Without playing a game, the Houston Texans have moved up in the power rankings.
According to Jarrett Bailey from the Touchdown Wire, the Texans steadily improved from No. 30 to start training camp to No. 25 in the latest rankings.
The Texans sneakily have a pretty solid roster. Their secondary is very good on paper. Derek Stingley was good when he was healthy in 2022, Jalen Pitre is now paired with Jimmie Ward, who followed DeMeco Ryans over from San Francisco. They have two good tackles and a good committee of running backs, as well. Their only glaring weakness is that the USA Today NFL staff could all earn roster spots as receivers. Tank Dell could be a fun player, but he’s predominantly a slot guy. John Metchie could have a good season, and it’s lovely to see him back after his leukemia battle. Besides that, though, all that remains is Nico Collins, 74 year-old Robert Woods, Noah Brown, and Xavier Hutchinson. This is a year for laying foundation in Houston, but they’ll be a tough out every week.
The offensive line currently faces challenges as second-rounder Juice Scruggs seeks to secure the starting center job following Scott Quessenberry’s torn ACL and MCL. Right tackle Tytus Howard will miss the entire preseason recovering from a broken hand, which will test Houston’s tackle depth.
Receiver may still be a tepid position even after the preseason opener with the New England Patriots on Aug. 10. Certainly Dell and Metchie can inspire, but Woods and Collins working in concert with Stroud is the true measure of the passing game’s limits.
Across the rest of the AFC South the Jacksonville Jaguars ascended as high as the No. 6 spot on the list. The division’s other two teams scraped the barrel as the Tennessee Titans were No. 27 and the Indianapolis Colts were No. 28.
