2015 Fantasy Football Team Preview: Houston Texans
For your fantasy football draft prep and advice, continue to check on this page for updates regarding the Houston Texans.
Team outlook:
Starting quarterback, nope. Elite running back, out. Big play wide receiver, gone. Yikes. However, there are some value plays on the roster, especially now that Arian Foster will miss some significant time.
Bye week: 9
UPDATE: Bill O'Brien announced on Monday (8/24) that Brian Hoyer would be the starting QB for the Texans. In the HBO series "Hard Knocks," O'Brien said that Hoyer was the most consistent of the two. "And really, it comes down to consistency. It's just consistency over time, from OTAs through training camp. Consistency in the meeting room. Consistency on the field."
Rookie impacts: Jaelen Strong (WR)
Andre Johnson is out of Houston, which means there is an opening in the Texans’ receiving corps. At Arizona State, Strong compiled over 1,100 yards in each of his two seasons as a Sun Devil. Strong could be considered as a deep league sleeper, but he’ll likely remain a fantasy free agent until a good game, or two.
Quarterback: Ryan Mallett/Brian Hoyer
Mallett was one of six Texans who completed a pass in 2014, including Shane Lechler and Arian Foster. Mallett has played in seven games during his four-year NFL career. If he wants the starting gig for 2015, Mallett needs to beat a new member of the Houston QB club, Brian Hoyer. In 2014, Hoyer threw for over 3,300 yards (more than Derek Carr, Alex Smith, and Cam Newton), but only completed 12 TDs (fewer than Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez). As training camp proceeds, be sure to check this page for further updates on the quarterback situation.
Running back: Arian Foster
News broke on August 4th that Foster would likely need surgery for an injured groin and that he would probably miss the beginning of the regular season. That is crushing news for a player who rushed for over 1,200 yards in four of the past five seasons. I placed Foster at sixth overall in my rankings. While the bad news is that it seems as though Foster will drop down the rankings list, on a positive note, this happened early enough so: A) Foster could return for the second half of the year, and B) we have enough time to plan for his replacement.
Running back: Alfred Blue
First on the list of backup Texan RBs is Blue. In the three games that Foster missed, these were Blue’s stats…
So, decent numbers for a backup, but not enough to make me draft Blue that high in the draft.
Running back: Jonathan Grimes
In games where Grimes was a participant, he was utilized more in the passing game. If Foster is out for a significant time, as earlier reported, Grimes will definitely fill that role on passing downs (you saw Blue’s receiving numbers). However, don’t count out Chris Polk or even the potential for Houston to sign another RB (Pierre Thomas, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, or even Ray Rice). Much like the QB situation, check in here when further details develop.
Wide receiver: DeAndre Hopkins
With the QB and RB situations, Hopkins can relate to Andre Johnson and why he was so frustrated with Houston. The now-number-one receiver was 12th in yards last year (1,210) on just 76 catches (fewest receptions among WRs in the top 12 in yards). In the final four weeks of 2014 (potentially, your fantasy playoffs), Hopkins drive was lost. He never tallied more than 77 receiving yards and didn’t even score a TD. Two of those final games were against Jacksonville, too. My concern is that defenses will put all their attention on Hopkins, forcing whoever the QB is to make poor decisions.
Wide receiver: Cecil Shorts
What’s depressing is that Hopkins and Shorts could be a legitimate receiver tandem, but their supporting cast won’t allow it. Another knock against Shorts is that he has yet to play in a full season and his stats have decreased every year since 2012. The potential positive news is that teams could focus too much on Hopkins, leaving Shorts available for his patented garbage time fantasy points.
Tight end: Garrett Graham
He was 11/13 (85 percent) on field goals of 40-yards or more in 2014. If you think that Houston's QB with be inept enough to get the offense into FG-range, then I would take a chance on Bullock as a late-round option or bye week fill-in.
Team defense (D/ST):
If you earned points for J.J. Watt's touchdown receptions, this D/ST might be No. 1. But, that is not the case. The Texans' defense is still a force to be reckoned with. Houston also has the benefit of having an easier strength of schedule in 2015. The biggest downside is that the Texans start the season with the Chiefs and play Weeks 14 and 15 against the Patriots and Colts, respectively.
2015 FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM PREVIEWS PAGE
