Houston Texans' Roster Faces One Major Question Mark

In recent months, the Houston Texans have made sure to stay busy this offseason in their efforts to improve and change this roster around the edges in an effort to find an improved result from the past two postseasons in a divisional round loss.

And for the most part, the Texans did exactly that.

The offensive line looks to be in a vastly different place than it was 12 months ago, the defensive unit saw an assortment of complementary additions, and even on the coaching side, new offensive coordinator Nick Caley should bring a brand new, innovative mind to the sidelines to help C.J. Stroud reach levels similar to his rookie campaign.

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley against the Minnesota Vikings during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In all, a productive set of offseason moves for Houston to help the arrow point in the right direction for 2025.

However, in the eyes of ESPN analyst Ben Solak, there is one major question looming over the Texans' head as we get closer and closer to the kickoff of next season: Who will be the offense's WR2?

"Entering last season, the Texans' target hierarchy was clear: Nico Collins, then Tank Dell, then Stefon Diggs, then Dalton Schultz. Entering this season, it is anything but clear. Collins and Schultz are still around, but Diggs joined the Patriots and Dell's major knee injury leaves both WR2 and WR3 spots up for grabs... For the two open battles, the Texans drafted two rookies, both from Iowa State: Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. They'll compete with Christian Kirk for a suddenly large pile of targets. Houston desperately needs to be able to punish teams that double-cover Collins and must hit on one of those rookies -- or see a big post-injury resurgence from Kirk -- to pull it off."

The Texans' wide receivers, like a few other position groups on this roster, saw a big overhaul compared to what the room had seen across 2024.

The team brought in a pair of Iowa State rookies with Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel as long-term options to grow alongside Stroud, and even traded for Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk as a veteran component to fill in the slot.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) tries to manuver past Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard (20) during the third quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Packers edged the Jaguars 30-27 on a last-second field goal. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Compared to what Stroud had to work with at the tail end of next season due to big injuries, with Nico Collins basically being on an island as a starting-end wide receiver, it's a nice step in the right direction, yet it still leaves you wondering who will be the second option next to the Texans' Pro Bowl pass-catcher with both compelling veteran and young playmakers in the mix.

With OTAs rolling this week and training camp not too far in the distance, we'll start to see how this Texans depth chart at receiver works itself out in due time. Until then, Caley's order of operations in this passing offense may remain a mystery.

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