Lamar Miller, Brock Osweiler make Houston Texans trendy darkhorse
The Houston Texans decided to save some money by releasing icon Arian Foster, and when it was reported that they would try to sign Lamar Miller, I couldn’t think of a better fit to replace Foster.
Not only have the Houston Texans put pen to paper with Lamar Miller to the tune of a four-year, $26 million deal with $14 million in guarantees, as per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but they also signed former Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler, according to the NFL Network’s Rand Getlin.
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Yes, the Texans lost their best offensive lineman, Brandon Brooks, to the Philadelphia Eagles (per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport), but they added a guard who is just as good in Jeff Allen of the Kansas City Chiefs.
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These three signings have the Texans in business, because they managed to replenish talent on their offensive line (they also re-signed Chris Clark after losing Ben Jones to the rival Tennessee Titans) and, more importantly, added a feature back and a legitimate starting quarterback.
Say what you want about Brock Osweiler, but anyone capable of independent thinking who watched that Week 17 game against the San Diego Chargers knows that he shouldn’t have been benched. Unlike Peyton Manning, Osweiler could actually competently move the ball for the Denver Broncos offense without throwing repeated lame ducks or ugly, back-breaking interceptions, and if Emmanuel Sanders didn’t fumble the ball at about the five-yard line, the Manning narratives would be a little bit different.
But let’s not revisit the past. Instead, let’s look at just how big of a deal the Osweiler signing is for Houston. Since they snuck into the playoffs despite a nightmare of a quarterback carousel consisting of Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden, and T.J. Yates, the Texans simply don’t have a good enough draft pick to pluck a QB. Heck, they can’t even get Ezekiel Elliott if they are picking outside of the top 20, and he’s the only sure-fire first-round running back in this class.
So what did the Texans do? Well, they filled their two biggest positions of need in free agency, making aggressive signings for big-name free agents at these important positions without grossly overpaying. That’s huge, and the Texans have successfully brought excitement to Houston. After making the playoffs last year and boasting two of the NFL’s biggest stars in DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt, it’s not like the Texans were boring in the first place, but with Miller and Osweiler, they are a trendy darkhorse pick.
And by “darkhorse”, I do mean they are a trendy sleeper/contrarian/hype/Skip Bayless click-bait kind of Super Bowl contender.
Beyond the fact that people like me decide to bring up these talking points for the sake of attention, it actually makes a little bit of sense. See, the Texans were 9-7 last season despite coming in 26th in net yards per pass attempt and 28th in yards per carry. Bill O’Brien somehow kept the offense afloat despite only having one skill position player of merit (Hopkins).
Now, he has two true stars in Miller and Hopkins, as well as a much better quarterback in Osweiler. Look, Osweiler isn’t a star QB by any means, but he’s such a considerable upgrade over their options from last season that it isn’t even funny. Plus, since the Texans already filled their needs at RB and WR, they can add a dynamic No. 2 wide receiver, and I think in-state product Corey Coleman (Baylor) would be an ideal fit among the players that could realistically be available for the Texans in the first round.
Signing Miller and Osweiler opens up a host of possibilities for this offense, and, of course, you can never forget about Houston’s praise-worthy defense. This is the unit, after all, that was on an absolute tear in the second half of the regular season, ever since they upended the previously undefeated Cincinnati Bengals- and their MVP candidate at QB in Andy Dalton– in primetime.
As a whole, the Texans were third in the NFL in yards per game allowed, seventh in points per game, third in net yards per pass attempt allowed, and tenth in rushing yards. Those are solid numbers across the board, and their pass defense has been excellent in each of their past two resurgent seasons.
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The Texans were already a steadily rising team in the first two years of O’Brien’s tenure, but now that they’ve finally made splash moves on offense, they have a real chance to scare the AFC’s regular contenders (like the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, and Cincinnati Bengals). At this point, they might even be the favorites in the AFC South over the Indianapolis Colts, even with a healthy and presumably angry Andrew Luck.