The Houston Texans arguably have two top-30 quarterbacks, three top-30 running backs, and three top-30 wide receivers. Not to mention a top-10 tight end. This offense in terms of skilled positions is loaded. They may pose the best threat to Kansas City's perpetual contendership status in the AFC. They're a sleeper pick for the Super Bowl and many think they're bound for the AFC Championship Game at least.
We want them to be right, but after watching the preseason, and knowing how select offensive line talents did, we're not as optimistic as we should be. The Texans choose potential when building this offensive line unit, as they've been inconsistent and injury-riddled over the last year and change.
Yet, because some of them are young or have big contracts, the team made next to no changes to the offensive line in the offseason. Tytus Howard, Kenyon Green, and Juice Scruggs have a lot to prove this season to keep their roster spots. We're not even mentioning their status as starters, but all three men could be gone by the final week if they continue to play at the same level in 2024 that they did in 2023.
The lone major addition they made, Blake Fisher, the offensive tackle out of Notre Dame, has been anything but good. The rookie has struggled to find his barrings and looked worse and worse throughout the preseason. He's not irredeemable by any means, it's a few games into his career, but that sample size has us convinced that he's unable to help the team in the immediacy.
Yet, the biggest concern we have about the line isn't Howard's awful contract and inconsistent play, the youth of the line being unreliable, or even the struggles of a specific rookie. The biggest issue we're worried about is one that will happen eventually; the decline of Laremy Tunsil.
Listen, everyone falls off eventually. Tunsi isn't going to be any different. There's going to be a day when he's no longer elite. That's football. Heck, that's life. We all lose our edge eventually. We're just hoping that Tunsil doesn't fall off this season. The Texans are not in a place right now where they can afford their best offensive line player suddenly playing very medicorely. Or worse yet, badly.
We were optimistic about the offensive line but the preseason didn't assuage our concerns much. They could turn out to be a real force this season, but there are too many concerns and questions for us to just give them the benefit of the doubt.