Houston Texans Should Target Dynamic Big Ten Star

The Houston Texans should consider taking a look at and preparing for life after Joe Mixon.

Evan Massey | Feb 12, 2025

Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Houston Texans helmets sit on an equipment trunk during the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Houston Texans

The Houston Texans have built a very competitive roster over the last few years. Entering the NFL offseason, they still have a lot of work to put a Super Bowl contender on the field.

Not only do the Texans need to build for the 2025 season, they will also need to start making sure that they're set up long-term to stay in contention as well.

With that in mind, this offseason might be a perfect time to start looking at Joe Mixon's future and planning for life after him.

Who could Houston look at this offseason? There is one potential workhorse running back that they should monitor in the second round.

Iowa Hawkeyes standout Kaleb Johnson would be a perfect long-term fit alongside C.J. Stroud in the backfield for the Texans. He has the ability to pick up tough short yards and break off the big play.

During the 2024 college football season at Iowa, Johnson ended up carrying the football 240 times for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also chipped in 22 receptions for 188 yards and two more touchdowns.

Joseph Acosta of SBNation recently ranked the running back position as the No. 4 biggest need for Houston. This would be a way to erase that need for years to come.

Granted, spending a second round pick on a running back may not be in the cards this offseason for the Texans. There are quite a few areas that they need to improve and they don't have a lot of cap space for free agency.

That being said, if Johnson is available in the second round and Houston could make a move for him, they should strongly consider it.

He has legitimate superstar workhorse potential, which would keep the Texans set at the position for years to come. It's a potential move worth taking a long look at.

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Published Feb 12, 2025

EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.