The next heavyweight AFC contender coming for the Chiefs’ crown? It’s the Houston Texans.
HOUSTON — As the Houston Texans opened training camp on Thursday morning, it was hard to ignore the juxtaposition surrounding this NFL franchise.
Angry gray clouds were hanging over the team’s practice fields, threatening another in a seemingly endless string of storms since Hurricane Beryl rolled through the city on July 8. One parking lot away, hundreds of utility trailers, trucks and electrical employees were massing for another day of restoring service to the 2.2 million residents that lost power in oppressive July heat. That number included a large swath of the Texans’ organization, from the coaching staff to players to a multitude of team employees. Even the team’s home field took a hit, with massive strands of NRG Stadium roofing ripped off by 90 mile per hour winds.
As you might imagine, all of that has made power a big topic of conversation in this city right now — who has it, who lost it, and who’s responsible for the mess left behind it. And in the middle of it all, you have the Texans getting one of their most anticipated seasons in team history underway. Fielding a team that has had the opposite of a power drain this offseason, drawing an intense spotlight to a roster with an embarrassment of juice.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud is a preseason MVP candidate. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is a virtual lock to receive head coaching offers next offseason. And the Texans as a franchise? Well, if they’re not a dark horse Super Bowl pick right now, that seems like an inevitability in the next few months.
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That’s how good these Texans can be. They’re neck-deep in local and national hype — or “rat poison” as head coach DeMeco Ryans once called it, borrowing some colorful terminology from former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. But Ryans is right. Without a doubt, the early applause is present and hard to ignore. From the appreciation of a front office that masterfully rebuilt and balanced the depth chart with youthful and veteran talent, to a coaching staff that is bound to be raided by other franchises, to a roster that should worry the rest of the AFC.
Taken from a wider vantage, the implication is simple. Like the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals before them, Houston is a team that should worry the Kansas City Chiefs. If this were a heavyweight boxing circuit, the Texans have the talent and momentum of the No. 1 contender. Not that the Texans want to hear that.
“What do you expect for yourself? That’s what I asked our guys yesterday,” Ryans said. “It’s not about what people say on the outside. That doesn’t change who you are. It’s about who you think you are, what do you think you can achieve and accomplish as a player. That’s the only thing that matters to me. The expectations are always driven internally. So if our guys think high of themselves, we’ll go high. That’s how I want guys thinking.”
“What’s said outside the building? It has no impact on anything we do,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said. “Talking never won games. Expectations never won games. Good football and good execution wins games. That’s what it’s going to come down to. The rest of it, honestly, it’s a big waste of time for us to spend time on things that don’t matter or that we don’t control.”
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
It’s a predictable and familiar mantra from Caserio, who spent 20 years inside the New England Patriots grinding up the personnel ranks and honing his belief system. Not to mention managerial and evaluation skills that became a vital necessity when Caserio found himself on the front end of a Deshaun Watson disaster that would have crippled most franchises for a decade, if not more. But Caserio and his front office not only weathered multiple storms inside the organization, they emerged with a trinity of individuals now set as the cornerstones for everything bigger and better: Ryans at head coach, Stroud at quarterback and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who has already earned a reputation of being the team’s “mini-DeMeco” — a moniker testifying to the leadership and talent that made him a team captain as a rookie last season.
Of course, that trio isn’t alone. The depth chart is layered with impactful young talent that is rising more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. From Anderson, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and safety Jalen Pitre on defense, to Stroud and wideouts Nico Collins and Tank Dell on offense. In between, the roster is fortified by thickets of veterans that range from All-Pro level talents to key rotational pieces. On offense, that depth of talent and leadership includes left tackle Laremy Tunsil, wideout Stefon Diggs, tight end Dalton Schultz and and running back Joe Mixon. On defense it’s edge rusher Danielle Hunter, defensive tackle Denico Autry and safety Jimmie Ward. And more additions aren’t out of the question, either. The Texans still have enough salary-cap space — more than $15 million — to tweak the roster with some late veteran additions before the season. And make no mistake, they’re looking.
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If anything, the biggest problems facing the Texans might be figuring out how to maximize the talent on offense and keep everyone fed. Collins, Diggs and Dell could all feasibly be 1,000-yard receivers if they were given the targets. Mixon still has the talent to be a three-down 1,000-yard running back. And despite modest numbers in 2023, Schultz still has the ability to be a top-10 tight end in the league. And more than anything, that puts Stroud squarely into an MVP pipeline if he avoids injury. If they’re all healthy and the offensive line lives up to its talent, one of two things seems probable: Either the Texans are going to have a record-setting offense in 2024 or the skill position players are going to have to get used to sharing their opportunities. Maybe both, with Diggs being the element that helps push the boundaries of the playbook.
As Stroud put it, “Stef is somebody who definitely can open up your playbook. But we have all of those guys around. He’ll say that, too. So, it’s a five-headed monster. It’s definitely super dope to have just a bunch of options.”
What all that talent means, how it actually comes together in 2024, is the journey that started Thursday. Improving on a 10-win season nobody expected. Reshaping the contending structure of the AFC in a way that makes the AFC South a power center again. By meeting the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 and showcasing that Stroud can go all the places Josh Allen has gone … and then some. Then building into a schedule that pits the Texans against the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens in Weeks 16 and 17, which should be a stage-setting moment for the road to the Super Bowl.
This is what it means for Houston to have juice again. Enough to draw a meaningful spotlight and attract the eyes of Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the rest of the Chiefs. Whether they want to hear it or not, the Texans are cutting the image of the next heavyweight contender to Kansas City’s AFC and Super Bowl stranglehold.
