Fantasy Football Key Movement: Houston Texans

Hey guys, were back with the Key Movement series, this time we are taking a look at the additions and subtractions made to the Houston Texans over the off-season. I'll be focusing mostly on the offense and how these changes will impact fantasy football for the upcoming season so you can be prepared to make the right choices for your draft.

Lets get into it!

Key Additions: Deshaun Watson QB (N/A), D'Onta Foreman RB(N/A)
Key Subtractions: Brock Osweiler QB (40.3), Jonathan Grimes RB (69.0)

Takeaway:

In the Texans case, this off-season really was about addition by subtraction. Getting rid of Osweiler is probably the best thing this team could have done, as he ranked 32nd out of all QB's with a 40.3 PFF grade. His poor play also sunk the value's of Hopkins, who should be in for a bounce back performance whether Tom Savage or Deshaun Watson starts for Houston.

The Texans moved up to select Watson with the 12th overall pick in the this years draft. In order to move up, they sent the 25th overall pick and their 2018 first round pick to the Cleveland Browns. That's a pretty hefty price tag, so I do expect Watson to start sooner rather than later, however at the moment it does look like Tom Savage will get the first crack at the starting role. Savage started in weeks 15 and 16 for the Texans last year. In those games, Hopkins totaled 11 receptions, 130 yards, and zero touchdowns on 23 targets. Not exactly encouraging numbers, but good to see that Savage peppered him with targets. Perhaps with a full off-season together they will be able to develop a bit of chemistry.

If Watson eventually does get the nod, I would consider him in leagues where you play two QB's or deeper leagues (14+ team). Watson has plenty of question marks surrounding his career, but he can run, and running QB's always have a good floor. I wouldn't draft Watson in redraft leagues unless he takes the starting job before week 1. Otherwise, keep an eye on him.

At running back the Texans lose Jonathan Grimes, who played only 201 snaps last season, totaling 23 carries for 105 yards and zero touchdowns. Grimes was mainly the 3rd running back behind Miller and Blue, so he didn't need to see much work. Replacing him will be newly drafted D'Onta Foreman. I think Foreman has a legitimate chance of unseating Alfred Blue for the backup job directly behind Miller, so he could be a name to keep on your watch list if Miller goes down with any sort of injury.

Although I did not mention them, the Texans also swapped around a few backup offensive lineman, it shouldn't have too big of an impact on the offense, but it's at least worth mentioning since their offensive line was ranked 16th overall by Pro Football Focus and could find room to improve.

The bottom line: The Texans offense should be a bit smoother with the subtraction of Osweiler, who was among the worst quarterbacks in the league despite all his weapons. I think with this change, Hopkins is a good bounceback candidate, whether Savage or Watson starts shouldn't make a big difference for him. The addition of Foreman also puts another candidate on the watch list in case there is an injury to Lamar Miller.

Draftable key additions: None

Keep an eye on: Deshaun Watson QB, D'Onta Foreman RB

If you enjoyed this article and you play fantasy football, you should definitely hit that follow button and smash that upvote button! Next up, I will be evaluating the key moves on the Indianapolis Colts.

If you are new to this series, check out my addition/subtraction fantasy analysis on the teams below and be sure to read my future articles. I will be covering all 32 teams.

Fantasy Football Key Movement: Arizona Cardinals
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Atlanta Falcons
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Baltimore Ravens
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Buffalo Bills
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Carolina Panthers
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Chicago Bears
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Cincinnati Bengals
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Cleveland Browns
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Dallas Cowboys
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Denver Broncos
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Detroit Lions
Fantasy Football Key Movement: Green Bay Packers