Houston Texans Season Recap

AFC South	Finished 1st in Division Beat Oakland in Wild Card Round Lost to New England in Divisional Round
Overall Record: 9-7 (5-1 in the division)	Draft Position: 25th
Head Coach: Bill O’Brien	GM: Rick Smith

Pro Bowlers

• DE Jadeveon Clowney

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	29th	T-28th	29th	8th	TDs – 31st
Defense	1st	11th	2nd	12th	Sacks – T- 24th	INTs – T-21st

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Brock Osweiler	14	59.0	2,957	15	16	72.2	55.3
Tom Savage	2	63.0	461	0	0	80.9	63.1

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
Lamar Miller	1,073	4.0	5
Alfred Blue	420	4.2	1

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
DeAndre Hopkins	78	954	12.2	4
Will Fuller V	47	635	13.5	2

Top Defensive Players

• LB Benardrick McKinney - 129 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble
• LB Brian Cushing - 65 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss
• LB Whitney Mercilus - 53 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
• S Quintin Demps - 55 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 6 INTs, 1 forced fumble

Impending Free Agents

• DT Vince Wilfork
• ILB Akeem Dent
• P Shane Lechler
• CB A.J. Bouye
• OLB John Simon
• SS Quintin Demps
• DE Antonio Smith
• K Nick Novak
• RB Johnathan Grimes
• DT Devon Still
• FS Don Jones
• G Oday Aboushi
• T David Quessenberry
• TE Ryan Griffin

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• My projection for the Texans this year were for them to go 10-6, one win better than their actual record of 9-7.  I thought that the team's quarterback situation was going to be fine with Brock Osweiler as their starter.  I believed that the team had surrounded him with enough talent that he should have been able to succeed this season.  As typical with Texans' teams recently, I felt confident that their defense was going to drive the team's success.  J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing, and Jadeveon Clowney are talented enough to guide any group of players to the playoffs.

Success/Failure

• Failure - This year seemed like the perfect time for the Texans to take the next step and go far in the playoffs.  The rest of the division is on the rise (except perhaps the Colts) and the Texans' roster is very talented.  Brock Osweiler couldn't make it work with weapons that included Hopkins, Fuller, and Lamar Miller (a better group of receivers than Tom Brady has ever had) and Bill O'Brien is a quarterback guru.  It is looking more and more that signing Osweiler to the big contract last offseason was a mistake.  Their defense was still pretty good but took a big step back with the injury to J.J. Watt that cost him most of the season.

Offseason Needs

• Although they spent big on the quarterback position last offseason they still need to address it this offseason.  Perhaps they spend a pick on one later in the draft but I doubt that they'll overspend on one at the back end of the first round.  They could also pursue free agent quarterbacks Tony Romo or Jay Cutler.  The Texans also need help on the offensive line as well as a cover linebacker.  It is the latter position need that CBS Sports has them addressing, by drafting hybrid Jabrill Peppers with their first round pick.  Personally, I don't think that he'll be available by the time the team drafts at 25.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, and cbssports.com