Plain and simple, the Houston Texans are a complete dumpster fire. They fired head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien only four games into the season. To make matters worse, before the season O’Brien had traded star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for a running back on the decline in David Johnson and a second round draft pick. Prior to that, O’Brien traded their 2021 first and second round draft picks to the Miami Dolphins to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
They are a bad football team, finishing the season 4-12 which would have earned them the third pick overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, O’Brien decimated the team through bad trade after bad trade leaving new general manager Nick Caserio and head coach David Culley to inherit the mess. Culley was a surprising hire, but the franchise is in so much disarray that no young coaches wanted the job.
Culley is the former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator. He was also the wide receivers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs that infamously didn’t score a single touchdown in 2014.
Disgruntled star quarterback DeShaun Watson demanded a trade and then multiple sexual assault accusations were levied upon him. It’s an ugly situation involving Watson so the Texans decided to sign veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor in free agency.
Another star player in defensive end J.J. Watt was frustrated with the current state of the franchise and was granted his release, weakening further an already poor defense.
Often injured, playmaking wide receiver Will Fuller, departed in free agency, so the Texans were left with Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee as their main wide receivers. They would go on to add Chris Conley, Andre Roberts and Donte Moncrief in free agency. Adding running back Philip Lindsay was a good signing, but I don’t know what to expect from Mark Ingram who became expendable in Baltimore and is showing his age.
Without any draft picks in the first two rounds, the Texans selected Stanford University quarterback Davis Mills and University of Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins in the third round. I understand drafting a young quarterback considering the uncertainty surrounding Watson, but the Texans should have addressed the defense instead of adding another wide receiver. Filling out their draft, the Texans selected University of Miami tight end Brevin Jordan, TCU linebacker Garret Wallow and University of Arizona defensive tackle Roy Lopez.
Overall, it has been a poor offseason for the Texans. One star is mired in controversy, another was released and they had to hire a 65 year old coach because the job is so unappealing.
Key additions
QB Tyrod Taylor
RB Mark Ingram
RB Philip Lindsay
DE Shaq Lawson
WR Chris Conley
WR Andre RobertsW
R Donte Moncrief
Key losses
WR Will Fuller
RB Duke Johnson
OT Marcus Cannon
Off-season grade: F
