The Houston Texans have gone 9-7 in each of their two seasons under head coach Bill O’Brien. During those two seasons, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, T.J Yates and Brandon Weeden all made at least one start and all won at least one game. Last season, the team started four different quarterbacks and still managed to win the AFC South. However, the team’s 2015 season ended on a bitter note as Hoyer threw four interceptions in a blowout Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Texans are now among the league’s most dangerous teams after an off-season offensive overhaul that included solidifying the quarterback position.

In search of a franchise quarterback since O’Brien arrived, the Texans signed Brock Osweiler to rob of the Denver Broncos of Peyton Manning’s would-be successor. The Texans also signed Lamar Miller to take over as the team’s starting running back.

Osweiler got his first taste of life as an NFL starter with the Broncos last season as Manning nursed a foot injury. Though not always spectacular, the 25-year-old guided the team to a 4-2 record in the games he started and finished.
 

Osweiler 2015 Season

 
Opp CMP ATT YDS CMP% AVG TD INT RAT
KC (L 13-29) 14 24 146 58.3 6.08 1 1 72.6
CHI (W 17-15) 20 27 250 74.1 9.26 2 0 127.1
NE (W 30-24) 23 42 270 54.8 6.43 1 1 72.5
SD (W 17-3) 16 26 166 61.5 6.39 1 1 76.8
Oak (L 12-15) 35 51 308 68.6 6.04 0 0 84.4
PIT (L 27-34) 21 44 296 47.7 6.73 3 1 83.1
CIN (W 20-17) 27 39 299 69.2 7.67 1 0 100.3
SD (W 27-20) 14 22 232 63.6 10.55 1 2 76.3
Season 170 275 1,967 61.8 7.15 10 6 86.4
 

He was pulled from the team’s Week 17 matchup against the San Diego Chargers in favour of Manning and was benched for the future Hall of Famer in the playoffs. Reportedly angry over the Broncos decision not to start him in the playoffs, Osweiler made the decision to leave the team once free agency opened in March. He will now work with one of the best passing mentors in the league in O’Brien and is plugged into an offence with plenty of upside.

Osweiler’s top target in Houston will be Pro Bowl receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who reached 1,521 yards receiving last season despite all the quarterback changes. Hopkins, 24, has emerged as one of the league’s best young receivers and outgained the rest of the Texans receiving core combined last season. For that reason, the Texans focused on the wide receiver position in May’s draft.

Houston selected Notre Dame speedster Will Fuller 21st overall in the draft and came back to the position two rounds later to select Braxton Miller. Fuller emerged early in training camp as the team’s starter opposite Hopkins, while Miller – just two years removed from starting at quarterback at Ohio State – appears to be pegged to own the team’s starting slot duties. 

The Texans moved on from four-time Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster after the league’s former rushing champion played in just four games last year due to injury. Instead, the Texans opted sign Miller, a 25-year-old back who hasn’t missed a game since his rookie season in 2012. Miller enjoyed three productive years in Miami, but was often viewed as underutilized. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards just once despite his career average of 4.6 yards per carry. He should have plenty of opportunities to cross that 1,000-yard mark once again this season.

After their offensive overhaul, the Texans finally have the talent on the offensive side of the ball to match the skill of their dominant defence. Led by three-time defensive player of the year J.J. Watt, the Texans ranked third in yards allowed last season and seventh in points.

Embedded ImageThe group remains largely untouched from a season ago but could see an improvement if 2014 first-overall pick Jadeveon Clowney can remain healthy. In his first two seasons, Clowney has 15 games due to injury. He notched 4.5 of the Texans 45 sacks last season – fifth most in the league. If the 23-year-old can join Watt and Whitney Mercilus in the double-digit sack column, the Texans should be able to wrestle the league’s sack crown from the Broncos.

With so much change, the Texans may require time to start to click. But with the infusion of talent to their offence and their already dominant defence, the Texans should be a playoff team in 2016. Once they’re there, the question becomes: How much noise can they make?

Key Notes

On the Line: The Texans committed to Osweiler with a four-year, $72 million deal. Now the focus must turn to keeping him healthy. With that in mind, the team traded up in the second round of the draft to select Nick Martin to be their starting centre. Martin suffered an ankle injury in training camp and is set to miss the season. Now 2015 undrafted free agent Greg Mancz is tasked with getting the ball into Osweiler’s hands. Two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown will also miss at least the first week of the season, and possibly more, with a quad injury. Chris Clark, a veteran of 31 career starts, is listed as Brown’s backup.

Watt’s the deal: The team’s top player missed the entire preseason with a back injury and his status for Week 1 of the season is question. Watt registered 17.5 sacks last season; any snaps missed by the All-Pro are a major loss for the team’s defence. He has never missed a game in his five-year career.