HoustonTexans
Almost nothing to relitigate and no grievance to defend, which is a fine place to begin. Nico Collins is a genuine number one, C.J. Stroud makes throws that end arguments, and the defence arrived well ahead of schedule. The roof removes the weather and the division is sitting right there.
The fantasy roster, best rated first
Fantasy-relevant players only. Quarterbacks, backs, receivers and tight ends, which is what HexMetrics prices. 1 of them sit inside the league's top 25, 1 inside the top 50, 2 inside the top 100.
How roster strength is built: the seven slots behind 70.7
HexScore rates a player against others at his own position, so the seven below are not added up: each is weighted by what its slot is worth to an offence, and the weights are in the last column.
The case for the 2026 season
The best pass defense in the league, and a quarterback slot the model rates 61.4
Houston own the toughest pass defense in football at 1 of 32, the third-toughest against the run, and a Team Power of 96 that ranks 4 of 32. The skill group does not keep up: roster strength 70.7, 22 of 32. Nico Collins rates 97.3 and is 22 of 457, and after him the quarterback slot rates 61.4 while carrying 28% of the club figure. That gap is the season.
The defense is the best thing on this page
Pass defense z-scores at 1.51, which is 1 of 32 and therefore first. Rush defense 1.08 at 3. The forward-looking composite agrees at 4 of 32. Three defensive measurements built on different bases and all three put this unit in the top four, which is not a thing that happens by accident.
Team Power reads 96 at 4 of 32 because it reads that defense alongside the offense. The roster figure reads 70.7 at 22 because it reads only the skill players. Both are correct. They are measuring different halves of the club, and the seventeen places between them is the most informative thing here.
The receiver hierarchy, which is the part I like
Nico Collins at 97.3, then Tank Dell at 62.5, then Jayden Higgins at 59.9. That is a clear hierarchy rather than a committee, and I believe a receiver room with a clear hierarchy is worth more than a deeper one without it, because a defense has to decide who it is taking away and the answer here is obvious and still hard.
The scheme is spread at a 0.56 pass rate and a tempo of 1.05 against a league average of one, behind a line at 14 of 32. 10 of 17 games are played indoors, 11 of 32, and I think indoor offenses are systematically underrated in projections built on league-wide averages. That is a belief rather than a measurement and I am labelling it as one.
The slot that decides it
C.J. Stroud rates 61.4, 151 of 457. The scheme profile puts the quarterback rating input at 0.82, which is a different measurement on a different basis and is a good deal kinder. Pass efficiency reads 0.68. Those three numbers do not agree with each other and the honest thing to do is say so rather than pick the one that helps.
What is not in dispute is the weighting. The quarterback slot is 28% of the club figure and the first receiver is 17%, so a club can have the twenty-second-best skill player in football and still finish 22 of 32 if the man throwing to him rates 61.4. That is not the model being unfair. That is the model counting the position that plays every snap.
The claim, and its ceiling
The value-weighted age is 26.4, 19 of 32, with 34.8% of the rated talent under twenty-five. 1 player inside the league's top 50 and 2 inside the top 100. The bye is week 8.
Strength of schedule ranks 25 of 32 counting easiest first, which is a hard slate, and I am sceptical of strength-of-schedule arguments in a division that reshuffles annually, so I am not going to lean on it in either direction. The case is that the best pass defense in football plus a top-twenty-five receiver plus ten indoor games is a genuine contender if the quarterback slot moves, and a nine-win club if it does not. This market does not have much history to relitigate and there is a lot of ceiling here, but the ceiling has one specific door in front of it and everybody can see which one.
The club record
84 players. Read from www.houstontexans.com on 2026-10-28. Not a HexMetrics rating: this is what the club publishes.
Coaching staff
26 coachesTexans Coaching Staff
- Head CoachDeMeco Ryans
- Defensive CoordinatorMatt Burke
- Offensive CoordinatorNick Caley
- Special Teams CoordinatorFrank Ross
- SafetiesStephen Adegoke
- Defensive / Special Teams AssistantSean Baker
- Assistant Head Coach / Running BacksDanny Barrett
- Assistant Special TeamsWill Burnham
- LinebackersBill Davis
- Offensive AssistantTaylor Embree
- Tight EndsJames Ferentz
- Senior Defensive AssistantBill Lazor
- Wide Receivers / Offensive Passing Game CoordinatorBen McDaniels
- Assistant Defensive LineFrank Okam
- Offensive Line / Offensive Run Game CoordinatorCole Popovich
- Offensive AssistantAsauni Rufus
- QuarterbacksJerry Schuplinski
- Defensive AssistantMark Sheridan
- Defensive AssistantJay Simpson
- Assistant Wide ReceiversTiquan Underwood
- Defensive Passing Game CoordinatorCory Undlin
- Defensive BacksDino Vasso
- Offensive AssistantAlex Ward
- Offensive AssistantCole Weeks
- Defensive Line / Defensive Run Game CoordinatorRod Wright
- Assistant to the Head CoachJake Olson
Read from www.houstontexans.com on 2026-10-28.
