The Houston Texans are missing a key asset in their passing game

No matter who you ask, the Houston Texans are a team to beat in 2024. There are many reasons for this, but the one we keep talking about is the passing game. The Texans have a fantastic one-two punch in this area. They have CJ Stroud, a remarkable young quarterback who can do dynamic things on the field, and of course a trio of excellent receivers; Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell.

This makes their passing units one of the best. That doesn’t even take into account tight end Dalton Schultz or the depth at the receiver position. They have Noah Brown, Robert Woods, John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson and Ben Skowronek. There’s even a lot of optimism surrounding rookie tight end Cade Stover.

Although often overlooked in the discussion of the passing game, the offensive line appears to be improving starting in the 2024 season. Guys like Juice Scruggs and Tytus Howard should be healthy early in the season, while the team drafted Blake Fischer in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

All of these factors therefore seem to explain why Pro Football Focus places the Texans 5th in the receiving corps rankings.

Yet the main reason they aren’t higher, like in other publications’ rankings, I think is one reason: ; Joe Mixon. Never considered a big threat out of the backfield, Mixon’s best season as a receiver came in 2022 when he had over 400 yards through the air. That sounds good, but Mixon barely had 800 rushing yards that year. It’s not really a good season. It was his third lowest yardage of the season from scrimmage.

When comparing the Texans to a team like the San Francisco 49ers, it’s not hard to see why PFF would have them ranked 5th. In fact, with the exception of the Miami Dolphins, who came in 2nd, every team ahead of the Texans on PFF’s list has a better pass-catching running back. Dare I say a better overall running back as well.

Right now, Mixon is the weakest link on the team and they will need to make the most of his time on the team if they hope to outperform other teams.