The Houston Texans aren't "up-and-coming"; they're already here

The Houston Texans' 2023 season was unexpected. The team had the second and third picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, a rookie head coach and a team of guys who many felt were under-achieving. One season later and the Texans are reigning AFC South Champions, with the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year winners from 2023, a head coach who proved himself to be one of the better minds in year one, and a franchise full of elite talent. Made only better by the acquisition of two All-Pros in the offseason.

With a win over the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs, arguably the best defense they faced all year, it's fair to say this team is ready to truly compete. Desmond King, one of the cornerbacks on the team, believes the team is on the way up, however. He told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston (via NFL Network);

""We're an up-and-coming team and we're here to stay.""

He's not wrong, in the sense that the Texans have work to do to win it all, but he is. The Texans did only go 10-7 last year, but they won the AFC South, took home a variety of awards, and proved that they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league already. That quarterback, C.J. Stroud, is only heading into his second season.

This team isn't on the way up, they're already here.

There's always a possibility that they're not the Super Bowl contenders in 2024 that some of their moves in the offseason and performances in 2023 may suggest. If that's the case, that doesn't mean the team is on the come-up, it means the team regressed. This team has AFC Title game aspirations, if not beyond.

One of our sibling sites has already precited a Super Bowl victory for them this season. That's not the prediction of a team with "potential" but "talent". The Texans are not going to be slept on again in 2024, and while we'll have to see how the season plays out to determine if they're for real or not, no amount of wishing otherwise will reset the expectations for the Texans.

Teams on the rise aren't picked for Super Bowls.