Texans Team Needs For The 2026 Offseason: Focus On Protecting C.J. Stroud

The Texans rode a ferocious defense to rack up their most regular-season wins since 2012, even tacking on a dominant Wild Card victory over the Steelers for good measure before the wheels came off in the Divisional Round. Of course, as great as head coach Demeco Ryans' Will Anderson and Derek Stingley-led defense was, C.J. Stroud and the offense left a bit to be desired.

2025: 12-5 (+109 point differential, preseason win total: 9.5)
Points per game: 23.8 (13th)
EPA per pass: +0.08 (17th)
EPA per rush: -0.15 (30th)
Points per game against: 17.4 (second)
EPA per pass against: -0.1 (first)
EPA per rush against: -0.12 (third)

The front office doesn't have a ton of cap room to work with in free agency, but the team does possess four picks inside the draft's top 69 selections thanks to additional draft capital gained from past deals with the Giants and Commanders. While some depth is needed on the defensive side of the ball, it shouldn't be a controversial take to suggest the majority of the team's offseason attention deserves to be spent on the offensive side of the ball.

What Do The Houston Texans Need To Address For 2026?

Offensive Line

This group simply hasn't been, you know, good in recent years.

2025: PFF's 27th-ranked offensive line
2024: 29th
2023: 15th
2022: 26th
2021: 29th

At a minimum, the franchise needs to replace or re-sign starting RG Ed Ingram and RT Trent Brown. Their potential absences leave the team with the league's fifth-cheapest offensive line entering 2026—something that seems unacceptable considering their aforementioned lackluster performance in recent years.

Getting more out of former Day 2 picks Juice Scruggs and Blake Fisher would be ideal, but devoting more early-round capital to the room is encouraged either way.

Interior Defensive Line

Both Sheldon Rankins and Tim Settle are free agents, leaving the Texans with the fourth-cheapest interior defensive line entering 2026. Clearly, the defensive line is built around elite EDGE defenders Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, but fortifying the middle would be a nice improvement.

Consider: The Texans actually allowed more yards per carry between the tackles than around the edge, something that is not the case for most defenses. Bringing back Rankins and/or Settle while also infusing the group with some more run-stuffing youth makes a lot of sense.

Running Back

The Texans can get out of Joe Mixon's contract with relative ease, considering he has zero guaranteed salary in 2026. His mysterious foot/ankle injury leaves quite a bit of doubt surrounding his future with the franchise.

Maybe the team is simply happy to move forward with Woody Marks. The rookie deserves credit for putting his best foot forward during the team's Wild Card win over the Steelers (19-112-1), but generally was one of the league's least efficient rushers of the football.

Yards per carry: 3.6 (48th among 49 qualified running backs)
Yards after contact per carry: 2.6 (45th)
Tackles avoided per carry: 13.8% (44th)
Explosive rush rate: 5.1% (42nd)

While Marks flashed as a receiver early in 2025, he became an afterthought in the passing game down the stretch. With 30-year-old veteran Nick Chubb hitting free agency, at a minimum, this group needs to add a body or two in the middle-to-late rounds of the draft.

Honorable Mention

The Texans boast the fourth-cheapest safety room and have multiple depth pieces in the secondary hitting the open market. Hardly a glaring need for what was easily one of the better pass defenses in football, but some level of resources needs to be spent here either way.

If I Were The GM …

I'd do everything in my power to make this rushing attack a threat in 2026. The best and most thoughtful way of accomplishing this is obviously through improving the big uglies up front, but the Texans should also be willing to use one of pick No. 28, 38 or 59 on the position. Expecting stud Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love to still be available at the end of Round 1 seems unlikely, although his teammate Jadarian Price could be a rather awesome second-round consolation prize.