How much more improved can the Houston Texans be in 2026?
The Texans, despite an 0-3 start to the 2025 season, managed to rattle off 12 wins in their final 14 games to make the postseason and secure the most victories in a season since 2012. Much like in past years, Houston won the wild-card round game over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was overmatched in the divisional round loss to the New England Patriots.
A lot of the questions still surrounding the potential of Houston have to do with the offense, mainly the play of quarterback C.J. Stroud. For as good as he was to begin the season, the former No. 2 overall pick looked in over his head in the second half of the year, often having turnovers and three-and-out drives over scoring opportunities in the red zone.
But the Texans made changes to the supporting cast around Stroud. Three new offensive linemen come into action and should be upgrades over the previous corps. Houston also plans to run more 12-personnel looks, including using a legitimate blocking tight end over a sixth offensive lineman. As for the future of the run game, newcomer and former Pro Bowler David Montgomery should have a similar feel to Joe Mixon in 2024 if he can stay healthy, thus taking more pressure off of Stroud and the passing attack.
Here’s a look at the Pro Football Focus grades from 2025 featuring this year’s projected starters on offense, where it was mostly high marks across the board.
PFF grades (2025) for Texans’ projected starters on offense:
- QB C.J. Stroud -72.9
- RB David Montgomery – 75.3
- WR Nico Collins – 87.4
- WR Jayden Higgins – 68.4
- TE Dalton Schultz – 73.6
- TE Foster Moreau – N/A
- OT Aireontae Ersery – 59.3
- OG Wyatt Teller – 62.2
- OC Keylan Rutledge – 76.6 (college grade)
- OG Ed Ingram – 71.5
- OT Braden Smith – 65.3
The Texans return to practice for the start of training camp on July 21.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: PFF grades for Texans’ projected starting 2026 offense
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