The Houston Texans are one of the also-rans from last season that isn’t expected to do much better.
Despite the Texans hiring former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was last year’s AP Assistant Coach of the Year, the optimism hasn’t ticked up that much for Houston across the rest of the sports landscape.
According to Nate Davis from USA TODAY, the Texans will still be a double-digit loss team at the end of the 2023 campaign as they finish 6-11.
Maybe their first franchise quarterback (rookie C.J. Stroud) post-Watson? Maybe their first impact defender (rookie Will Anderson) post J.J. Watt? Maybe their first entrenched head coach (Ryans) post-O’Brien? For a team that hasn’t won more than four games in any of the past three seasons, a half-dozen victories would most certainly qualify as significant progress.
For the Texans, their win totals above four won’t be enough to showcase progress. The composition of Houston’s losses will also have a factor in deciding whether the organization is truly taking steps out of a rebuild or still caught in a quagmire.
Aside from the shiny new objects obtained on the first night of the 2023 NFL draft, the Texans have fascinating second-year talent that could play a key role in turning around the team’s direction. Fourth-rounder Dameon Pierce emerged as a feature back with 939 yards and four touchdowns through 13 games, finishing with the third-most among rookies. Second-round safety Jalen Pitre led the Texans with 147 combined tackles and five interceptions. Throw in first-round cornerback Derek Stingley fresh off a hamstring injury that limited his rookie campaign to nine games, and the Texans are poised to have sophomore reinforcements to lead the youth movement.
The Jacksonville Jaguars repeat as division champions in Davis’ predictions. The Tennessee Titans finish 8-9, second place in the division. The Indianapolis Colts round out the bottom of the AFC South at 4-13.