The 10 most important players on the Houston Texans
1. DE J.J. Watt (49 points)
2. WR DeAndre Hopkins (35)
3. DE Jadeveon Clowney (31)
4. RB Lamar Miller (29)
5. OT Duane Brown (22)
6. LB Benardrick McKinney (17)
7. CB Johnathan Joseph (15)
8. LB Whitney Mercilus (14)
9. CB Andre Hal (11)
10. WR Braxton Miller (nine)
Another team within a whisker of a unanimous No. 1. The lone vote keeping J.J. Watt from that honor came from the Single ballot, which led with Jadeveon Clowney and had Watt at No. 2. Clowney and DeAndre Hopkins each received a pair of second-place votes.
Lamar Miller’s name appeared on all five ballots—he climbed as high as No. 3 (Burke), but a lone 10th-place vote (Marston) prevented him from moving ahead of Clowney overall. The next skill position player in line was Braxton Miller, courtesy of a top-five ranking (Klemko) plus the No. 8 ranking on Baskin’s ballot.
Bette Marston defends her 10th-place vote for Lamar Miller: Last season, Lamar Miller got the opportunities on the field that he had been denied in Miami, but he still wasn’t that great, racking up 1,073 rushing yards and six total touchdowns. It’s no secret that the defense has been the focal point in Houston for the last several seasons, so that combined with an uninspiring debut from Miller explains why I only ranked him No. 10 on my list. The Texans can get slightly above-average production from plenty of running backs.
Other Texans receiving votes: OT Chris Clark (eight points); CB Kareem Jackson (seven); LB Brian Cushing (six); CB Kevin Johnson, WR Will Fuller (four); TE C.J. Fiedorowicz, DT D.J. Reader, LB Sio Moore (three); C Nick Martin, G Xavier Su'a-Filo (two); S Eddie Pleasant (one).
