Habrá muchos cambios en 2022 para los Houston Texans. El primero fue ascender a Lovie Smith de coordinador defensivo a entrenador en jefe. Parecía que se debía a Josh McCown, Jonathan Gannon o Brian Flores; pero un par de días después, el equipo anunció que contrataría a Smith como entrenador en jefe. Además de ascender a Smith, el equipo ascendió a Pep Hamilton de coordinador ofensivo. En 2021, Pep fue el coordinador del juego aéreo y el entrenador de mariscales de campo del equipo.
Con un entrenador en jefe de mentalidad defensiva para los Houston Texans, es importante que los jugadores de fantasía sepan quién llamará las jugadas para la ofensiva. Hamilton ha estado en la NFL durante años, incluidos tres años como coordinador ofensivo de los Colts desde 2013 hasta 2015.
In his first two years as the Colts OC , he finished 11-5 and made the playoffs. The Colts advanced to the AFC Conference Championship in 2014. 2014 was a career year for Andrew Luck, who passed for 4761 yards and 40 touchdowns. I do not think any Texans QB will have that kind of season, but it shows the ceiling for an offense run by Hamilton.
New Texans OC Pep Hamilton runs the “No coast system” which emphasizes:
•Running with power by creating mismatches
•Early down completions as an extension of the run game
•being efficient on 3rd down
•taking shots downfieldWas the most “dynamic” offense while in IND pic.twitter.com/Cn6N5tbuog
— Drew (@IndepthTexans) February 8, 2022
With new play callers and a potentially overhauled set of weapons there is so much we do not know about the Houston Texans. It will be difficult for them to be as bad as they were in 2021. There may not have been much hope fantasy-wise for the team last year, but who knows what is in store for 2022.
Quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson, Davis Mills
The biggest question the Houston Texans will have to answer this offseason is who will be their starting QB. Will the team be able to mend the void between them and Deshaun Watson? Will he even be allowed to play based on pending legal troubles? Do they go with their 2021 3rd round pick Davis Mills? Do they find someone in free agency or in the draft?
I do not think that there is any fixing of the problems between the Houston Texans and Watson. He was never suspended by the league this season, but was always inactive on game days. Watson essentially just counted against the team’s salary cap while offering nothing in return. The biggest problem is that with his legal troubles and potential suspension, it will be incredibly hard to find a trade partner willing to pay what the Texans are looking for.
Ultimately, I do not see Watson being a part of the Texans this season. According to Spotrac, if the Texans are able to trade Watson they will save somewhere between $24 million and $35 million depending on the part of the offseason. The Texans are not in cap trouble by any means, but clearing that contract will benefit the team.
As for Davis Mills, I am not sure the Houston Texans are ready to fully commit to him as the starter. With the team retaining Pep Hamilton, I would imagine he will have a bit of an advantage in any camp battle this offseason. Pep has done pretty well in the past at developing young QBs so I am expecting improvement in Year 2.
It got a bit lost in the shuffle of the Lovie Smith hire yesterday, but the Texans keeping and promoting Pep Hamilton to offensive coordinator is a major coup.
The work he’s done with Justin Herbert and Davis Mills the past two seasons has been extremely impressive.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) February 8, 2022
In his rookie campaign, Mills had a record of 2-11 as the starter. On its own this is not impressive; but the team was really not in a position to be competitive. Even though he only had two wins, Mills had four games with over 300 passing yards. He threw for multiple touchdowns five times. On the other hand, Mills did throw 10 interceptions, with 4 against Buffalo in Week 4. Mills showed just enough to deserve a shot at the starting job this offseason.
Potential Additions
I would guess the Houston Texans try and bring in a veteran free agent to compete during training camp and preseason. There are a couple of ways that the Texans could approach their free agent QB search. Do they want to bring in a vet that can offer some leadership qualities to a team that has been through a significant amount of change recently? If that is the route, then Andy Dalton or Ryan Fitzpatrick could make sense. Either of these guys would not offer a long term solution, but more of a bridge to a younger guy like Mills as he develops.
Another option would be to go with a younger player who is still well within their prime that could potentially earn the job for years to come. Some of my favorites in this category are Jameis Winston, Jacoby Brisset, Mitchell Trubisky, or Marcus Mariotta. I personally think that this path would make more sense. But I am sure we will have an answer within the first few days of free agency, if not before then.
Running Backs: Rex Burkhead, Free Agency, Draft
The Houston Texans had the worst running game in the league in 2021. They rushed for only 1422 yards, which was nearly 400 yards less than Jonathan Taylor. This poor performance was in part due to one of the worst offensive lines in the league. According to PFF, the Texans were the 29th ranked offensive line unit throughout the season. The other reason was the lack of talent and depth at the running back position.
In 2021 Rex Burkhead was the Texans’ leading rusher with 427 yards and 3 touchdowns. Over half of Burkhead’s rushing yards were in the team’s final three games of the season. In addition to Burkhead, the other top backs were Mark Ingram and David Johnson. Ingram was cut midseason and joined the Saints. David Johnson seemed to be in a great spot to be the lead back to start the year, but he left fantasy managers wanting more each week. Johnson is slated to become a free agent and is not likely to return to the Texans.
