The Houston Texans are coming off a 4-12 season where they finished 3rd in the AFC South having entered the 2020 season as favourites.
Since then, quarterback DeShaun Watson’s future appears to lie outside of Houston and JJ Watt has already joined the Arizona Cardinals. Things are so bad that bet-tx.com have the Texans as long as 28/1 just to win the AFC South. In comparison, Indianapolis are 1/1, Tennessee 11/10 and Jacksonville 9/1.
Rookie head coach David Culley has a tough job on his hands. He’s already canceled the team’s mandatory minicamp as a result of the off-the-field problems in Houston.
First thing the franchise needs is to trade DeShaun Watson. The former number 12 pick out of Clemson has requested a move and his position simply sees untenable now. However, with each passing week his value is diminishing as a result of the alleged 22 lawsuits he faces. It’s a mess.
The team are in rebuild mode once again. Currently, Tyrod Taylor and Jeff Driskel will be competing to start at quarterback next season. Whoever wins that job will have good support in the backfield through Mark Ingram, David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, and Rex Burkhead.
Houston have had some star players on the roster over the past decade but rarely but anything together. There’s no standout receiver currently on the books though, but Randall Cobb, Chris Conley, Brandin Cooks and Keke Coutee are all reliable.
The new head coach has a lot of work to do to fix one of the worst defenses in the league from last season. That was before JJ Watt departed. Shaq Lawson is the most notable signing.
The draft usually helps teams in the rebuilding process, but Houston traded away their first two picks meaning quarterback David Mills out of Stanford was their first pick earlier this year, as the 67th overall choice.
In comparison, AFC South rivals Jacksonville Jaguars landed the overall number one pick in April as a result of the league’s worst record last season. They took Trevor Lawrence with that and also picked up Travis Etienne later in the round.
Whilst the Indianapolis Colts look like being the strongest team in the division next season, the Jaguars looked to have substantially closed the gap on the Tennessee Titans during the off-season to date.
Rookie cornerback Tyson Campbell could compete with the previous season’s number one pick, CJ Henderson, as part of a young secondary.
Legendary head coach Urban Meyer was appointed after the end of last season for his first role in the NFL. This suggests a long-term plan for the Florida franchise who now have a wealth of young talent on their roster.
As for the Houston Texans, they are a long way away from winning the AFC South and need to get as much as they can from DeShaun Watson in the trade market to make a start.