It’s been a rough season for the Houston Texans and, unfortunately, it might not get better.
One of the biggest surprises as far as bad teams go in the 2020 NFL season is that the Houston Texans find themselves in that category, winning just one game so far. The Texans started the season at 0-4 and that was the nail in the coffin for head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien, as he was fired after that fourth loss.
A team that has Deshaun Watson as their quarterback and J.J. Watt on defense has surprised people in a bad way this season, but it goes to show just how poor of a GM O’Brien was. He made baffling trades and while he did try to improve the offensive line, he traded away draft picks in order to do so.
The Texans showed in their shootout with the Titans last weekend that they’re a competitive team and will probably finish the season with five or six wins, at the very least. They have the talent to compete with a lot of the big dogs this season, but that’s honestly because Watson is their quarterback.
Normally a team that’s playing poorly can at least look forward to the following draft, but Texans fans can’t even do that. They don’t have a first-round pick in 2021. In fact, the Texans won’t be on the clock in the 2021 NFL Draft until the third round! Furthermore, if they finish with a top-10 pick, they’ll have to sit back and watch as the Miami Dolphins get to grab a top-10 prospect instead.
What can the Houston Texans do to be in a better position for the future?
Houston is fortunate to have their franchise quarterback in Watson. Now the key is to build the team around him. They might have to trade a lot of other key players away to do so, but this team needs to get draft picks prior to the third round and they need to add young talent who can help Watson and the Texans get back to the playoffs.
The offensive line is horrendous and has been since Watson got to Houston. O’Brien tried to shore it up a bit, but trading multiple first-round picks to do so is now a move that looks like a terrible one. He put them in a terrible position by making the Laremy Tunsil trade. The Texans have talent at wide receiver and at tight end, but their run game could use some help.
The defense is the biggest problem, though. Watt is still good but he’s 31 years old and has been ravaged by injuries in recent years. If a team would be willing to trade for Watt at this point in his career, Houston should strongly consider it, especially if they could get a high draft pick in return.
Texans fans have been dealt an unfortunate hand because their team is going to finish the season likely below .500 and they won’t get to reap the benefit of watching the team get a high draft pick. It looks bleak now, but Houston can try to salvage things by trading players and attempting to get some early draft picks.