Depth chart
Texans has not posted a depth chart for the season yet. This reads the club's own page, so it will fill in when they publish one.
Full roster
16 of 65 rated| # | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active53 | |||||||
| Offense | |||||||
| 7 | C.J. StroudRated | QB | 6-3 | 218 | 25 | 4 | Ohio State |
| 10 | Davis Mills | QB | 6-4 | 225 | 28 | 6 | Stanford |
| 4 | Woody MarksRated | RB | 5-10 | 208 | 25 | 2 | USC |
| 23 | Dare Ogunbowale | RB | 5-10 | 205 | 32 | 8 | Wisconsin |
| 32 | David MontgomeryRated | RB | 5-11 | 230 | 29 | 8 | Iowa State |
| 1 | Tank DellRated | WR | 5-10 | 165 | 26 | 4 | Houston |
| 12 | Nico CollinsRated | WR | 6-4 | 222 | 27 | 6 | Michigan |
| 13 | Jaylin NoelRated | WR | 5-11 | 201 | 24 | 2 | Iowa State |
| 14 | Kayshon BoutteRated | WR | 5-11 | 203 | 24 | 4 | LSU |
| 18 | Marvin Harrison Jr.Rated | WR | 6-3 | 220 | 24 | 3 | Ohio State |
| 19 | Xavier HutchinsonRated | WR | 6-3 | 210 | 26 | 4 | Iowa State |
| 8 | Cade StoverRated | TE | 6-4 | 251 | 26 | 3 | Ohio State |
| 9 | Brevin JordanRated | TE | 6-3 | 245 | 26 | 6 | Miami (Fla.) |
| 83 | Marlin KleinRated | TE | 6-6 | 250 | 24 | R | Michigan |
| 86 | Dalton SchultzRated | TE | 6-5 | 242 | 30 | 9 | Stanford |
| 87 | Foster MoreauRated | TE | 6-4 | 250 | 29 | 8 | LSU |
| 57 | Blake Fisher | T | 6-6 | 312 | 23 | 3 | Notre Dame |
| 77 | Trent Brown | T | 6-8 | 380 | 33 | 12 | Florida |
| 78 | Nate Thomas | T | 6-5 | 330 | 25 | 3 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 79 | Aireontae Ersery | T | 6-6 | 330 | 24 | 2 | Minnesota |
| 71 | Braden Smith | OT | 6-6 | 312 | 30 | 9 | Auburn |
| 64 | Febechi Nwaiwu | G | 6-4 | 319 | 23 | R | Oklahoma |
| 69 | Ed Ingram | G | 6-3 | 307 | 27 | 5 | LSU |
| 75 | Wyatt Teller | G | 6-4 | 315 | 31 | 9 | Virginia Tech |
| 60 | Jake Andrews | C | 6-3 | 308 | 26 | 4 | Troy |
| 63 | Evan Brown | C/G | 6-3 | 320 | 30 | 8 | SMU |
| 66 | Keylan Rutledge | C/G | 6-4 | 320 | 23 | R | Georgia Tech |
| Defense | |||||||
| 51 | Will Anderson Jr. | DE | 6-4 | 243 | 25 | 4 | Alabama |
| 54 | Sabastian Harsh | DE | 6-2 | 255 | 24 | R | NC State |
| 55 | Danielle Hunter | DE | 6-5 | 263 | 31 | 12 | LSU |
| 90 | Jadeveon Clowney | DE | 6-5 | 266 | 33 | 13 | South Carolina |
| 94 | Dominique Robinson | DE | 6-5 | 275 | 28 | 5 | Miami (Ohio) |
| 96 | Logan Hall | DE | 6-6 | 283 | 26 | 5 | Houston |
| 72 | Tommy Togiai | DT | 6-2 | 296 | 27 | 5 | Ohio State |
| 93 | Kayden McDonald | DT | 6-3 | 326 | 21 | R | Ohio State |
| 95 | Jaden Crumedy | DT | 6-4 | 301 | 26 | 3 | Mississippi State |
| 98 | Sheldon Rankins | DT | 6-2 | 305 | 32 | 11 | Louisville |
| 0 | Azeez Al-Shaair | LB | 6-2 | 228 | 29 | 8 | Florida Atlantic |
| 30 | Wade Woodaz | LB | 6-4 | 235 | 22 | R | Clemson |
| 35 | Jake Hansen | LB | 6-1 | 230 | 28 | 5 | Illinois |
| 39 | Henry To'oTo'o | LB | 6-2 | 228 | 25 | 4 | Alabama |
| 3 | Kamari Lassiter | CB | 6-0 | 180 | 23 | 3 | Georgia |