Changes to the running back room to watch for this offseason
With Burkhead being the only RB of note returning in 2022, the Houston Texans have to bring someone else in. Luckily they have cap space and draft picks that can be used to address the position. With so many holes on this roster it is going to be hard for them to land one of the top free agent running backs.
They have enough cap space that they could make a push for guys like Rashaad Penny, Sony Michel, Ronald Jones, or even Marlon Mack. There are upsides and downsides to all of these players, but they are all vets who have had some opportunity to play meaningful NFL snaps. If they are given a lead back role on the Texans, we may see a different version of them that we have not seen before.
The other option is to address the RB position through the draft. It is unlikely the Houston Texans use a 1st or 2nd round pick on a running back. With two 3rd round picks, they could pull the trigger if one of the top RBs falls to them. If a Round 2 graded RB falls into the 3rd, it will be hard to pass up the value. If that doesn’t happen, they should wait and use a Day 3 pick on a depth piece.
As far as fantasy goes, I do not expect there to be much excitement surrounding the Texans RBs in 2022. The offense as a whole should improve, but I am not sure how much improvement we can really rely on.
Wide Receivers: Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Free Agency, Draft
The Houston Texans WR room is also in need of a major overhaul. The only WRs of note returning to the team are Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins. The two led the team in receiving yards in 2021. The Texans as a team had a total of 3305 receiving yards which ranked 28th in the league. Cooks and Collins accounted for just under half of the team’s total receiving yards. The remaining WRs on the Texans had a combined 590 receiving yards on the season.
Brandin Cooks will be playing in the final year of his deal; one that he originally signed with the Rams. Due to restructures, there are two void years allowing the team to spread out the dead cap. In his 8th season, Cooks was able to reach the 1000 receiving yard milestone for the 6th time in his career. It is likely that Cooks will be the leading receiver for the team again in 2022, and he will be a value in fantasy drafts yet again.
Brandin Cooks in six career seasons with 15+ games:
84-1138-9
78-1173-8
65-1082-7
80-1204-5
81-1150-6
87-1011-6Pretty, pretty, pretty good
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 5, 2022
As a rookie, Nico Collins was able to showcase why he belongs in the NFL. As the season progressed he became more involved on a weekly basis. From Week 6 on, Collins was on the field for at least 57% of the snaps in every game. In addition, he saw half of his targets over the last five games of the season. If he can continue to develop in his second year he will be a value on draft day.
Changes to the wide receiver room to watch for this offseason
Aside from Cooks and Collins, there isn’t anyone else to consider for fantasy on the Houston Texans at this point. This year there are a decent amount of higher-end WR that will be hitting the free agent market. Unfortunately for the Texans, they do not really have what it takes to draw a top tier guy. Players like Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson, or Davante Adams are unlikely to be Texans next season. They are more likely to be able to sign a guy that is more of a reclamation project or a veteran that is just looking for another year’s worth of pay.
With that in mind, the Texans should probably try and address the WR position in the draft. Just like the RB position, I do not expect them to use a first or second round pick to add a WR. If a WR they like falls to either of their 3rd round picks I would not be shocked. This class is supposed to be fairly deep, so there are still likely to be some decent options in this area of the draft.
Tight Ends: Brevin Jordan, Free Agency
During the 2021 season, all of the Texans TEs combined for 72 receptions for just 610 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jordan Akins led the TEs with 24 receptions and 214 yards but did not have a single touchdown. This was Akins only season since his rookie year that he has not scored a touchdown or had at least 400 yards. This down season could be a blessing in disguise for the Houston Texans. With Akins slated to become a free agent this could allow them to keep him around on a cheaper contract.
The tight end I am most interested in for fantasy purposes for the Houston Texans is Brevin Jordan. He was one of my favorite tight end prospects in this past year’s draft class. Jordan was inactive for the first seven games of the season, but he had a somewhat strong finish to the end the year. In Jordan’s nine games he had 20 receptions for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns. To have any fantasy relevance we need the receptions and yardage to increase. If he can maintain his touchdown pace then he will be in the discussion for fantasy viable tight ends.
Really encouraged to see Brevin Jordan's development this year. He's been pretty good. Gets held on this route, but still finds a way to separate and haul in the pass pic.twitter.com/IwjDhDV94D
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) December 27, 2021
Changes to the tight end room to watch for this offseason
There are several veteran tight ends hitting the free agent market this offseason, but I do not see the Texans investing heavily at the position. They have to sign a couple at least, but I would imagine they are lower level players on cheaper contracts.
I do not expect them to be in on a guy like Zach Ertz, Gerald Everett, or even Robert Tonyan. I think bringing back a guy like Akins makes the most sense for a team with so many other holes to fill. No matter who they bring in, I do not think I will be leaving any fantasy drafts with a Texans TE unless it is an extremely deep league.
