Houston Texans
At this point, it’s simply a quarterback question for the Texans. Houston finished seventh in defensive efficiency despite J.J. Watt — the best defensive player of this generation — playing only three games and being generally ineffective.
Offensively, the weaponry is there. DeAndre Hopkins’ numbers will go back up if the Texans start throwing to him again — he lost 41 targets from 2015 to 2016 because Brock Osweiler decided throwing to his best receiver was bad strategy. Lamar Miller can be a perennial 1,000-yard rusher, though Houston would be smart to invest at the guard position. Meanwhile, they have a strong group of second-tier options in Will Fuller, Braxton Miller and Jaelen Strong.
Houston has done as good a job of building a roster around a quarterback that you could hope for, and it’s gotten them the AFC South crown two years in a row (not that the AFC South title means much these days). All that’s missing is a competent signal-caller and maybe DeShaun Watson is that person.
Watson doesn’t have to come in and be a superstar. If he is simply average, the Texans could win 12 games and get a first-round bye. If he is a star, they could win the Super Bowl. That’s not likely to happen, but hey, Houston won nine games last season with Brock Osweiler and Tom Savage under center. And its AFC South-filled schedule isn’t getting much tougher.
It’s tough to imagine Houston doing that with Bill O’Brien as head coach and there are reasonable concerns around Watson. But if any roster in football is equipped to win with an average quarterback, it’s this one.