Texans still not among the NFL's elites in positional rankings by ESPN enteirng 2026
· Yahoo Sports
Most of the focus for the Houston Texans on offense comes from the trenches. Houston struggled to find consistency in both run blocking and pass protection down the stretch last season, which certainly derailed any chance of a postseason push.
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But the Texans fixed those woes on paper this offseason with the trade of Tytus Howard and the signings of Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith. Just for good measure, Houston added more depth to the trenches with the selections of Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge in Round 1 and Oklahoma's Febechi Nwaiwu on Day 3.
Ok, so what's the problem? Well, now everyone will turn to the faults of the supporting cast around Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Is the trio of Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins and Dalton Schultz good enough to keep the Texans in contention? How about the run game headlined by newcomer David Montgomery? Is there at least a chance that the old Tank Dell could become a staple in the passing game?
On paper, no, at least not according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, who listed the Texans' weaponry of tight ends, running backs and wide receivers at No. 24 out of 32 entering the 2026 season.
"The Texans start with a legitimate No. 1 wideout in Nico Collins, although 2025 was a slight downturn; he fell from third in yards per route run to 14th," Barnwell wrote. "Collins is still a top-10 receiver for me, but injuries have cost him the better part of 10 games over his three years as the top option in Houston. If he is going to be sidelined for about 20% of the season, it limits what his ceiling can be for the Texans.
"And if Collins isn't on the field, this isn't a scary group of playmakers. There are reasons to be optimistic about Jayden Higgins, who caught six touchdowns last season as a rookie, but he and Jaylin Noel both produced slightly below-average yards per route run marks. It's tough to expect much out of Tank Dell even if he returns from a career-threatening injury this year. Tight end Dalton Schultz was sixth in receiving yards last season at the position, but he doesn't produce explosive plays (his 20-plus-yard reception rate was half the league average at tight end) or make an impact in the red zone (where he had five catches all season)."
There are several points brought up by Barnwell that are warranted. Collins, a two-time Pro Bowl pass-catcher and three-time 1,000-yard playmaker, hasn't played a full season since being drafted in the third round out of Michigan. Yes, he's a top 10 playmaker on the field, but given his status of having holes each season, it's a hard sell toward stating that he can be counted on each game.
Schultz continues to be a security blanket for Stroud in the passing game, but there is a downside to his targets. Among starting tight ends, he was one of the worst options after the catch, meaning most of his damage comes on explosive plays.
Barnwell does see at least a better run game headlined by Montgomery after Houston's ground woes last season. The Texans averaged under 4.0 yards per carry for the third time in four years and struggled to find consistency in the red zone. That shouldn't be a problem for them in 2026 since Montgomery has been one of the better red zone backs over his tenure with the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.
"David Montgomery will be an upgrade on the running backs the Texans ran out in 2025, and he exceeded expectations last time he switched teams and joined the Lions. I'd still be a little nervous about taking a back who excelled in one of the best offenses in football during his time in Detroit and expecting similar results dropping him into what has been a hopeless situation for RBs in Houston," Barnwell wrote. "Montgomery's success rate dropped from 49.2% to 42.4% last year after the departure of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the decline from Detroit's offensive line, although Montgomery was able to compensate by producing more explosive runs. Expecting something closer to the Bears' version of Montgomery might be realistic."
To read the full list of supporting cast members, click here.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans still not among the NFL's elites in positional rankings by ESPN enteirng 2026