If there was one big item for the 2023 Houston Texans, it was improvement. The coaching was vastly improved from previous seasons, which led to great development and improvement of most of the players, and ultimately a gargantuan improvement in the team’s record, from 3-13-1 in 2022 to the 10-7 renaissance of last year.
However, not everyone was improved, and not everyone played well. I mean, the Texans DID lose seven games, so somewhere along the way, there were things that went wrong. Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, wrote a piece over the weekend identifying a “bounce back” candidate for each of the 32 NFL teams. In other words, he is naming a player who can rebound from a subpar 2023.
For what it’s worth, Locker’s Texan bounce back candidate was newly acquired running back Joe Mixon, who, in this exercise, would be bouncing back from his 2023 performance as a Cincinnati Bengal:
Mixon is almost 28 and approaching the point of no return in running back age and production, but I’m willing to expect better play from him in 2024. Mixon’s yards after contact per carry number dropped marginally from 2022 to 2023, and his elusiveness rating was actually 7.7 points higher. Beyond that, he should face more light boxes than before, given the Texans’ deadly aerial attack with C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell.
Likewise, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik maintained a run-first identity last year despite Stroud’s exceptional play. Given those roots in the Shanahan tree and the desire to establish the run to set up play action, Mixon’s carry share could look more like 2021 than the past two years.
Naming Mixon is fine, I suppose, but I didn’t watch a ton of Bengals football last season. I was really hoping to see if my “eye test” on at least one of the Texans’ 2023 underachievers matched that of a presumed expert on PFF. Alas, that was not the case. That said, if I had to pick four 2023 Houston Texans for “bounce back” candidacy in 2024, there are mine (with PFF ranking at their position in 2023):
4. DAMEON PIERCE, RB (46th of 59 RB’s)
Pierce took the team by storm in his rookie season in 2022, as much as any single player could take that undermanned version of the team by storm, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards. With the hope that Pierce and Devin Singletary would form a 1-2 punch in 2023, the new staff anointed him the starter, but he never really grasped the offense. By the end of the season, Pierce was getting no snaps on offense, and was solely on the team as a kick returner. If OTA’s are any indication, the team is counting on a bounce back from Pierce this season, with DeMeco Ryans even referring to a “1-2 punch” with Mixon and Pierce.
3. KENYON GREEN, LG (DNP in 2023)
Green’s first two seasons of getting an NFL paycheck have been rough. In his rookie season in 2022, Green was banged up, but made it through the whole season, although he did not play well. Defensive tackles had their way with him. Last season, Green had an upper body injury entering training camp, and eventually the injury required season ending surgery. Green took the year off to heal and work on his body, and I must say, he has come back this season in phenomenal physical shape. Green will be in a battle at left guard, but I would imagine, if it’s close, he will get the nod.
2. JALEN PITRE, S (67th of 95 safeties)
Pitre had an up and down rookie season in 2022, largely because of missed tackles caused by over-aggressiveness. The hope in 2023 was that Pitre would fine tune some things, and turn into the consistent performer the team through they were getting when he was drafted in 2022. Instead, Pitre backslid in 2023, and didn’t really take a step forward at all. The team voted him a captain in 2023, so the respect level for Pitre is high, but this is a pivotal year for his future as a Texan, beyond his rookie contract.
1. TYTUS HOWARD, RT (69th of 79 at guard)
Howard got a big contract extension — three years, $54 million — at the beginning of training camp last year, but broke his hand a week later, and that set off a chain of events that made Howard’s 2023 season a bit of a mess. By the time Howard returned from his injury, he was more needed at left guard, a position he doesn’t play very well, than he was at right tackle, his natural position. So the Texans got a few weeks of bad football out of Howard, before he tore up his knee in November and missed the rest of the season. This is the easiest bounce back for me, since it’s based solely on health and the Texans playing Howard at his natural position. Seems easy enough.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
