and could be a big reason why we’re likely to see some regression from Houston’s powerful defence.
Key draft picks: Whereas free agency was bleak for the Texans, their draft this year should give Houston fans reason to be excited.
Without question, Osweiler was a mistake and Houston wisely passed that on to (who else?) the Cleveland Browns. The problem they made for themselves by dealing away Osweiler is the next man up on their quarterback depth chart would be the uninspiring Tom Savage.
Thus, it was very exciting to see the Texans trade up in the draft to take Clemson’s Deshaun Watson 12th overall. They paid a pretty steep price (next year’s first-rounder was included in the deal), but if he’s able to ease his way into the starter role like the Texans would like him to this season it should all be worth it as he potentially could instantly transform Houston’s offence.
Watson’s strong arm could help rejuvenate star receiver DeAndre Hopkins, after an off year in 2016, and his threat to run the ball or scramble out of the pocket gives the Texans something under centre they’ve never had before.
In addition to Watson, other rookies that could have an impact immediately are second- and third-round picks Zach Cunningham and D’Onta Foreman. Cunningham is a linebacker out of Vanderbilt who could figure to be the aging Brian Cushing’s primary replacement, while Texas running back Foreman looks primed to be 1,000-yard rusher Lamar Miller’s backup.
X-factor: The obvious answer here is Watt, but Houston was the top-ranked defence last season even though the superstar missed 13 games. Therefore, the Texans’ real x-factor has to be rookie pivot Watson.
So much in today’s NFL revolves around having a quarterback and in Watson they might just have something special if his outstanding collegiate career is able to translate to the next level.
2017 will be a success if: Watt stays healthy, their secondary doesn’t regress too much and Houston figures out its quarterback situation.
That’s a lot, but it’s going to take a lot for the Texans not to take a step back from last season. Hopefully Watt is recovered from back surgery and that just sorts itself out, but finding a replacement for Bouye will be nigh-impossible and, given how raw he is, there are still a lot of question marks surrounding Watson despite his talent.