| 11 | Tremon Smith | CB | 5-11 | 190 | 30 | 9 | Central Arkansas |
| 24 | Derek Stingley Jr. | CB | 6-1 | 195 | 25 | 5 | LSU |
| 2 | Calen Bullock | S | 6-3 | 190 | 23 | 3 | USC |
| 5 | Jalen Pitre | S | 6-0 | 200 | 27 | 5 | Baylor |
| 6 | Reed Blankenship | S | 6-1 | 203 | 27 | 5 | Middle Tennessee State |
| 20 | Ja'Marcus Ingram | S | 6-2 | 190 | 29 | 3 | Buffalo |
| 27 | Kamari Ramsey | S | 6-0 | 205 | 22 | R | USC |
| 29 | M.J. Stewart | S | 5-11 | 205 | 31 | 9 | North Carolina |
| Special teams | |||||||
| 15 | Ka'imi FairbairnRated | K | 6-0 | 183 | 32 | 11 | UCLA |
| 38 | Kai Kroeger | P | 6-3 | 213 | 24 | 2 | South Carolina |
| 40 | Austin Brinkman | LS | 6-4 | 241 | 24 | 2 | West Virginia |
| Reserve/Injured11 | |||||||
| 44 | British Brooks | RB | 5-11 | 225 | 26 | 3 | North Carolina |
| 50 | Solomon Byrd | DE | 6-3 | 250 | 26 | 1 | USC |
| 97 | Mario Edwards Jr. | DT | 6-3 | 280 | 32 | 11 | Florida State |
| 95 | Ali Gaye | DE | 6-6 | 265 | 28 | 3 | LSU |
| 76 | Sam Hagen | T | 6-6 | 320 | 23 | R | South Dakota State |
| 81 | Jayden HigginsRated | WR | 6-4 | 215 | 23 | 2 | Iowa State |
| 92 | Dylan Horton | DE | 6-4 | 275 | 26 | 4 | TCU |
| 33 | Jake Hummel | LB | 6-1 | 229 | 27 | 5 | Iowa State |
| 18 | Graham Mertz | QB | 6-2 | 216 | 25 | 2 | Florida |
| 52 | K.C. Ossai | LB | 6-1 | 240 | 23 | 1 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 22 | Jaylin Smith | CB | 5-11 | 190 | 22 | 2 | USC |
| Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform1 | |||||||
| 45 | E.J. Speed | LB | 6-4 | 227 | 31 | 8 | Tarleton State |
Practice squad
1 of 19 rated| # | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Squad17 | |||||||
| Offense | |||||||
| 31 | Deuce Vaughn | RB | 5-6 | 176 | 24 | 3 | Kansas State |
| 82 | Lewis Bond | WR | 5-11 | 190 | 23 | R | Boston College |
| 84 | Bryce Oliver | WR | 6-1 | 214 | 26 | 3 | Youngstown State |
| 85 | Josh Kelly | WR | 6-1 | 192 | 25 | 1 | Texas Tech |
| 88 | Zaire Mitchell-Paden | TE | 6-5 | 257 | 27 | 1 | Florida Atlantic |
| 70 | James Neal III | T | 6-6 | 325 | 23 | R | Iowa State |
| 67 | Max Pircher | OT | 6-7 | 320 | 27 | 1 | N/A |
| Defense | |||||||
| 53 | Chris Braswell | DE | 6-3 | 255 | 25 | 3 | Alabama |
| 58 | Kyonte Hamilton | DT | 6-4 | 304 | 23 | 2 | Rutgers |
| 91 | Junior Tafuna | DT | 6-3 | 305 | 25 | 1 | Utah |
| 47 | Caleb Johnson | LB | 6-2 | 227 | 28 | 6 | Houston Christian University |
| 49 | Chad Muma | LB | 6-3 | 239 | 27 | 5 | Wyoming |
| 50 | Kenneth Murray | LB | 6-2 | 241 | 27 | 7 | Oklahoma |
| 34 | Bryce Hall | CB | 6-1 | 202 | 28 | 6 | Virginia |
| 37 | Collin Wright | CB | 6-0 | 195 | 22 | R | Stanford |
| 36 | George Odum | S | 6-1 | 202 | 32 | 9 | Central Arkansas |
| 28 | Jaden Davis | DB | 5-10 | 182 | 25 | 1 | Miami |
| Practice Squad/Injured2 | |||||||
| 25 | Jawhar JordanRated | RB | 5-10 | 185 | 27 | 1 | Louisville |
| 26 | Noah Whittington | RB | 5-8 | 203 | 24 | R | Oregon |
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