Preview of the Houston Texans

 

One of the most exciting teams in the NFL, the Houston Texans come into the 2024 regular season with very high expectations after winning the AFC South a season ago. After a superb first season with CJ Stroud at the helm, the Texans are now viewed as a top contender in the AFC. 

Going into last season, critics thought that it would take time for these young Texans to gel together, and boy were they proven wrong. Houston's improvement from the 2022 season to the 2023 season is something extraordinary and remarkable to embark upon. They turned a 3-13-1 record into a 10-7 and division title in just one calendar year. 

People knew what CJ Stroud was capable of, but no one thought he would adjust and takeover the NFL this easily. The Texans easily had one of the best offenses a year ago and during the offseason they got greedy and added to their powerhouse. They did that by acquiring two veteran pro bowlers with a ton of experience on this young Houston team. 

They signed Joe Mixon in free agency, and traded for Stefon Diggs, one of the league's premier wideouts. Houston never really had a solidified RB1 last season and now they have that in Mixon. And adding Diggs to this receiving group arguably gives them the best receiver corps in the league. Diggs now joins Tank Dell and Nico Collins to headline this outstanding Texans offense. 

Houston also made a huge transaction on defense after acquiring Danielle Hunter. Hunter was fifth in the NFL last season in sacks with 16.5 and will now be paired with Will Anderson Jr. as one of the scariest defensive end duos in the league. DeMeco Ryans is absolutely salivating over what this dynamic duo can bring to this defense. 

Along with a young team comes a young coaching staff led by DeMeco Ryans. Ryans was a nominee for Coach of the Year a season ago and should make another strong case for it this season. Houston was also able to keep Bobby Slowik as their offensive coordinator after strong interest from other teams for their head coaching position. Slowik was the main cause behind the revitalization of this Houston offense in just one year.

The other teams in the AFC South improved, but I still expect the Texans to walk away with this division pretty easily. They easily had one of the best offseason's out of the rest of the 31 teams and will carry their momentum from 2023 into this upcoming season. 


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