Training camp for the Houston Texans begins for rookies on Sunday, July 24, while the veterans for the Texans are scheduled to report to the Houston Methodist Training Center on Tuesday, July 26.
The start of training camp is the beginning of a new season for the Texans as they have revamped their roster to be improved over the roster from the past two seasons, where the franchise finished a combined 8-25 with a 4-12 finish in 2020 and 4-13 in 2021.
Things have changed since the end of the ’21 season with Lovie Smith now the new head coach, and there are many new players on the team. With all of the changes, next are three things to watch when training camp arrives for the Texans.
3. Can Davis Mills be the leader the Texans need?
Davis Mills was the number one quarterback coming out of high school, committed to Stanford, and looked to be the next great QB following Andrew Luck. Mills didn’t play too much at Stanford because of the injuries he endured during his time at Stanford. The negatives surrounding Mills going into the draft were not only his lack of play, but his leadership was in question because of the lack of experience.
In his rookie season, Mills would take some time to get comfortable. Even though Mills made a 180-degree turnaround, his play improved dramatically in the second half of the season. Mills had one of the best rookie seasons for a QB last year, but his leadership is still in question because of his lack of experience and calm demeanor.
After the Deshaun Watson saga and the drama surrounding the team, Mills had a troubling situation to begin his career. That drama is nearly gone this season, and we should expect Mills to become more of a leader on and off the field. We must tune in to see if Mills takes over as the team leader off the get go when training camp begins and see if the players are buying in.
2. Will the Texans Prioritize the Running Game?
Last season, the Texans were dead last in rushing. The run game was pathetic and resulted in only 83.6 rushing yards per game. The team quickly addressed this issue by letting go of David Johnson and Philip Lindsay and bringing in Marlon Mack, the starting RB for the Colts. Before an injury, Mack was excellent in Indy, averaging over 4.4 yards per carry, and looked fantastic during OTAs this year for the Texans. They also drafted Dameon Pierce, who could become the number one RB on the Texans if provided the chance.
Lovie Smith has repeatedly spoken regarding the run game and clarified that it is a primary focus for this coming season.
"“A good offense means you need to be able to run the football,” Smith said Tuesday. “There’s a time where you need to be able to pass the football, but you need to do it in a certain way. Tough, hardnose football, that’s what you’ll be seeing from us.”"
So how early and often do we see running backs used? It will be a fascinating chance to see when training camp begins.
1. Will the Texans Rookies be on the Field on Day One?
This past draft was one of, if not the most significant draft the Houston Texans have had since the franchise’s beginning. The Texans’ top three picks, Derek Stingley Jr., Kenyon Green, and John Metchie III, are all coming off injuries but should be full-go come training camp. Texans fans are eager to see just how talented these players are and how much of an impact they can make come to the start of the season.
Lovie Smith said Stingley and Green would be 100% come the first day of camp, but I expect Metchie to take some time to catch up to speed as he injured his ACL on December 4th but is breaking barriers with his quick recovery.
It should excite Texans fans for this franchise to take a giant leap this coming season. The team has improved in every area of the game, and fans know that this team will be better this season, even if the experts predict otherwise, so stay tuned, Texans fans.