2023 NFL Power Rankings: Houston Texans

Most improved: Defensive line

The Texans allowed the sixth-most rushing yards in a single NFL season (2,894) and had 38 sacks, while only 24 of them came without a blitz, tied for 15th. In the offseason, they added Sheldon Rankins and Will Anderson Jr. to help with those issues. Last season, the New York Jets' run defense allowed 3.82 yards per rush, compared to 4.13 without Rankins. Anderson had 34.5 sacks in his three-year career at Alabama. Adding Rankins and Anderson to a unit with Jerry Hughes, who had nine sacks last season, is certainly an upgrade.

After two years idling in the driveway, it finally appears that the Texans have hit the road in search of renewed NFL relevance. Houston was the big star of Night 1 in Kansas City, staying home at No. 2 to select quarterback C.J. Stroud before pulling the trigger on a blockbuster trade to move up to No. 3 to nab Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. The cost to get Anderson was significant, but no one will remember that if this 1-2 punch at 2-3 landed the franchise foundational pillars on both sides of the ball. Welcome back, Texans ... We missed you.

This will be a growth year for new coach DeMeco Ryans. Rookie C.J. Stroud will be the quarterback and his development could take time. But this team is coming.

Given the division they play in, reasonable shot they double their win total in 2023 despite having (promising) rookies at head coach and quarterback.

Draft takeaway: Exciting times in Houston, with Stroud set to take over and Will Anderson in place as a pillar on the other side of the ball. But man, that was a heavy cost to pay to trade up for Anderson for a team currently tied for the lowest projected win total in the league.

Hype man: If Anderson was in next year's draft, we'd take him No. 1 overall anyway since we already have our quarterback in Stroud. You try looking into DeMeco Ryans' eyes and telling him he's wrong about anything.

Dameon Downer: Let me get this straight, Robert Woods and Nico Collins are going to be the top two options in the passing game for our young quarterback?

The Texans made some moderate but impactful moves in free agency. They added receiving options in Robert Woods, Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown, along with proven running backs in Devin Singletary and Mike Boone.

They also added to their offensive line by trading for guard Shaq Mason. Their defense was elevated by the signings of interior defender Sheldon Rankins and one of the best veteran safeties available in Jimmie Ward. The Texans' defense graded out at 31st in the league last season, so they need all the help they can get.

Stroud earned a 92.2 PFF grade in 2021, tying with Bryce Young, and he was the seventh-highest-graded player at the position this past season. Stroud was charted as accurate on 68.2% of passes in 2022, the second-best rate in the country, and he led the nation with 28.2% of passes deemed "accurate-plus," which factors in leading a receiver away from coverage, among other things. The Rams drafted Nathaniel "Tank" Dell to pair with Stroud's arm, a shifty slot receiver who Stroud reportedly advocated for after being selected at No. 2.

I don't think a team with the presence and ethos-changing ability of DeMeco Ryans and the playmaking ability of C.J. Stroud can be the worst team in the league.

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