When looking at how the Houston Texans' roster switched up over the course of this NFL offseason, the biggest changes undoubtedly came upon their offensive line group.
With an array of departures and additions throughout, this five-man group will look vastly different compared to last year, and it comes at a great time considering the numerous shortcomings this protection unit had throughout the 2024 season.
Yet, even with many new faces in the fold and an almost entirely new group starting Week One, there's one player who's remained in the mix of this roster throughout the chaos, and could be in line for a massive breakout season, and that's Texans' guard/center Juice Scruggs.
Pro Football Focus analyst Jonathan Macri outlined Scruggs as the Texans' biggest breakout candidate for the 2025 campaign ahead, as the third-year lineman could be locked into a starting spot on the interior and could make a major statement in that process.
"The Texans offensive line received a major shake-up this offseason, and for Scruggs, the continued fluctuation of his usage coming out of last season hopefully comes to an end, as he potentially locks into the right guard spot," Macri wrote. "Having played both guard positions and center last year, Scruggs significantly improved his blocking and overall grades across the board from his rookie year, doing so on nearly double the workload. Should this trend continue, and with a more consistent role, expect Year 3 to be the best of Scruggs’ career so far."
Scruggs continued to develop into a versatile, young option on the interior throughout last season even with the turbulence, finishing as the 27th-best center in the NFL via PFF grade, and at just 25 years old, there's room for improvement, and those steps forward would be a vital development for this Texans offensive line that struggled during their last time out.
If the Texans can get Scruggs to be a staple on the interior and provide a more consistent outlook than the team saw last season in both pass protection and run blocking, this Houston offense will be in good shape.
Houston Texans Have One Major Downside to 2025 Schedule
The 2025 NFL schedule has officially arrived, as recently as last week, making it so that we now know how the Houston Texans' slate of games will transpire later this year.
And for the Texans, there are some big positives to note in the mix of their newly-released schedule, perhaps one of those being the sheer amount of indoor games they'll be matched up with during the second half of the year.
Though that's far from saying everything is set to be ideal from Weeks 1 to 18.
In the eyes of CBS Sports analyst John Breech, there could be one notable downside worth noting on the Texans' schedule soon to come, and that centers on how they'll be set to start their year against two tough opponents– vs. both the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"The NFL didn't do the Texans any favors to start the season. In their first two weeks, they have to face two teams (Rams and Buccaneers) that both won their division last year," Breech wrote. "They have to open the year by flying halfway across the country to face the Rams before returning home to face the Bucs in prime time. An 0-2 start would be painful, especially with the Ravens looming in Week 5."
The Texans do have the personnel to take on those two challenges, though back to back face-offs against division winners from last season is a bit of a rude awakening to get the ball rolling for the regular season.
And for Houston, a team likely to have an adjustment period to begin the year thanks to a few offseason changes and adjustments (most importantly, on the offensive line), it's easy to see how some growing pains could inevitably factor in. An 0-2 start wouldn't totally bury their season in the dirt, but might make for an uphill climb to escape that initial hole.
If the Texans can overcome those initial hurdles against two competitive squads like LA and Tampa Bay, it could be a considerable statement to be made as Houston eyes their third-straight division title for the first time in franchise history.
