Houston Texans: 2018 consensus regular season award predictions
By T.A. Mock
Most Improved Player: Zach Cunningham, LB (2 votes)
Others receiving votes: Will Fuller (1 vote), Deshaun Watson (1 vote), DJ Reader (1 vote), Dylan Cole (1 Vote)
As you can see, we were pretty split on this one. There are plenty of candidates for improvement this year, as there should be on a 4-12 team. But, Zach Cunningham ended up taking the cake here for the Houston Texans.
Cunningham had a really solid rookie season netting almost 90 tackles in part-time starter duty. He took over for Brian Cushing when he got suspended and never looked back. This season, Cunningham put on 10 lbs in an effort to be more effective. He shouldn’t have an issue filling the void left by Cushing, in fact, he should more than make up for what Cushing had brought recently.
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Gracia points out that Reader has improved every year in the league and should continue to do so in his third year. He should play a big part in this defense as he looks to become the best nose tackle in the league. Cole also has the opportunity to improve on an impressive rookie season. He can help out the Texans in every facet of the defense.
Whitaker noted that Watson provided so much value during the six games he was a starter. A full year of Watson should have a tremendous impact on this team in a full season. Lamb believes Fuller is ready to take the next step and erase inconsistencies in year three. Last year’s production when Fuller and Watson were on the field could be a hint at what is to come and the extra added weight he put on should help.