The Houston Texans rallied around two top-three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and new head coach DeMeco Ryans. C.J. Stroud won Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Will Anderson was second on the team with seven sacks. With a 10-7 record, Houston won the AFC South and made the playoffs. They beat the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round but fell to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round. Still, they were expected to rebuild and appear to have pulled it off in just one season.
3 things Texans must do this offseason
Sign a top running back
Houston’s best running back last season was Devin Singletary. Second-year running back Dameon Pierce took a big step back and now projects more to be a complement in the backfield rather than the main running back. Singletary is a free agent, and Houston could bring him back on a short-term deal. With the free agent running back class though, adding in Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry or Austin Ekeler would be a boost to the offense and is worth exploring. Houston saved some money last year and achieved great milestones, and now is the time to spend to ensure that wasn’t a one-off successful season.
Re-sign Steven Nelson and Jonathan Greenard
Nelson was a bright spot in the Houston secondary, but the fact that he was depended on so much shows that the Texans need to add more cornerback depth overall. They could start by retaining Nelson, who finished 2023 with four interceptions and 12 passes defended with 63 tackles in 17 games.
Greenard played out the final year of his rookie contract in 2023 and picked a great time for his breakout season. He set a career-high with 12.5 sacks, beating out his previous best of eight in 2021. Greenard should be high on Houston’s priority list with a hefty contract extension in the future.
Bring in a defensive tackle
The Texans need to bring in another defensive tackle to pair with Maliek Collins. Sheldon Rankins was a good complement last season but is a free agent. He wouldn’t be bad to bring back if Houston was able to do so on a short-term contract. Theoretically, the Texans would want to get younger at the position, but with the players available in this free agent class, 30 is on the younger side. If Houston doesn’t spend on a starting running back, they should target Christian Wilkins, Chris Jones or Leonard Williams to try to take that next step forward in the AFC.