In 2023, the Houston Texans appeared out of nowhere. After selecting CJ Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. in the previous year’s draft, it was anticipated that the Texans would eventually contend for the postseason; however, it was not anticipated that they would do so in their rookie campaigns. The fact that Houston’s 2023 draft was so excellent contributed significantly to their rapid ascent. In addition to Stroud and Anderson, the Texans also acquired players such as Nathaniel “Tank” Dell and Juice Scruggs. The team intends to follow suit in the 2024 NFL Draft in search of immediate impact players who can sustain the encouraging trend. After Round 1, the Texans can pick up some low-profile players who could immediately find themselves in critical roles, such Bucky Irving and Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Houston has an abundance of opportunities to keep bolstering their roster. Houston still has picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft as well as two fourth-round selections, even though they traded their first-round pick in this year’s draft last year to acquire Will Anderson Jr. It’s a wonderful place to be. The Texans are a young, exciting team. They should put themselves in a better position to continue having fun in 2024 if they can sign the players that were previously highlighted.
Dalton Schultz was signed by Houston as a free agent to fill in at tight end. Schultz is a talented musician. According to playerprofiler.com, he did finish tenth among tight ends in yards per route run (1.58) during the previous campaign. However, given his play, the Texans did not have to overpay to keep him; rather, he was just signed to a one-year contract. They might employ CJ Stroud’s security blanket to be a tight end of the future.
That person could be Ja’Tavion Sanders. In draft circles, Sanders is considered the second-best tight-end prospect in this class, only to the exceptional Brock Bowers. Though he’s no slouch, Sanders isn’t Bowers either. For the Texas Longhorns, Sanders recorded 99 receptions for 1,295 yards and seven touchdowns in two seasons. It may be argued that during his time at Texas, Sanders was the top pass-catcher in terms of receiving threat.
At wide receiver, the Texans feature Tank Dell and Nico Collins as at least two stars. The Texans don’t need to make a significant investment at that position, but perhaps John Metchie III can get there eventually so he can concentrate just on football and not rehab. They ought to make some tight end investments. Probably the most feasible target they can hit is Ja’Tavion Sanders.
In the future, the Texans might potentially benefit from a running back. After a strong season, they believed Dameon Pierce was the one, but he was scarcely used in the latter stages of the season and lost ground to Devin Singletary in the running back rotation. Like Dalton Schultz, Singletary is a good talent but definitely not the long-term answer for a young team like the Texans.
Bucky Irving of Oregon might be. At 5-10 and 195 pounds, he may be a little undersized, but he is extremely difficult to tackle. Despite his small size, he was among the best in the nation at breaking tackles and gaining yards after contact.
