The Houston Texans Double Down on Their Way of Offense With Moves This Week
They want to play good defense and run the ball well
The Houston Texans doubled down on their way of doing things this week. Houston spent 2025 as a defense-first team that wanted to run the football and minimize quarterback mistakes.
They leaned even further into that sentiment this week.
Houston moved offensive lineman Tytus Howard for a late-round pick. Howard’s versatility was nice, but there was no long-term future for him. The Texans later that day added a running back who will help their hopeful run-first nature.
David Montgomery is better than anything the Texans used at running back last season. In typical Nick Caserio fashion, the price was high. The Texans sent a fourth-round pick to get the aging, and somewhat expensive, running back. Montgomery will succeed where Woody Marks and Nick Chubb failed in some of the short-yardage situations.
Trent Brown’s return on a modest contract worth up to $7 million was nice. He can start or be a key backup, depending on other investments.
Then came the shocker.
Danielle Hunter, a year ago, got a massive contract extension keeping him on the Texans for another season beyond the next one. Will the Texans follow with underwhelming investments in free agency on the offensive line?
The Texans need offensive linemen. They need them in free agency and need them in the draft. Hunter’s new deal is what a player of his caliber commands. He’s durable, and only Myles Garrett has more sacks over the past four seasons.
He doesn’t block, though.
The commitment to Hunter could affect the ability to invest near the top of the offensive line market. Houston will still add linemen. The chance that they’re the best available at their position seems unlikely.
The Hunter contract frees up some space here in 2026, but it affects the 2027 spending. A big investment in the offensive line would include significant commitments in 2027 and beyond. Hunter’s deal seemingly lessens the chances of those happening, which lowers the available talent pool.
The Texans spent poorly in free agency a year ago. Cam Robinson’s big deal netted them a late-round pick when he was dumped from the bench to the Cleveland Browns. Laken Tomlinson played poorly, rotated with Jucie Scruggs, was benched, then played again, and then ultimately was benched and released.
Their best investment on the line in free agency was a lottery ticket they gave to Brown after his knee injury. While it took a while to be an option, Brown at right tackle was a success.
Houston doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt in being cheap in free agency when it comes to the offensive line. In fact, spending big in free agency is the only thing they haven’t tried. They’ve extended their own linemen and failed. They’ve bet on rookies and failed. They’ve tried short-term cheap fixes in free agency and failed.
The Texans might still have the money to shop at the top. C.J. Stroud isn’t getting a new deal. There are ways to kick the can down the road, which complicates the future but maximizes the present. If they’re able to retool the offensive line better than a year ago while also extending Hunter, that’s incredible work from Caserio and his staff. They would deserve kudos.
I like this draft class of offensive linemen. There are solutions there, though they carry more risk in 2026 than a veteran does.
Hunter’s extension has kept the window open for the defense to be elite. It’s restricted the margin for error for the offense. The Texans had the 2026 defense taken care of, but an investment in the 2027 defense might force Houston to thread the needle for the 2026 offense.
Without improvement for the offense, they’ll have to play excellent defense, run the ball effectively, and hope the quarterback doesn’t make mistakes.
