Houston Texans Season Preview

The Texans Super Bowl hopes will go as far as their stout defence can take them as they have questions on the offence especially at quarterback. The quarterback position was a mess last year with Brock Osweiler so Tom Savage or Deshaun Watson will take over that position. The defence is still elite and with the return of JJ Watt it should be even better.

Arrivals/Departures:

Arrivals: Sio Moore
Departures: Brock Osweiler,  AJ Bouye, John Simon, Quintin Demps



Offence:

Questions remain at quarterback with Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson competing against each other for the job. Savage was OK when Osweiler went down with an injury and Watson won the National Championship last year so it will be interesting to see who wins the quarterback position. Lamar Miller is the lead back again but this year he has improved depth behind him. Alfred Blue returns behind Miller but they added D'Onta Foreman in the draft to improve an already solid run game that will also include fullback Jay Prosch. DeAndre Hopkins had a down year last year but if he regains his form he could once again be an elite wide receiver in this league. Will Fuller, who disappointed as a rookie, will be the other starter with former college quarterback Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong backing them up. The Texans will rely heavily on their two tight ends as CJ Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin each flashed good potential for Houston last year. Veteran Duane Brown returns to protect the quarterback's blindside and he is still the best offensive lineman anchoring the line. The rest of the line is weak with Xavier Su'a-Filo, Nick Martin, Jeff Allen and Chris Clark starting.



Defence:

The Texans have the best duo of defensive ends in the league with three-time defensive player of the year JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. Watt missed 13 games last year but when healthy, Watt is the league's best defensive player as offences need to specifically game plan for him and triple team him but even that does not stop him. Former first-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney broke out last year so it will be scary to see what he does lining up with Watt. With Vince Wilfork headed for retirement, DJ Reader will be the nose tackle while Christian Covington and Carlos Watkins will get limited playing time behind the league's best defensive line. The linebackers look good too as Whitney Mercilus is an elite pass rusher and Brian Cushing does a great job at stopping the run game. Benardrick McKinney also has shown flashes and will continue to improve. Sio Moore or Brennan Scarlett will be awarded the final starting spot with Zach Cunningham providing depth. The secondary lost AJ Bouye after a breakout campaign but they still have veterans Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson manning the cornerback spots with former first overall pick Kevin Johnson playing in nickel scenarios. The safeties could use some work as KJ Dillon and Andre Hal are both below-average starters.



Special Teams:

Nick Novak had a good season last year and will return as the kicker for another go. Future hall-of-fame punter Shane Lechler is still an above-average punter at age 40 and will help the Texans in the field position game. Will Fuller, Akeem Hunt and Tyler Ervin will all be given shots in the return game.

Starters:

Offence	Defence
DeAndre Hopkins	JJ Watt
Will Fuller	DJ Reader
Duane Brown	Jadeveon Clowney
Xavier Su'a-Filo	Whitney Mercilus
Nick Martin	Brian Cushing
Jeff Allen	Benardrick McKinney
Chris Clark	Brennan Scarlett
CJ Fiedorowicz	Kareem Jackson
Ryan Griffin	KJ Dillon
Deshaun Watson	Andre Hal
Lamar Miller	Johnathan Joseph

2017 Draft:

12. Deshaun Watson
57. Zach Cunningham
89. D'Onta Foreman
130. Julie'n Davenport
142. Carlos Watkins
169. Treston Decoud
243. Kyle Fuller

Top 10 Players:

10. Xavier Su'a-Filo

9. Benardrick McKinney

8. Duane Brown

7. Brian Cushing

6. Johnathan Joseph

5. Whitney Mercilus

4. Lamar Miller

3. DeAndre Hopkins

2. Jadeveon Clowney

1. JJ Watt



Season Prediction: 9-7 (2nd in AFC South)
Last Year: 9-7

Photo credit for Sio Moore goes to http://www.foxsports.com/. Deshaun Watson and Jadeveon Clowney goes to http://profootballfocus.com/. JJ Watt goes to https://www.usatoday.com/.