As always, there are a lot of disappointed teams coming out of the NFL playoffs. But that’s not the case in Houston. When you have a brand new coaching staff and a rookie quarterback, making the playoffs at all is an incredible feat. And winning a playoff game might as well be the Super Bowl. After a super season, Offensive Rookie of the Year shoo-in C.J. Stroud along with head coach Demeco Ryans and a returning OC Bobby Slowik will now retool a little bit and set their sights on the actual Super Bowl. Let’s take a look at the depth chart of offensive weapons from both an NFL and fantasy football standpoint to predict what might happen in 2024 NFL free agency. The legal tampering period opens on March 11 which is right around the corner, after all!

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Fantasy Relevant Depth Chart

Quarterback

C.J. Stroud

Case Keenum

Davis Mills

 

Running Back

Devin Singletary

Dameon Pierce

Dare Ogunbawale

 

Wide Receiver

Nico Collins

Xavier Hutchinson

  

Wide Receiver

Tank Dell

John Metchie

  

Wide Receiver

Robert Woods

Noah Brown

  

Tight End

Dalton Schultz

Brevin Jordan

Teagan Quitoriano

Eric Saubert

Fullback

Andrew Beck

Troy Hairston

  

White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be traded or released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES:~ $181M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$66M

Quarterback

C.J. Stroud: There are a lot of teams with quarterback questions - not this one. The only question right now is how many C.J. Stroud rookie cards you can get your hands on.

Case Keenum: Keenum is under contract through 2024. They would save $1,779,410 releasing him with $1.5 million in dead cap so he is in the mix for backup QB next season.

Davis Mills: Mills has one year left on his deal but could be released after losing the backup job to Case Keenum. He could be cut with a cap hit of $289,473 and savings of $1,372,104 so technically you get more bang for your buck releasing Keenum but only slightly. They could always just keep Mills to run the scout team and serve as the emergency 3rd QB but he makes interesting trade bait as well after some serviceable starts during his tenure.

TEXANS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Texans have a locked in starter and multiple viable backups so I don’t see them making any sort of move to add a QB in free agency. If anything, they’ll be getting rid of one.

Running Back

Devin Singletary: Singletary managed to claw away the starting job of the Houston Texans by Week 9 and he never gave it back. The Texans should be interested in bringing the 26 year old RB back in 2024 but he’s currently set to be an unrestricted free agent. If they are going all in, they could potentially be looking to upgrade.

Dameon Pierce: This year did not go as planned for folks rostering Dameon Pierce in dynasty leagues. Pierce struggled with the new scheme - especially the pass-blocking aspects. He is on a cheap rookie deal so is unlikely to be cut but could be a trade candidate. Otherwise, he could maintain his job as short yardage back and kick returner. 

Dare Ogunbawale: As an unrestricted free agent, the Texans could move on from Ogunbawale as part of a larger RB room shake up. He does play on all four special teams units and even kicked in extra point this year in a pinch so they might want to retain him for those services.

Andrew Beck: As we’ve seen with the 49ers and Dolphins who run the same scheme, the fullback is a pivotal part of this offense. There’s a reason Andrew Beck was one of the first pieces they added and he’s a crucial part of the run game. 

TEXANS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Texans could honestly go all in here in pursuit of a championship. And, if Devin Singletary can succeed in this scheme, just imagine what one of the top tier backs might look like. It is a luxury move in the modern NFL but the current free agent RB landscape is loaded. Just look at the 49ers after making a move for Christian McCaffrey. An elite RB in a scheme like this is dangerous. 

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler, Derrick Henry, Zack Moss, Devin Singletary

Wide Receiver

Nico Collins: Nico Collins is another classic case of a good prospect who just needed to stay healthy and play with a quality quarterback. Our best comparable player for Nico Collins coming out of college was Kenny Golladay and Nico Collins actually surpassed the year 3 output for Golladay, believe it or not (248 PPR points for Golladay, 260.4 for Collins). He’s locked in as the split end for the Texans.

Tank Dell: The knock on Tank Dell was his size but he proved fairly quickly that he can not only play slot in this league but flanker as well. He’ll be rehabbing from a high ankle sprain that actually resulted in a broken fibula which is the same injury suffered by Tony Pollard in 2022. Pollard suffered the injury in early October (vs. early December for Dell) but Pollard missed no games in 2023 and they expect Dell to be back for the start of the season as well.

Robert Woods: The veteran team captain is under contract for another year. The question is whether the Texans are content with him as their slot or whether they look to upgrade. A young draft pick makes a lot of sense vs. paying up for another veteran.

Noah Brown: Brown spent a lot of time with the other Texas team but never quite popped off the way he did with C.J. Stroud. The question is whether Brown is good player or whether Stroud was the one to elevate him. He may have played himself out of another contract with Houston but we will see.

John Metchie: Metchie was a highly touted prospect out of Alabama but his early career was derailed by a cancer diagnose. We’re rooting for him to get back on track but he had a hard time carving out meaningful playing time despite injuries to other WRs in 2023.

Xavier Hutchinson: If you depend on a big split end like Nico Collins, it’s always good to have a little size on the depth chart to fill in as needed. Hutchinson serves that role.

Jesse Matthews: Mathews was in the hunt to potentially make the team as an undrafted free agent but ended up on season ending IR before the season started. He’s technically under contract but can be cut for very little dead cap and over $900K in savings so he’ll have to compete to make the team here.

TEXANS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: They are set at split end and flanker with Nico Collins and Tank Dell. So the question is whether they want to upgrade the slot role or not. I’d be content with drafting a player to learn behind Robert Woods. But here are the best free agent slot/flanker options (they could also go all in with a high end flanker and move Dell to the slot but that might be overkill).

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Van Jefferson, Curtis Samuel, Tyler Boyd, Cedrick Wilson

Tight End

Dalton Schultz: To run this offense correctly, the Texans needed a fullback and they needed a two way tight end. Andrew Beck and Dalton Schultz were the answers. After a successful season, it would be in their best interest to bring Schultz back as he’s arguably the best tight end available in free agency. The other options are lateral at best or downgrades so the only way to upgrade from Schultz would be a trade or the draft.

Brevin Jordan: Jordan is worth a stash in your dynasty leagues in case they do move on from Dalton Schultz and roll with Jordan. He flashed enough upside at times - especially with the long touchdown in the playoffs. Pro Football Focus even picked him as their potential 2024 Texans Breakout. It’s really going to boil down to whether Schultz is back or not. He was a fairly young prospect so he’s still only 23 despite being in the league a couple of years now.

Teagan Quitoriano: Quitoriano is a solid depth piece as a blocker and is under contract on a rookie deal so he’ll likely be hanging around. 

Eric Saubert: Of Saubert’s 280 snaps, 163 of them came on special teams. That’s his path to getting a new deal but he’s currently an unrestricted free agent.

TEXANS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: Unless they truly think Brevin Jordan is the answer moving forward, they probably should consider bringing Dalton Schultz back. There’s only a few comparable two way tight end options in free agency and Schultz is likely the best of the bunch. Here’s what we’re looking at.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Dalton Schultz, Hunter Henry, Noah Fant, Gerald Everett

NFL Free Agency Previews

Discover our other breakdowns for the rest of the league ahead of 2024 NFL free agency: