Every year, as the NFL season ends and the offseason begins, there are maybe eight teams that could realistically talk themselves into the idea of being 'one player away.' While this is the case for all 31 fanbases that weren't fortunate enough to celebrate a Super Bowl title, within the organization, where expectations are more realistic and analysis is completed without emotional bias, a proclamation such as this one is only reserved for the teams that exist within the upper echelon of the league. The teams that have already come within a break or two of reaching the mountain top.
This year, the Houston Texans are theoretically one of those teams. Now whether this notion is actually true remains to be seen, but generally speaking, any team that manages to win nine straight games AND a Playoff game while also finishing the season as one of the three best units in the NFL on one side of the ball can make a claim such as this one.
In fact, it's not even all that off-base to suggest that of any team in the National Football League, the Houston Texans could make the strongest case to be just one player away. At least that's the position that former NFL linebacker Manti Te'o has taken.
“When you have a defense like what DeMeco Ryans has over there, you need an offense that just gets the job done and doesn’t mess it up," Te'o said on Good Morning Football this week. "If there’s one team that I think is just one offseason away, just one free agency signing away, it’s the Houston Texans.”
This 'one free agent signing' is, at least for the time being, theoretical in nature, and to be fair, no team enters the offseason and acquires just one player that puts them over the top. Generally, it's a collection of talent which is headlined by one player, but I suppose for the sake of this conversation, these are just semantics.
It's not as if Te'o or anybody else has identified who this one player is. Well, that all changes now, because below I've compiled a list -- with help from Pro Football Focus, which has created a guide with the top 250 free agents this year -- of the players who could conceivably be signed by the Texans sometime next month and potentially push the franchise toward it's first Super Bowl appearance.
Additionally, I've created my own little guide of the recent free agency acquisitions that have helped teams win the Super Bowl that serve as a template of some sort for how any player who joins the Texans could impact Houston in a similar way.
The Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles Type
Potential Targets: Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker III
This is the 'theoretically, this guy could win Offensive Player of the Year' kind of move, and for the record, it's the one that will be most common for analysts to speculate on leading up to free agency. Walker, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, has already expressed his desire to remain with the Seahawks, and Seattle wants him back. Travis Etienne would be double fun because it would be a hit to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But of course, the most likely prize here is Breece Hall.
As I wrote last week, Breece Hall to Houston has been the acquisition du jour among those who have an interested in the Texans, and with as much smoke as there has been, it leads me to believe there may be a fire, and this could be the way the Texans go in just a few weeks, particularly if Joe Mixon is cut sometime before free agency starts.
The Tyrann Mathieu to the Kansas City Chiefs Type
Potential Target: Kyle Pitts
This is a bet on physical traits and college production, and hoping that just because things haven't gone quite as smoothly as many expected moving forward, a change of scenery could remedy that.
All of the discourse regarding Kyle Pitts' status as a bust has been overblown. Since he was drafted with the 4th overall pick in 2021, Pitts ranks 4th in receiving yards among all tight ends in the NFL, trailing only Travis Kelce, George Kittle and Mark Andrews... you know, only the three tight ends who have been considered the best in the league for the last eight years.
The Michael Bennett to the Seattle Seahawks Type
Potential Targets: John Franklin-Myers, DJ Reader
This move would entail doubling down on your strengths, as the Seahawks did adding Michael Bennett (and Cliff Avril) to a defense that ranked 1st in the league in scoring in 2012. That 2012 defense ranked 18th in the NFL in sacks, but thanks to the additions of Bennett (and Avril), they were 8th in 2013.
The Keenan McCardell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Type
Potential Targets: Wyatt Teller, Braden Smith, Jermaine Eluemunor
This move would be addressing what arguably remains Houston's biggest weakness -- the offensive line -- just as Tampa Bay did in 2002 when they dropped Keenan McCardell (and Joe Jurevicius) into what had been an anemic passing offense the year prior. In 2001, the Buccaneers had just 13 passing touchdowns. In 2002, McCardell and Jurevicius scored 10 times combined.
You could make the case that by re-signing Ed Ingram, Houston addresses this need, but I say, why not push it even further? Despite modest gains along the O-Line from 2024 to 2025, this group can still be improved upon, and shoring up at least one more spot within the starting group could help Houston's offense tremendously.