Three hottest seats on the Houston Texans

The Houston Texans took the NFL by surprise in 2023, rebounding from a 3-13-1 season the year before to win 10 games and the AFC South title. 

Here are three people in the Texans organization who are feeling the most heat:

Running back Dameon Pierce

Pierce had a promising rookie season, rushing for 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries while chipping in 30 receptions and a receiving touchdown in the passing game. But after heading into 2023 as Houston’s lead back, Pierce lost his starting job to Devin Singletary (now with the Giants) midway through the year, and he finished with just two games of 50 or more rushing yards.

The Texans traded for Joe Mixon last week, and he figures to be the team’s new bell-cow back. Mixon rushed for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns last season, and he has four 1,000-yard rushing seasons and four seasons with seven or more rushing touchdowns under his belt.

If Pierce has another underwhelming season next year like he did in 2023 (416 rushing yards, 2.9 yards per carry, two touchdowns), he might start losing carries to Houston’s third- and fourth-string RBs.

Wide receiver Robert Woods

The Texans brought Woods in last offseason to be a stabilizing presence for their wide receiver room. But if they’re going to pay him close to $10 million, he'll need to produce more than the 40 receptions, 426 yards and one touchdown he gave them last season.

Nico Collins had a breakout year (80 receptions, 1,297 yards, eight touchdowns), and Tank Dell likely would have been a 1,000-yard rookie had he not missed six games with a leg injury. (He finished with 47 receptions, 795 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games.) They’re both clearly the Texans’ Nos. 1 and 2 WRs, leaving Woods to battle Noah Brown, John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson to be WR3. 

Metchie has been eased back into things after sitting out his rookie year while battling leukemia, but Brown passed Woods on the depth chart by midseason, and he finished with more yards (567) and a higher yards-per-catch average (17.2 to 10.6) than Woods did. Wood may just start the year as Houston’s fourth or fifth receiver depending on how training camp goes.

Defensive end Jerry Hughes

After leading the Texans with nine sacks in 2022, Hughes had a disappointing 2023 season with just three sacks and 30 pressures in 17 games. Houston added defensive ends Denico Autry, who had a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2023, and Mario Edwards Jr., as well as edge-rusher Danielle Hunter, who had a career-high 16.5 sacks in 2023, this offseason. If Hughes can’t get to the passer frequently, he may find himself out of a job.