Houston Texans

Houston carries a heavy $60.8M dead-money burden, ranked 6th leaguewide, and faces a committed spike to $351.2M next season, so every dollar spent this year must be deliberate.

24 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Three starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Three first-round picks across the next three draft cycles and 20 total picks in the three-year window give Houston meaningful resources to address its roster holes without resorting to desperate trades.

• Acquired: Round 6 from Browns, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Patriots, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Saints, next draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Patriots, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Browns, this draft
• Traded away: Round 5 to Browns, this draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Saints, next draft

Houston's top strength is its cornerback and edge-rusher talent in the secondary and front seven, while the left tackle position, ranked last among all 32 starters, is the clearest weak spot on the roster.

• LThigh

  Trent Brown, a twilight-level veteran, is the starter at left tackle but ranks last among all 32 starting left tackles, making an upgrade at the position the single most urgent roster priority.

• QBmedium

  C.J. Stroud is the starter at 76 overall but ranks 24th among starters, and behind him sit Davis Mills and Graham Mertz, making quarterback development or an upgrade a clear medium-term need.

• Clow

  Evan Brown starts at center and ranks 22nd at his position, though the depth rank of 4th overall provides some cushion and makes this a lower-priority concern.

• DTlow

  Sheldon Rankins starts at defensive tackle at 81 overall but ranks 20th at the position, and with aging depth behind him, interior reinforcement is worth monitoring.

• WILLlow

  Henry To'oTo'o holds the starting WILL linebacker spot but ranks 21st at his position, making this a secondary area to address once higher-priority needs are met.

• 66Davis MillsQBDavis Mills is the second-string quarterback at 66 overall with no realistic path to the starting job, and releasing him frees $6.0M against only $2.0M in dead money.Frees $6.0M · $2.0M dead
• 68Tremon SmithCBTremon Smith is a depth cornerback at 68 overall who appears only on the return unit depth chart, and his release frees $2.5M while leaving just $1.0M in dead money.Frees $2.5M · $1.0M dead
• 71Jake AndrewsCJake Andrews backs up at center and also appears on the left guard depth chart at 71 overall, and cutting him is a clean transaction that frees $3.7M with zero dead money.Frees $3.7M · $0 dead
• 73Xavier HutchinsonWRXavier Hutchinson is a fourth receiver at 73 overall who does not appear among the top three at his position on the depth chart, and releasing him frees $3.7M against only $40K in dead money.Frees $3.7M · $40.0K dead
• 63Jake HansenMIKEJake Hansen sits third on the MIKE linebacker depth chart at 63 overall, and his release frees $1.6M while carrying $640K in dead money, making him a low-cost depth cut.Frees $1.6M · $640.0K dead

The Texans are a team with a clear identity on defense, built around Will Anderson Jr and Derek Stingley Jr as long-term cornerstones, and a pass rush that also benefits from Danielle Hunter while he remains effective. Hunter is entering the late stage of his career, so planning his succession is important before the middle of the five-year window. On offense, Nico Collins gives C.J. Stroud a genuine weapon, and Stroud himself, as a 24-year-old Star-trait quarterback, has meaningful upside still ahead of him, though his current rating puts him outside the top tier and he needs to be developed. The left tackle position is the most pressing structural problem, with Trent Brown starting late in his career at the bottom of the league rankings, and addressing it should be the first order of business. Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock represent an exciting young secondary that should only improve, and Kayshon Boutte gives the receiver room another young piece to develop. The cap carries meaningful dead money at $60.8M ranked 6th in the league, and committed spend rises sharply to $351.2M next season, so spending decisions this year require care. The draft capital picture, with three first-rounders over the next three years and 20 total picks in the three-year window, gives Houston the resources to patch holes and build depth without mortgaging the future.

The Houston Texans were awarded to Houston businessman Bob McNair on October 6, 1999 for a then-record $700 million expansion fee, restoring pro football to a city that lost the Oilers to Tennessee in 1997. They began play in 2002 under head coach Dom Capers, drafting QB David Carr first overall, and beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-10 in their debut, the first expansion team to win its opener since the 1961 Vikings. Early years were rough, but the franchise turned in the 2010s: native Houstonian Gary Kubiak (2006-2013) built a balanced roster around Andre Johnson and Arian Foster, and after drafting J.J. Watt 11th overall in 2011 and hiring Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator, Houston won its first AFC South title in 2011 and first playoff game (31-10 over Cincinnati), repeating as champs in 2012. Under Bill O'Brien (2014-2020) they added four more division titles but never advanced past the divisional round. After a rebuild under David Culley (2021) and Lovie Smith (2022), the hiring of DeMeco Ryans and drafting of C.J. Stroud in 2023 sparked a fast turnaround with division titles in 2023 and 2024 and a wild-card berth in 2025. The Texans have won eight AFC South titles but have never reached a conference championship game or Super Bowl, the only franchise never to appear in a conference title game. In the 2025 playoffs, Houston won its first-ever road playoff game, 30-6 over Pittsburgh, before losing 28-16 to New England in the divisional round.