Where are the Texans ranked entering the regular season?
Welcome back to another, highly anticipated season of the NFL Power Rankings.
Last year, we got to bear witness to the Houston Texans making a thrilling, Hollywood-grade comeback for the ages in the 2023 NFL Power Rankings. Starting the season literally ranked #30 or #31 on a list that only has 32 spots is quite literally the bottom as bad as you can get, shouldering with the Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts.
Needless to say, the Houston Texans were one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 NFL season.
Over the course of a comically suspenseful, dramatic, heart-stopping season, the Texans gradually surmounted team after team on their way to the snowy peak of the Power Rankings mountain. All through the twenties and teens they went, surging up boards as quarterback C.J. Stroud took them to great new heights. His arm launched the Texans past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals, secured the AFC South title over the Indianapolis Colts, and beat the Cleveland Browns in the wildcard round.
Here’s what Eric Edholm had to say of the Houston Texans following the conclusion of Week 18 of the 2023 NFL Season:
9. Houston Texans (10-7) (Last Week: 11)
One year ago, Lovie Smith was leading a late comeback that cost the Texans the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. On Saturday, the “consolation prize” they received, second overall pick C.J. Stroud, put on a terrific show in a win-or-else victory at Indianapolis. Then, the Jaguars coughed up the AFC South, and the Texans will host a playoff game for the first time in four years. This rebuild happened faster than almost anyone could have predicted, and it’s turned DeMeco Ryans — already a borderline legend in Houston — into a rookie coaching star. Between that and breathtaking debut seasons from Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. and (before he was hurt) Tank Dell, this has unquestionably been one of the most unexpectedly productive calendar years in franchise history. This doesn’t strike me as a team willing to go into Super Wild Card Weekend carefree. The Browns stomped the Stroud-less Texans in Houston not too long ago, and you know Ryans is going to remind the team about that a few dozen times this week.
– Eric Edholm
The Texans really stunned everyone last year. The critics, and casual football fans, and even Houston’s own fans were taken aback by how quickly these new parts had all meshed together. It was, in sporting terms, a miracle.
But, now that they’ve burst onto the scene and established themselves as the hot new Super Bowl contender, what’s next?
Big expectations. Really big expectations. For the first time in years, the Houston Texans are widely seen as one of the best teams in the league. They have franchise staples on both sides of the ball, a star quarterback on a rookie contract, a franchise left tackle, and a plethora of solid veterans to complete the roster. Despite not breaching the top ten on many lists at the end of the last year, Houston has earned elite treatment after this offseason’s additions of Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, and Danielle Hunter. The world is their oyster!
So, how does the media’s best football analysts rank the Texans to start the year?
NFL.COM:
7. Houston Texans (Last Week: 6)
I’ve been gently warning people that Houston might not quite be ready for prime time, even if it’s hard not to love the direction of the franchise, resetting in such a quick fashion. The 2023 season was an unquestioned success, ushering in the C.J. Stroud/DeMeco Ryans era in exceptional fashion and setting this team up for success. But I’ve also argued that we sort of graduated the Jaguars (whom I ranked No. 9 last preseason) to a similar level last offseason, and since their fall from an 8-3 perch last season, they’ve sort of been relegated to middling status. The same could happen with the Texans, who faced one of the league’s easier schedules (which included some bad losses, let’s be fair) a year ago and who now have one of the tougher slates in 2024. I’m not saying Houston is suddenly a bad team. But I am saying that going 9-8 and missing the playoffs isn’t out of the picture.
ESPN:
6. Houston Texans
Post-draft ranking: 6
Who’s on the hot seat: WR Stefon Diggs
Diggs is on a one-year deal, and if the offense is booming with him, he could be re-signed and cash in. If not, the two sides could part ways. But throughout camp, the Texans’ coaching staff and players have raved about him. Coach DeMeco Ryans praised Diggs’ leadership and competitiveness, saying he has brought the best out of his teammates. Quarterback C.J. Stroud said Diggs is “somebody who loves the game and doesn’t cheat it.”
