The Houston Texans seem to be going about the offseason in the right way in order to create sustained long-term success.
This team has always been building this thing from the ground up and are showing no signs of going all in for short-term success. This team wants to be relevant and relevant for years to come.
Buffallo Bills Mack Hollins (13)
Do to so, you need to make long-term, forward-thinking decisions and the first of which came from making the tough call to fire offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and replace him with Nick Caley. And more forward-thinking moves, such as a few early extensions with key defenders will be down the line soon.
As for building the rest of the roster and adding in outside help, the Texans desperately need to reinforce the offensive line and will have to replace some talent in the wide receiver room.
At the wide receiver position specifically, the Texans did a great job building the room from within by drafting players such as Nico Collins, Tank Dell, John Metchie, and Xavier Hutchinson. That gave the offense a solid young core, which allowed the team to make a splash on a top play-maker in Stefon Diggs last offseason.
The Diggs Era was short-lived after the 31-year-old suffered a torn ACL in late October. And then things went from bad to worse after Dell suffered a severe knee injury that will likely keep him sidelined into the 2025 season.
With Dell out and Diggs likely to depart elsewhere, the Texans will need to address the position once again this offseason, but the strategy should be much different.
Houston doesn't need to go out an get an alpha like a Tee Higgins or make another massive trade, they already have that kind of guy in Collins. Instead, what the room needs to be fully complete is the guys willing to do the hard and dirty work.
ESPN's Dan Graziano noted earlier in the week that Houston needs more wide receivers who would be more role-oriented, similar to how the Buffalo Bills' wide receiver room looked in 2024 after trading Diggs to the Texans. In fact, Graziano mentioned one of those Bills players as a potential free agent target for the Texans.
That player is Mack Hollins, an underrated pass catcher, who's obscure pregame traditions and outfits headlined all the talk in Buffalo. But on the field, Hollins quietly had a strong season in his role, even finishing the year with five touchdowns while playing all 17 games.
Targeting a player like Hollins would help retool the position with a quality role player that wouldn't cost much at all. And there's some other players that could fit that style as well.
Keep an eye on TuTu Atwell or Demarcus Robinson from the Rams reuniting with Caley or potentially a guy like Tim Patrick. Even stealing a player like Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from the Tennessee Titans can help elevate the wide receiver room.
