The Houston Texans were familiar tenants at the bottom of the NFL power rankings throughout 2021, and it frankly didn’t matter the outlet.
According to Sarah Barshop of ESPN, the Texans are already starting out the 2022 offseason as the No. 31 team in the power rankings. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars are worse. What is keeping Houston in the bottom-5 is their lack of clarity at starting quarterback.
It’s been more than a year since he requested a trade, and quarterback Deshaun Watson is still on the Texans’ roster. He was a healthy scratch in all 17 games during the 2021 season after facing 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior, so the biggest question now is who will start at quarterback in 2022. Houston could trade Watson this offseason, but interested teams could be waiting for clarity on the lawsuits and any potential criminal charges. After a strong finish to the season, it looks like rookie third-round pick Davis Mills showed enough improvement to be considered the starter going into next season. Houston will need to sign a backup quarterback and could choose a veteran to compete with Mills for the starting spot.
The Detroit Lions were higher than the Texans, despite the fact the NFC North bottom dwellers only won three games. Detroit has clarity at quarterback, but only because the league knows what Jared Goff is as a commodity.
New coach Lovie Smith likes what he saw from Mills throughout his rookie season after Houston drafted him in the third round from Stanford.
“I had chance, Davis Mills, I had a chance to see him from a lot of different angles this past year,” Smith said. “Early on he wasn’t playing and he was going against the one defense every week. So, I got a chance to see him. Then, of course, got a chance to see him as he moved into our starting role. But it always started with the quarterback.”
With a 4-13 finish and their third coach in as many seasons, it is understandable why Houston is No. 31 in the power rankings. However, the organization believes this is the season they complete the rebuild.
