2016 Fantasy Football Preview: Houston Texans

 

2015 Fantasy Recap

The Texans had a rough start to the 2015 season, going 3-5 into their by week.  They were blown out by both the Falcons (21-48) and the Dolphins (26-44).  They were plagued with problems at QB, starting 4 during the season.  However, they surged despite struggling QB play and made the playoffs, largely in part due to the defense, lead by superstar J.J. Watt.  DeAndre Hopkins managed to help the offense as much as he could as well, providing a stable receiver for whichever QB was there.  In the end, they went 9-7 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2012.  However, they were shut out by the Chiefs 30-0.   

Key Additions and Losses

Additions:

• Brock Osweiler
• Lamar Miller
• Will Fuller

Losses:

• Arian Foster
• Brandon Brooks

QuarterBack Fantasy Outlook

I am not even going to talk about what happened last year at the QB position for the Houston Texans.  It was bad, and we all know it.  However, The Texans paid a kings ransom to steal QB Brock Owseiler from the Denver Broncos.  After 3 years as a back up in Denver, Owseiler got his first significant game time on Oct 15 against the Chiefs when QB Peyton Manning was benched.  He started the next 7 games, going 5 and 2 as a starter, throwing 170 passes for 1967 yards.  Owseiler threw for 10 TD’s and rushed for another 1.  The Texans have a very thin file on him, and are hoping that he can be the franchise QB they have been looking for.  Being surrounded by a strong defense, great receivers, and hopefully a fresh new running game, he is hoping to prove his worth.

Grade: B+

 Running Back Fantasy Outlook

The one strength that the Texans had coming into the 2015 season was RB Arian Foster.  However, he tore his achilles hill on Oct 15 against the blow out to the dolphins, and was placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his season and his time as the franchise RB with the Texans.  Alfred Blue took the mantle of lead RB, but was unable to do much, gathering only 698 yards and only 2 rushing TDs.  The run game never took off, and the team struggled due to it.  Another free agent pick up, Lamar Miller from the dolphins, was brought in to give a large push.  Miller had over 1000 all purpose yards in his last year with Miami, with 8 TDs.  He is largely seen as the missing piece to revive the running game, and will function as a 3 down back who is effective catching in the backfield.

 

Grade:  B

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

When talking about the receivers in Houston, you are talking about WR Deandre Hopkins.  A beacon of consistency and the brightest light on the offensive side of the ball, he caught 111 catches for 1521 yards and 11 touchdowns.  That was with 4 different starting QB’s throughout the season!  They were also a career high for him.  Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington managed to catch 42 and 47 pass’s respectively.  From any fantasy stand point, they aren’t even worth having on a your team.  The Texans drafted WR Will Fuller of Norte Dame in the 1st round, and he is expected to start opposite of Hopkins and make an immediate impact.  Fuller was a dangerous weapon in college, and has incredible speed.  At the combine he ran a 4.32 forty yard dash, the fastest among all receivers.  He, and the Texans, are hoping that turns into huge numbers at the professional level.  Along with new QB Owseiler, this receiving duo looks promising to be a top 5 duo in the league

Grade:  A

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Dismal. That is the only word used to describe the play from TE C.J. Fiedorowicz.  He caught only 17 pass’s for 167 yards, and scored only one TD.  I don’t know really what else to say.  Other then it doesn’t look like the TE will be used more.  I would stay as far away as possible from any TE from the Texans.

 

 

 

 

Grade:  F

Defensive Fantasy Outlook

The Texans defense, lead by superstar DE J.J. Watt.  He sacked opponent QBs 17.5 times for a total loss of 118 yards.  Watt also forced 3 fumbles and recovered 1.  He was able to keep enough pressure on the QB’s to allow the secondary to intercept the ball 14 times.  Brian Cushing lead the team with a total of 110 tackles. With OLB Jadeveon Clowney returning and fully healthy, this defense is poised to become even more dangerous then ever.  They were ranked in the high middle of the pack in most categories, and if they want to lead the Texans to more victories they need to work on stopping the other team from hitting the red zone, after allowing on avg 21.2 points a game, which was 22nd in the league.  They did a decent job at stopping the run, averaging 108 yards, which was 15th in the league.  This is a defense you should be ready to grab as a solid back up.

Grade:B+

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