Who can blame anyone when they have the Houston Texans ranked with the very worst roster in the entire NFL entering the 2021 season? That is the case in a recent rankings article, and to be honest, isn’t this supposed to be the case for a team that is rebuilding basically their entire roster?
There are so many questions, predictions, and mysteries when it comes to this roster, but even if the Texans have hit rock bottom this offseason, or in the 2021 season, there eventually will be no place to go but up, right?
The question that remains is how long will this rebuild take, and how tall of a ladder will the Houston Texans have to climb to be a contender once again?
The ladder has to be tall when they are being ranked lower than franchises like the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and the Jacksonville Jaguars who aren’t known to be consistent winners. But the one thing those franchises have that Houston doesn’t is they seem to be very happy with who their quarterback is.
That isn’t the case for the Houston Texans because Deshaun Watson most likely isn’t going to be under center for the Texans in Week 1, and though Tyrod Taylor is a serviceable quarterback, he isn’t at the level of Watson, and nobody should expect him to be at that level.
Houston Texans: QB isn’t the only issue in 2021 as defense has woes too
In the recent CBS Sports rankings article by Jordan Dajani, in his assessment of the Houston Texans defensive situation, and in his 32nd overall roster ranking of the franchise, here is what was written:
"“The Texans simply didn’t do enough on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. They were the third-worst defense in the league last season, and could again be at the bottom of the NFL if the offense takes a step backwards as well.”"
Though the article mentioned a positive of how Lonnie Johnson Jr. will play at safety in ’21, there is no doubt the defense of the Texans will need a huge upgrade in overall play. Injuries and late-season suspensions were issues for the Houston defense in ’20, but there can be no excuses moving forward.
Granted, Bradley Roby will be missing the first game of the ’21 season against Jacksonville due to issues dating back to last season, and J.J. Watt is no longer with the team, but that doesn’t mean this defense has to keep regressing.
The addition of defensive back Desmond King will help the secondary, and with defensive linemen Maliek Collins and Derek Rivers joining the unit, that can’t hurt things, at least it works for the ’21 season.
In the grand scheme of things, we all know the Houston Texans don’t have the greatest roster in the NFL right now. That should be the case in a rebuild, but with a new general manager who has to remake this roster, patience is the key for this rebuild by Nick Caserio and the front office.
They can’t afford to make poor roster decisions, and if anything, for the ’21 season the best thing to hope for is progression by those who we believe can bring success to this franchise for years to come. Right now, though, there is no argument about the roster ranking, and the job for the Houston Texans in ’21 is to show some sort of improvement moving forward.