Texans' 2025 Offseason Priorities Must Start With Building Up Offense

The Houston Texans need to make a few of the right moves to take the next step in a loaded AFC in 2025. It all starts on offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) gets ready before the snap during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

This is a big offseason for the Houston Texans. They've made the playoffs and won a game in each of DeMeco Ryans' first two seasons and that type of success is extremely important for a young team.

Without a doubt, the Texans have work to do to take the next step in the AFC though, and ESPN reporter DJ Bien-Aime believes that this offseason is critical for the growth of this team — specifically the offense.

C.J. Stroud is heading into his third season and he's displayed superstar qualities in seasons one and two, alongside the expected growing pains of being a young NFL quarterback. How the Texans can build around Stroud in the next few months is the biggest question facing this Houston team this offseason, according to Bien-Aime in a league-wide feature on ESPN.

Step one was firing Bobby Slowik and replacing him with former Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Nick Caley.

"Next is finding the right ingredients for Caley to cook with, starting with the offensive line, as Stroud was sacked 52 times (second most in the NFL). Also, the offense needs a couple of more playmakers beyond wide receiver Nico Collins and running back Joe Mixon," Biene-Aime wrote.

Biene-Aime is completely right in his assessment here, because building a sustainably explosive offense is the best way to help a young quarterback be sustainably explosive himself.

The Texans currently have the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and there's reason to believe they could look for a young receiver to pair alongside Nico Collins.

Both Stefon Diggs and Robert Woods are going to be free agents. Tank Dell will likely be spending much of the 2025 season recovering from a dislocated knee cap and torn ACL he suffered late in the 2024 season.

The Texans could use pick No. 25 on a wideout like Matthew Golden from Texas, who notched 987 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Longhorns. Salary cap space is a problem at the moment, so using the draft to stock up on weapons would be a great option for Houston early on.

No matter how general manager Nick Caserio decides to do it, being able to support Stroud with the proper talent around him is vital, though. Not only would that help the Texans take the next step, but perhaps even more importantly, they'll have to keep up with offenses in the AFC that feature Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.

At the very least, the Texans need to get Stroud better protection this offseason, so an offensive lineman should be at play at No. 25 as well. A lack of protection can doom a great quarterback. Even Mahomes found that out the hard way recently when the Philadelphia Eagles harassed him throughout their 40-22 win in Super Bowl LIX.

Stroud is great, but is he a generational talent like Mahomes? Probably not. That means he needs help, and as much of it as possible, if the Texans want to win a Super Bowl any time soon.