On Monday morning, September 2nd, the Texans released their depth chart for the 2025 season, addressing many questions about the team for the upcoming year. Such as the poor offensive line production, depth at receivers, and the type of personnel that the newly named offensive coordinator, Nick Caley, would recruit for his scheme. General manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans charged head-on with all the questions looming from not just the fans but also the NFL experts.
On the offensive side, there were many questions left unanswered from the previous year, such as those regarding the offensive line. With Shaq Mason being cut, Kenyon Green and Laremy Tunsil being traded, the questions grew even larger. Many had ideas about what Nick Caserio was doing after acquiring Trent Brown, Cam Robinson, and Laken Tomlinson in free agency, as well as Ed Ingram from a trade. Still, it seemed to make little impact on fans and experts. Later in the off-season, Caserio also drafted Minnesota tackle Aireontae Ersery, who put on a clinic at the Senior Bowl. Even with the moves, many were still guessing how these additions would work in Nick Caley’s Scheme. As the jury is still out, the preseason did show a glimpse of excitement with a starting line featuring Aireontae Ersery, Ed Ingram, Jake Andrews, Laken Tomlinson, and Tytus Howard, as they allowed only one sack throughout the preseason and allowed the running backs to average 4.7 yards per carry. If this is a glimpse of what is to come, CJ Stroud’s third year should be exciting.
In 2024, the offensive line wasn’t the only factor to stall out the Texans’ offense, as every starting receiver (Tank Dell, Stefon Diggs & Nico Collins) all missed significant playing time with injuries. Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs suffered season-ending injuries, leaving Nico Collins as the only weapon for quarterback CJ Stroud to utilize come playoff time. With this off-season, Caserio and company attacked the issue by trading for ex-divisional opponent Christian Kirk from the Jacksonville Jaguars and drafting not one but two Iowa State receivers in the second & Third rounds in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins. Caserio traded the first-round pick to gain more capital from the New York Giants to trade up for the receivers. These moves help ease the transition of not having Tank Dell back for the season, also allowing receivers to plug and play if injuries occur. For the most part, Demeco and Nick are engaging in a line battle to see who is the best, and planning for depth in case of injuries to the receivers.
Now, as far as the defense, not much needed to be addressed besides depth for the defensive back field, since Jalen Pitre and Jimmy Ward missed significant time with injuries in the 2024 season, also with the news of Jimmy Ward’s arrest, there could be games missed due to suspension or being commissioner-listed and with a defensive-minded head coach in Demeco Ryan, the front office made some moves to set the tone for the 2025 season.
Texans made a big splash by trading away injury-prone lineman Kenyon Green to the Eagles for Pro Bowl safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. With a quick swipe, Demeco and company made the defense even more intense. While Houston made a splash, it would be the only major one in the off-season, but it did create some great ripples. Free agents Darrell Taylor and Former Texan Sheldon Rankins provide a strong defensive line with some help when it comes to rotating players mid-game. Also, the addi’. Also, the addition of EJ Speed from the Indianapolis Colts gives the linebackers some juice to stop the run. Ending the off-season, the Texans drafted USC DB Jaylin Smith to plug and play if any injuries happen to the backfield.
The Houston Texans’ 2025 season is built on game planning and competition. Demeco Ryans’ defense will make the job of rookie offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s pretty easy: sustain drives and score; the defense will do the rest. We all know it’s a pretty big if, but if the Texans' offensive line can be in the middle of the pack, the Texans will be successful. All that being said, my prediction for the season is 11-6. A lot depends on the growth of Demeco Ryans and the offensive line production. Only time will tell….