The Houston Texans wrap up the offseason portion of the 2024 calendar year this week, and soon training camp will be here. Actually, training camp will be here earlier than normal, as the Texans participation in the Hall of Fame Game on August 1 allows the coaches to start camp sooner, much to the chagrin of some of the players.
That said, even with only a few OTA sessions and a mandatory minicamp under our belts, it’s never too early to predict what the team’s 53-man roster will look like come Week 1 of the regular season. In a camp that is expected to be highly competitive, I would say that only about 60 percent of the roster is “locked down” right now. A lot of spots are up for grabs.
As of June 6, here is my first stab at the Texans’ Week 1 roster, knowing full well that injuries and unexpected training camp stars (and stiffs) will turn my prediction into Swiss cheese. Here are the locks to make the roster, if healthy:
QUARTERBACK (3): C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills, Case Keenum
RUNNING BACK (2): Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce
WIDE RECEIVER (3): Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell
TIGHT END (2): Dalton Schultz, Cade Stover
OFFENSIVE LINE (7): Laremy Tunsil, Kenyon Green, Juice Scruggs, Shaq Mason, Tytus Howard, Blake Fisher, Jarrett Patterson
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, Denico Autry, Foley Fatukasi, Tim Settle
LINEBACKER (2): Christian Harris, Azeez Al Shaair
CORNERBACK (2): Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter
SAFETY (3): Jalen Pitre, Jimmie Ward, Calen Bullock
SPECIALISTS (3): Jon Weeks, Ka’imi Fairbairn, Tommy Townsend
That gives us 32 locks total — 17 on offense, 12 on defense, and then our three specialists. Let’s go fill out the rest of the roster, shall we?
33. Dare Ogunbowale, RB
34. Jahwar Jordan, RB
We need more running back depth. I anticipate Jordan impressing the team enough to garner a spot during camp, and Ogunbowale is listed as a running back, but will make the team based on his special team prowess, including emergency kicker duties, like we saw against Tampa Bay last season.
35. John Metchie III, WR
36. Noah Brown, WR
37. Ben Skowronek, WR/FB
Metchie is getting close to “lock” status, after what appears to be a super productive offseason. He just looks way more explosive. The team appears to have a role in mind for Skowronek after trading for him. I’m adding Brown, but he is still recovering from injuries, and was banged up for quite a bit last season. That spot might end up going to Xavier Hutchinson.
37. Brevin Jordan, TE
According to DeMeco Ryans, Jordan has made a bunch of plays during the offseason program. The head coach joked that in film study from the previous day’s practice, there have been multiple days in which Jordan’s highlights have been the main subject matter. Good enough for me!
38. Charlie Heck, T
39. Kendrick Green, G
For a couple of backup backups, Heck and Green have played a decent amount of meaningful football over the last four seasons. Both make the cut here.
40. Mario Edwards, DT
41. Khalil Davis, DT
42. Derek Barnett, DE
Edwards’ name is continually brought up unprompted by defensive coaches, when they’re asked about the defensive line. Davis made plays whenever he saw snaps last season. Barnett was one of the better midseason waiver pickups in all the NFL last season, notching 3.5 sacks for the Texans after being picked up from Philly,
43. Henry To’o To’o, LB
44. Neville Hewitt, LB
Yikes, this linebacking crew is thin.
45. Jeff Okudah, CB
46. C.J. Henderson, CB
47. Mike Ford, CB
Adding three more cornerbacks to the room, including both fo the former high first round Lotto scratch-off tickets the team signed this offseason, Okudah and Henderson. Desmond King is the tough cut here, but if you recall, they cut him last season in final cuts, so letting him go wouldn’t be anything new.
48. M.J. Stewart, S
49. Lonnie Johnson, S/CB
Stewart has been a valuable piece, when healthy, especially on special teams. I’m including Johnson, because I need his Twitter persona back on this team.
50. Andrew Beck, FB
51. Nick Broeker, G
52. Kurt Hinish, DT
53. Jamal Hill, LB
Final four “fill in” spots gives us a traditional fullback in Beck, a 10th offensive lineman in Broeker, Hinish nailing down a spot for one more season, and the rookie Hill adding some athleticism to the linebacker depth chart and special teams.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
