2019 Record and Finish:

The Houston Texans finished the 2019-2020 season going 10-6 (Playoffs) for a .625 winning percentage and coming away with the AFC South crown. The Texans won their first playoff game, which was then in the Wild Card round vs the Buffalo Bills. They then went on to matchup against the eventual Super Bowl Champions in the next round of the AFC Divisional Playoffs. They wound up blowing a 24-0 lead and had an unfortunate early exit from the 2019-2020 playoffs.

Returning Starters:

Offensive Side: 8

Defensive Side: 10

Key Additions:

RB David Johnson (via trade)
CB Bradley Roby (re-signed for three years, $36 million)
WR Randall Cobb (signed for three years, $27 million, $18.75 million guaranteed)
K Ka’imi Fairbairn (re-signed for four years, $17.65 million, $9 million guaranteed)
TE Darren Fells (re-signed for two years, $7 million)
QB A.J. McCarron (re-signed for one year, $4 million)
LB Zach Cunningham (re-signed for 4 years, $58 million, $23.5 million guaranteed)

Houston Texans Season Outlook:

The Houston Texans enter a new decade off of yet another season filled with crazy highs and lows. HC and GM Bill O’Brien’s club finished the 2019 season 10-6 and with another AFC South division title under their belts. Despite barely grabbing a victory against the Buffalo Bills in the wildcard round, it all came to a brutal end in the next round against Kansas City. The 2020 edition of the Texans promises differences now. With young OC Tim Kelly, a new DC in Anthony Weaver, and a fellow first-time ST coach Tracy Smith. All three coaches bring with them high expectations from peers and players alike, and hopefully, a fresh take on Houston’s at-times stagnant play-calling of recent years.

Optimistically, the Texans could finish this year 10-6 if their offense REALLY takes shape as expected. More realistic might be 9-7, but if they want to keep up with their biggest division rivals in Tennessee, and an improving Philip Rivers-led Indianapolis Colts, they’ll have to hit the ground running. If they fail to do both these things, don’t be surprised to see the Texans finish 7-9.

Houston Texans Win Total (Over/Under):

It really is tough to gauge the Houston Texans this year, especially with their offense but more importantly their defense. They never really truly struggled to score but had their ups and downs, but their defense is what throws everything off. It never is that consistent, especially when talking about big-time stops over and over again. If you wanted to throw money on the Texans this year, there’s a couple of routes you could go. If you wanted to play the safe game, I’d recommend putting money on under 7.5 wins. Then if you want to play the high risk, high reward game, you might have a good chance with over 8.5 wins. Either way, I say you have a good chance of winning with both these bets.

Fantasy Player to Watch:

The Texans are one of these teams with a handful of guys on the offensive side of the ball that can take over a fantasy team. You can go the route of saying Deshaun Watson is your answer after finishing the past two seasons in the top five among fantasy QBs. When talking about RBs, newly acquired back David Johnson comes into the mix. You’d like to think he’d be a good option to be RB 1 or 2 but just hasn’t proven that since his breakout year in 2016. The smart option here is to wait to pull the trigger on DJ until he proves he can be a consistent and reliable fantasy back.

There are four wideouts in Houston who are all going to compete for the WR1 spot this year and who you should keep an eye out for. First is Brandon Cooks, who came to Houston via trade. In 14 games started last season, Cooks grabbed 42 receptions, 583 yards, and two receiving touchdowns. Cooks is capable of being a 1,000-yard receiver, as he had four consecutive ones before. Then there’s Will Fuller as he’s the definition of “boom or bust” fantasy player. He has averaged 14.3 YPC in his four-year career and has been the big-play guy on this team. He finished second on the team in receiving last season, after Hopkins. Fuller finished with 49 receptions, 670 yards, and three touchdowns. The only downside with Fuller is his injuries every year.

Your third option is Kenny Stills because he can be considered a flex piece in larger leagues. Stills accumulated 40 receptions, 561 yards, four touchdowns last year. Meanwhile, Randall Cobb, a longtime Packer, played one season for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019. There, he compiled 55 receptions, 828 yards, three touchdowns. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with either one of these four guys as all have proven to be reliable and high fantasy scorers. But if I had to pick one, I would no doubt go with Brandon Cooks. He should see a fair number of targets from Deshaun Watson as the team looks to find their WR1 and is your best bet for top fantasy player outside of Watson.

You can view the rest of our NFL previews here.