NFL Season Preview: Houston Texans

It seems like so long ago that the Houston Texans were one of the best teams in the AFC with superstars like DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt, but now, they're in the midst of a rebuild, and while 2022 is going to get very ugly, they've got the draft picks to make this team good in a few years from now. They may have found their QB of the future, they also avoided the huge drama surrounding Deshaun Watson, so this team has done some good things right over the past few years, but ultimately, it's a dark time for Texans fans, and it won't be light anytime soon.

Positives

We've already outlined how this team will struggle in 2022, but one big positive is that by accepting that they'll not be a contender, Houston can get their rookies and young guys involved, to show what kind of future they've got. Davis Mills, Dameon Pierce, Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Pitre will all play a big part in the 2022 campaign, and if they can find encouraging performances from these names, then adding a few new names in the 2023 NFL Draft will make this team a very fun one to watch. 

Negatives

Despite having several young rookies ready to compete, the Texans have little of anything else, and come the trade deadline, expect guys like Laremy Tunsil and Brandin Cooks to be on the trade market, which could help this rebuild even further. The best Houston fans can hope for in 2022 is great performances from the young guys, adding more draft capital for the future, because if they can confirm that Davis Mills is the future starting QB, that makes the rebuild a whole lot easier going forward.

Team MVP

Davis Mills was a revelation in 2021, coming out of nowhere to show Houston that he could be their starter of the future, and while he should be good yet again in 2022, it's going to be another rookie that breaks out and takes this award. Dameon Pierce, a fourth round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft put up almost 800 yards and 16 Touchdown's in his final year at Florida, and has been impressing everyone in Texans camp, so much so that he may breakout and become one of the top-15 running backs in the league in 2022, en route to the Texans team MVP. 

Record Prediction

Despite this lack of talent, Houston has some winnable games on their schedule, and if healthy, they'll be able to compete in some games, but without the experience edge to know how to successfully close out games week after week, it's going to be bad. There's a chance that Houston is in line for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, and while that may be possible when winning just 3 games, there's some other bad t teams out there that could be even worse, so all this losing may just be a chance to draft No. 2 or 3 in 2023. 

Photo Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports