The Houston Texans haven't been able to do a whole lot this offseason in terms of adding elite talent, which is thanks much in part to their rough financial situation.
Fortunately, the Texans were able to nab some very intriguing offensive weapons in the NFL Draft, bagging wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel on Day 2 and following that up by selecting running back Woody Marks in the fourth round, but questions still remain.
Let's face it: we don't know how Higgins and Noel will adjust to the professional level, and while Marks has potential, Houston still has a serious depth issue behind Joe Mixon in the backfield.
That's why Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com has linked the Texans to free-agent halfback Nick Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowler who has fallen on some hard injury luck the past couple of seasons.
"There really aren’t a ton of great options for Chubb at this stage," Chadiha wrote. "The Texans are a possibility only because they aren’t that strong at running back after Joe Mixon, as backup Dameon Pierce has disappointed since rushing for 939 yards as a rookie three years ago."
Running back was an obvious issue for Houston heading into the offseason, although thanks to the Texans' messy offensive line situation and questionable depth at wide receiver, it wasn't really a primary focus among fans and media pundits.
But we cannot ignore that the issue exists, with Mixon—who has a ton of mileage on his legs—turning 29 years old this July and coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he was really Houston's only reliable ball-carrier.
Chubb rushed for 332 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a meager 3.2 yards per carry with the Cleveland Browns last season, and he is far removed from his four-time Pro Bowl past as a result of a devastating knee injury he suffered in September 2023, as well as a broken foot he sustained this past December.
However, with the market being very thin on halfbacks at this stage, Chubb may prove to be the best veteran answer for the Texans at the position.
Houston Texans' Unmistakable Need Called Into Serious Question
The Houston Texans have been incredibly busy this offseason, but have they actually improved?
The Texans entered free agency with very limited financial flexibility, so there was only so much they could do. They then tried to alleviate their salary-cap issues by trading five-time Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil, which further exacerbated their offensive line woes.
Houston did sign Cam Robinson as a replacement, and it was able to land Aireontae Ersery in the second round of the NFL Draft, but serious problems still exist on the interior of the Texans' offensive line, and ESPN's Aaron Schatz identified that as the biggest source of concern for the team heading into 2025.
"The Texans have plenty of guards, but are any of them good? The starting left guard will probably be Tytus Howard, a natural tackle who has been up-and-down when playing inside," Schatz wrote. "Behind him is veteran Laken Tomlinson, who ranked 44th out of 64 ranked guards in pass block win rate (91.1%) last season in Seattle."
As Schatz noted, Howard is playing out of position, but he isn't the only guard who is trying to adjust.
"On the right side, there's Juice Scruggs, who is more of a center but did have a 93.0% pass block win rate at guard last season," he continued. "Veteran Ed Ingram, who ranked 54th among guards in pass block win rate (89.8%) last season in Minnesota, is next up. The Texans have thrown a lot of bodies at this position, but how much better will they be compared with last season's debacle?
So both Howard and Scruggs aren't naturally guards, and the Texans don't really seem to have any definitive veteran answers to counter that.
Houston surrendered 54 sacks last season, with C.J. Stroud himself hitting the turf 52 times. That undoubtedly contributed to Stroud having a disappointing sophomore campaign.
Hopefully, the Texans can piece together some answers between now and Week 1.