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED:
9. Houston Texans
I feel like a broken record at this point, but I’ll say it one more time: The Texans are going to compete for the division and, in my mind, just slightly edge out the Indianapolis Colts. However, we need to remind ourselves just like we did in the Green Bay Packers’ blurb that QB progress is not linear. C.J. Stroud is going to get the master’s course now via OC Bobby Slowik and he’s going to have to elevate his game in a significant way. Defensive progress is also not linear, and the Texans will not play as many backup QBs as they did last year. Take note: This is not the same thing as me saying they are not good. It’s me saying they are going to have to play much better for the same results.
BLEACHER REPORT:
4. Houston Texans
All aboard the Houston Texans hype train!
After their surprise run to the postseason last year and their blowout victory over the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round, there isn’t a more hyped team in 2024 than the Houston Texans. Partly, that’s due to an aggressive offseason that included adding proven veterans on both sides of the ball in running back Joe Mixon, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and edge-rusher Danielle Hunter.
It’s also partly due to the Texans having both the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year in C.J. Stroud and Defensive Rookie of the Year in Will Anderson. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik told reporters that heading into his second season, Stroud has already become the leader of Houston’s offense.
“He has no fear in asking the room a question, making a point to the room on specific plays or maybe having a message for practice,” Slowik said. “He’s been a lot more vocal in meetings, which is great. That’s what you want your quarterback to be. He’s not afraid to talk this year. I’d say he’s not afraid to make sure that everyone’s doing their job — including himself, including me, including his teammates. He’s definitely gonna make sure that everyone is putting in the work and doing what they need to do for us to be able to go out and execute.”
“There’s no denying that the Texans have talent to burn on both sides of the ball,” Davenport said. “And if everything comes together in the right way, Houston appears to have all it takes to make a deep postseason run and potentially even challenge the Chiefs in the AFC. But there are a lot of new pieces in Houston as well, and those pieces will have to mesh in the right way if Houston is going to hang with the AFC’s heavyweights.”
– Gary Davenport, Maurice Moton, Kristopher Knox, Brent Sobleski
CBS SPORTS:
8. Houston Texans (Last Week: 8)
They had an outstanding offseason adding players to go with C.J. Stroud and Co. Now comes the tough part: Dealing with being the hunted.
YAHOO! SPORTS:
9. Houston Texans (Last Week: 8)
Last season Nico Collins played 68% of the Texans’ offensive snaps, topping 80% in just three games, and still put up 1,297 yards. This preseason, Collins played 21 of 23 snaps (91%) with the starters, via Adam Levitan of Establish The Run. If Collins plays anywhere close to 90% of the Texans’ snaps this season, he could fly past 1,300 yards.
THE ATHLETIC:
4. Houston Texans
Preseason vibes: Too good?
The hype in Houston is so high the Texans are entering a dangerous area where nothing short of a Super Bowl appearance will meet expectations, and it’s not just media-driven. Stroud is already No. 8 in Mike Sando’s Quarterback Tiers. BetMGM has the Texans listed as the betting favorite in the AFC South and eighth in Super Bowl championship odds. If Stefon Diggs returns to form, maybe Houston can pay off all this promise.
PRO FOOTBALL TALK:
10. Texans: Few teams have gone from hopeless to elite so quickly.
Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Now, this is an incredible change from week one last year. Heck, this is even a big change from the kind of tone used to describe the Texans during the playoffs last year. The hype percolating underneath all these words of praise is starting to really boil, and it has sent the Texans into top ten on every website mentioned in this article.
It‘s a sentiment that I am fully behind, though! C.J. Stroud has everything around him to create one of the deadliest passing attacks in the league, which opens the path for Joe Mixon to lead a revitalized rushing attack. On defense, Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter bookend a mighty defensive line, both ends combining for 23.5 sacks total. Behind them lies a refreshed linebacking group, headlined by Azeez Al-Shaair, and a loaded defensive backfield. They have difference-making players at every position on both sides of the ball, so a top ten ranking is completely justified in my book.
What do you think, though? Is this all just a little too much hype for the Houston Texans? Are we all getting a little too excited for the 2024 season? Let us know in the comments below!
Here’s to another year of the power rankings! GO TEXANS!