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Aug 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans receiver Cecil Shorts III (18) runs for a touchdown after a reception in the first quarter against San Francisco 49ers linebacker Nick Moody (54) in a preseason NFL football game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
No. 2 and 3 Must Step Up
Cecil Shorts III looked like a dynamic playmaker in his breakout season in 2012 with Chad Henne at quarterback, but a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness have derailed his career. The Jacksonville Jaguars were glad to let Shorts go this offseason after he was one of the NFL’s least effective receivers in 2014.
Shorts and Jaelen Strong should be the No. 2 and 3 receivers for the Texans when the season starts, even if veteran Nate Washington is listed ahead of Strong on the depth chart. Both players will be key to the Texans early season success as an offense, but Shorts is the more important of the two to watch. Since Strong is a raw route-runner who is transitioning to a difficult position, we probably won’t see him hitting his stride until later on in the season.
As a veteran, Shorts needs to come right in and make the kind of impact the Texans think he can have. They aren’t paying him much, but they are hoping that he can prove that last season’s poor numbers were the result of desperation-targets from overwhelmed rookie Blake Bortles. Hoyer was even less accurate last year (only Drew Stanton had a lower completion percentage), but he’ll also have much better pass-catchers around him in Houston.
DeAndre Hopkins is an elite difference-maker in every sense who rarely ever drops a pass, but he can’t carry the offense on his own. With questions in the backfield, guys like Shorts and Strong will have to step up.
Where Strong is concerned, he just needs to avoid making mistakes in the first few weeks of the season and establish himself as a chain-mover. Few receivers are better at the catch point than Strong, and he could fill out a niche role for this offense while he learns the game, and that would be big for Hoyer.
I’m willing to bet on these two having positive seasons, because they have the upside to do some real damage with Hopkins as the No. 1 guy.
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