Houston Texans: Evaluating the 2017 offense by position with outlook
By T.A. Mock
Wide Receivers
When you have one of the top wide receivers in the game, the outlook is never bad. DeAndre Hopkins was phenomenal once again, but the rest of this group spent the year bouncing between injuries. Can this group pull together a healthy season to pair with Watson’s arm?
Wide Receivers for 2018: DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, Braxton Miller, Chris Thompson, Deante Gray, DeAndrew White
Free Agents: Bruce Ellington (RFA), Cobi Hamilton (RFA)
96 receptions. 1,376 yards. 113 touchdowns. DeAndre Hopkins is a monster on the gridiron. I think we can all agree on that. He’s well on his way to challenging Andre Johnson as the best wide receiver in franchise history. However, since there isn’t much debate about Hopkins excellence the rest of this section won’t feature much of Hopkins.
2016 Draft Disappointment
The franchise invested a lot of draft capital two years ago. They selected Fuller in the first round and Miller in the third. Fuller has shown flashes of DEEP speed and the ability to snag a long ball. He also has shown the propensity to drop even the easiest of passes. However, there may be a small light on the horizon as his catch rate improved to 56% in 2017 from 51.1% in 2016. Fuller’s touchdowns did skyrocket from two to seven, which is always a good sign.
Miller did improve between 2016 and 2017. Improving from less than 100 yards to less than 200 yards though, is not something to write home about. This was his third full year at the position after switching from quarterback in college. So, going into his fourth year as a wide receiver we should hope to see some massive improvement. Don’t cross your fingers for a huge surge.
The Backyard Bunch
The rest of this bunch is utterly uninspiring. Coming into this season I had not heard of Thompson, Gray, or White. Ellington and Hamilton I knew from their days in the SEC. The only name that slightly catches my eye in this group is Ellington. He made some splashes in the off-season and in the preseason that were pretty promising. I’d like to see the team bring him back. As far as the rest of them, I would like to see the team explore other options.
Fortunately for the organization, Hopkins is phenomenal at catching the contested ball and in double coverage. This group lacks a true threat (beyond the deep ball with Fuller) to pull the defense away from Hopkins on obvious passing downs.
2018 Outlook Grade: D When you have a quarterback like Watson, you need a receiver like DeAndre Hopkins. Fuller would be a solid third option in a different group. This squad needs improvement.