Houston shocked much of the football world last season, making a deep run in the playoffs due to a newly found sense of confidence, which came in the form of a brand-new coaching staff and a rookie QB who made key plays in critical moments. This offseason, they added a new WR1 (Stefon Diggs), an RB1 (Joe Mixon), and more pieces on defense to help the team make another Super Bowl run.
The knock on Stroud coming into the league was that he couldn’t throw against defensive pressure. Well, that could not have been further from the truth. Stroud looked terrific against all defenses and just seemed to get better as the season went on. OC Bobby Slowik does a great job of giving Stroud just enough on his plate, and Stroud does a great job of finding the open receiver. This feels like a match made in offensive heaven.
Mixon may have lost a step or two since his best days in Cincinnati, but he’s really exceptional at the goal line, and I can see him contributing double-digit touchdowns this season. I love him in standard league formats, but I would be shocked if he had 1,000 rushing yards this season.
Houston brought Diggs over from Buffalo to give Stroud a true WR1 and somebody who can go up against any top cornerback in the NFL. Diggs is on a one-year deal, so this would be a very good opportunity for him to work hard so he can get one last three-year deal, either from Houston or another team.
Houston just gave Collins a huge deal this past offseason, which shows that they’re committed to him in 2024 and beyond. He had some terrific games last year and showed an excellent connection with Stroud, earning the big contract. Right now, he’s going at the end of the second round in fantasy, and the only thing that takes away from his luster is that there are only so many available targets to go around with a lot of talented receivers.
Dell was on his way to a terrific rookie season until he got injured. He’s back now and healthy, but he is the likely WR3 in this offense. Dell is fantastic against man-to-man coverage, and Stroud loves throwing him the football, so it would not be in anybody’s best fantasy interest to bury him. He’s still a tremendous pick in an explosive offense.
Although Schultz played very well last season, the Texans drafted TE Cade Stover out of Ohio State, who was a favorite of Stroud when they played together in college. It will probably take Stover a year to learn how to play in the NFL, so Schultz still should have another good year left in him, but if I’m in a dynasty league, I want to move on from Schultz ASAP.
I think it makes for an excellent prop futures bet to see Houston as the AFC participant in the Super Bowl.
