It has been a long time since the Super Bowl, and remembering exactly how things left off last year can be a challenge. So, I’ll be writing up a fantasy preview for each NFL team to give us a quick refresher on what happened last year, and what changes took place in the offseason. All fantasy stats will be in ESPN scoring format unless otherwise noted.
If I missed any change or left out any big notes, throw them down in the comments for me!
What Did They Do Last Year?
The Houston Texans were an absolute laughing stock in 2020. On the heels of a couple of the worst trades the NFL has seen in decades, head coach and GM Bill O’Brien was fired. The Texans got to watch the Miami Dolphins parlay what would have been the Texans No. 3 overall pick into a bevvy of goodies while Houston signed every end of the roster player on the market.
Quarterback
| OVR Rank | Player | G | COMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | ATT | YDS | TD | FFP | FFP/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Deshaun Watson | 16 | 382 | 544 | 4,823 | 33 | 7 | 90 | 444 | 3 | 367.3 | 23 |
| 77 | AJ McCarron | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
Deshaun Watson is facing some serious accusations, and with the NFL’s unpredictable, whimsical disciplinary decisions of late, who knows how that will turn out.
Tyrod Taylor was signed as a just-in-case starter, and Taylor has proven he’s talented enough to be a lower-end starter in the league (I mean, would you rather have Taylor or Drew Lock/Teddy Bridgewater?).
If Watson plays he is a steal at his 10th round ADP. If Watson doesn’t play, Taylor is, at best, a desperation play in 2-QB/Superflex leagues.
Wide Receivers
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 16 | Brandin Cooks | 15 | 119 | 81 | 1,150 | 6 | 151 | 10.1 | 232 | 15.47 |
| 32 | 23 | Will Fuller | 11 | 75 | 53 | 879 | 8 | 135.9 | 12.4 | 188.9 | 17.17 |
| 75 | 78 | Randall Cobb | 10 | 48 | 38 | 441 | 3 | 62.1 | 6.2 | 100.1 | 10.01 |
| 91 | 92 | Keke Coutee | 8 | 40 | 33 | 400 | 3 | 52 | 6.5 | 85 | 10.63 |
| 121 | 118 | Chad Hansen | 5 | 24 | 17 | 236 | 1 | 29.6 | 5.9 | 46.6 | 9.32 |
| 139 | 133 | Kenny Stills | 7 | 19 | 11 | 144 | 1 | 20.4 | 2.9 | 31.4 | 4.49 |
| 175 | 179 | Steven Mitchell | 3 | 8 | 5 | 60 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 3.67 |
| 214 | 213 | DeAndre Carter | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
Brandin Cooks is going in the eighth round, and whether it’s Taylor or Watson under center, this is an auto-smash pick. Cooks performs everywhere he goes and he is about the only game in town. Cooks is currently ranked our WR39 in .5PPR.
Related: Late-Round Wide Receivers with WR1 Upside
If Watson ends up playing, there will be someone else in the passing attack worth rostering. Throwing a dart on who that might be now is free, so why not look up Keke Coutee or Kenny Stills?
Running Backs
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | ATT | YDS | TD | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 19 | David Johnson | 12 | 147 | 691 | 6 | 46 | 33 | 314 | 2 | 146.5 | 12.2 | 179.5 | 14.96 |
| 58 | 64 | Duke Johnson | 11 | 77 | 235 | 1 | 35 | 28 | 249 | 1 | 56.4 | 5.1 | 84.4 | 7.67 |
| 126 | 125 | C.J. Prosise | 5 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 7.7 | 1.5 | 12.7 | 2.54 |
| 136 | 129 | Buddy Howell | 2 | 16 | 64 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 7.7 | 3.85 |
| 148 | 147 | Scottie Phillips | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| 154 | 156 | Cullen Gillaspia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
I’ll spend as much time breaking down the Texans running backs as I feel is necessary here.
Draft Phillip Lindsay in the eighth round (current ADP: 9.01). I currently have Lindsay ranked as my RB25 in .5PPR for this year.
Tight End
| PPR Rank | STD Rank | Player | G | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | STD PTS | STD PTS/G | PPR PTS | PPR PTS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 25 | Darren Fells | 13 | 29 | 21 | 312 | 4 | 55.2 | 4.2 | 76.2 | 5.86 |
| 25 | 30 | Jordan Akins | 13 | 49 | 37 | 403 | 1 | 46.7 | 3.6 | 83.7 | 6.44 |
| 52 | 52 | Pharaoh Brown | 8 | 16 | 14 | 163 | 2 | 28.3 | 3.5 | 42.3 | 5.29 |
| 96 | 97 | Kahale Warring | 4 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 6.5 | 1.63 |
The Texans have talented tight ends and Watson makes good use of the position. Which tight end to play in any given week is an absolutely maddening proposition. I’ll pass on the Texans tight ends, but I’ll keep them in mind come waiver wire time.
What Does It All Mean?!?! (AKA – Bold predictions)
While the Texans are likely going to be terrible, even if they have Watson on the field. Cooks and Lindsay present nice values at their current ADP. Otherwise, the Texans appear to be starting with the lead in the 2022-No.-1-overall-pick race.
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Thanks to FFToday.com for hosting such great stats info!
Thanks to TheHuddle.com for their great Coaching Change Tracker