Which side of the ball improved the most in 2023?
What are the two most important positions on a football team? The quarterback and the player who gets after the quarterback.
The first three picks of the 2023 NFL draft saw the Houston Texans draft a potential superstar at those two spots.
Former Ohio State phenom C.J. Stroud is poised to take the Texans offense to new levels. His revered throwing accuracy should improve the passing game efficiency, increase offensive yards per game and raise the points-per-game stat significantly.
Revered as “the best defender in the class” Alabama Crimson Tide EDGE defender Will Anderson Jr. has big shoes to fill coming into the shadows of Mario Williams, Jadeveon Clowney and, biggest shoes by far, J.J. Watt. While Williams and Clowney never fully achieved their draft potential in Battle Red, neither player had Demeco Ryans as their head coach. In Demeco We Trust!
Keep the main thing the main thing. pic.twitter.com/9rG9KtCg56
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 30, 2023
As mentioned yesterday, Texans general manager Nick Caserio and Ryans have done a solid job rebuilding the Texans offense, minus the WR1 spot. But hope springs eternal.
The two men have also done a solid job addressing the defensive deficiencies of the 2022 Texans.
They re-signed CB Tavierre Thomas, brought in S Jimmie Ward, DT Hassan Ridgeway, DE Chase Winovich, DT Sheldon Rankins, MLB Denzel Peryman, CB Shaquille Griffin, drafted Anderson Jr and LB Henry To’oTo’o to name a few.
With all the offensive upgrades detailed yesterday, and the defensive ones posted above, this is about as much “total rebuild” as anyone could expect to see.
Which brings us to today’s question:
Which side of the Houston Texans improved more in 2023, the offense or defense?