In the 12th of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the Houston Texans.
Key Off Season Acquisitions
The Texans have been one of the busiest teams in the offseason. There are eight new notable Texans players. They are right tackle Braden Smith of Olathe, Texas, safety Reed Blankenship of Athens, Alabama, guard Wyatt Teller of Manassas, Virginia, defensive tackle Logan Hall of Elgin, Oklahoma, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney of Rock Hill, South Carolina, punter Kai Kroeger of Lake Forest, Illinois, running back David Montgomery of Cincinnati, Ohio, and linebacker Marte Mapu of Hawthorne, California.
Smith signed a two-year contract worth $25 million on March 10. He spent the last eight seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
Blankenship signed a three-year contract worth $24.75 million on March 13. He spent the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and won a Super Bowl in 2025. In 2026, Blankenship had 83 combined tackles (53 solo tackles and 30 assisted tackles), one tackle for a loss, one interception, four pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. The forced fumble and fumble recovery came in a 10-7 Eagles win over the Green Bay Packers on November 10.
Teller signed a two-year contract worth $16 million on March 17. He is joining his third NFL team after one season with the Buffalo Bills (2018) and seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2019 to 2025). With the Browns, Teller was selected to the Pro Bowl thrice (2021, 2022 and 2023).
Hall signed a two-year contract worth $14 million on March 13. He is joining his second NFL team after four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022 to 2025). In 2025, Hall had 39 combined tackles (18 solo tackles and 21 assisted tackles), two tackles for a loss, six quarterback hits, one pass deflection, one forced fumble and 1.5 sacks. The pass deflection came in a 38-35 Buccaneers win over the Seattle Seahawks on October 5 and the forced fumble came in a 20-17 Buccaneers win over the Arizona Cardinals on November 30.
Clowney signed a one-year contract worth $5.5 million on August 2. He is returning to the Texans after playing his first five National Football League seasons there from 2014 to 2018. In his last three seasons with the Texans (2016, 2017 and 2018), Clowney was selected to the Pro Bowl. Clowney has also played with six other NFL franchises. He was with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019, the Tennessee Titans in 2020, the Cleveland Browns in 2021 and 2022, the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, the Carolina Panthers in 2024, and the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. This past season with the Cowboys, Clowney had 41 combined tackles (24 solo tackles and 17 assisted tackles), 12 tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hits, four pass deflections, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 8.5 sacks.
Kroeger was traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Texans with a seventh round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft for a sixth round pick in 2028 NFL Draft on March 11. Kroeger was a rookie with the Saints in 2025 and had 56 punts for 2511 yards.
Montgomery was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Texans on March 11 for a fourth round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, a seventh round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and offensive lineman Juice Scruggs. He is joining his third NFL team after four seasons with the Chicago Bears (2019 to 2022) and three seasons with the Detroit Lions (2023 to 2025). This past season with the Lions, Montgomery had 158 rushes for 716 rushing yards and eight touchdown rushes. He had 24 catches for 192 receiving yards.
Mapu was traded from the New England Patriots to the Texans on April 7 with a seventh round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft for a sixth round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Mapu played the last three seasons for the Patriots. In 2025, Mapu had 25 combined tackles (18 solo tackles and seven assisted tackles), one interception for 20 yards, five pass deflections and one forced fumble. The interception for 20 yards came off of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on September 14 in a 33-27 Patriots victory. The forced fumble came in a 33-15 Patriots win over the New York Giants on December 1.
Fantasy Stars
Nico Collins of Pinson, Alabama is ranked eighth in fantasy football among wide receivers. In 2026, he had 71 catches for 1117 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
The Texans have the number one ranked defense in the NFL. The additions of Clowney, Blankenship, Hall and Mapu, will just make the Lions defense stronger.
Ka’Imi Fairbairn of Kailua, Hawaii is the second ranked kicker in fantasy. In 2026, Fairbairn made a NFL high 44 field goals and 28 converts.
Projected Finish
Houston is projected to win the AFC South this season. They should have a better running game with Montgomery on board, but the identity of this team is defense. The Texans were the only team in the American Football Conference last season to give up less than 300 points, as they gave tip 295 points.
