The Houston Texans have reached deep into their wallets in the first few days of free agency. The direction of travel seems clear: With quarterback C.J. Stroud, the team should take the next step

A brief look back: At the start of 2023, just over a year ago, general manager Nick Casserio was facing a landmark offseason. His Houston Texans were floundering from season to season, the last of which they had finished with just three wins from 17 games.

No quarterback, no head coach, no results: Questions about whether Casserio was the right man for the job grew louder. A good year later, the now 48-year-old has silenced them – at least for the time being.

The Texans were one of the positive surprises of the season. The rookie crop led by figureheads C.J. Stroud (quarterback) and Will Anderson Jr (defensive end) led the team to the Divisional Round under the direction of new head coach DeMeco Ryans.

And now, a good year later, Casserio apparently wants to steer the Texans in the right direction again – and is investing a whole lot of resources in free agency. The commitments have not yet been officially announced by the team, but have been confirmed by NFL insiders.

A lot of reinforcement for the defense

The Texans have upgraded their defense in particular. In pass rush, Danielle Hunter (two-year deal, maximum salary: 49 million US dollars (48 guaranteed) and Denico Autry (two-year deal, maximum salary: 20 million US dollars (ten guaranteed) are among the new aces up their sleeves.

The 29-year-old Hunter’s name says it all. The quarterback hunter collected 16.5 sacks last season and has 87.5 sacks in his long career (eight seasons for the Vikings). Together with Anderson Jr. he can form an athletic pass-rush duo on the outside.

The experienced Autry (33 years old) comes from division rival Tennessee and brings tremendous position flexibility to the defensive line. According to USA Today Sports, the Texans rely on stunts on the defensive line for nearly 20 percent of their defensive snaps.

22 of Denico Autry’s pressures for the Titans last season came on some kind of stunt. Here, he loops with EDGE Rashad Weaver to take down Case Keenum. The Texans probably remembered this play. pic.twitter.com/iGASdwMMoJ

– Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) March 13, 2024

Autry is a stunt specialist and has collected 28.5 sacks over the past three seasons with the Titans

Al Shaair: Old acquaintance for Ryans

But that’s not all: linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (three-year deal, maximum salary: 34 million US dollars) is expected to bring experience to the young position group and knows head coach Ryans from their time together with the 49ers.

In the secondary, the contract extensions of Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Desmond King as well as the signing of Jeff Okudah (all three signed low one-year deals) will fuel the competition.

On offense, the Texans were also in a spending mood. Wide receiver Noah Brown already showed last season that he can be a solid pass receiver from the second row and received a contract for the coming season.

Joe Mixon comes from the Bengals

Running back Joe Mixon comes from the Cincinnati Bengals and brings experience and individual class. In four of his seven NFL seasons, he has broken the 1,000 rushing yard mark. He is also a good option for Stroud in the passing game.

Mixon collected 131 receiving yards above the expected value last season (“Next Gen Stats” calculates how many receiving yards can be expected from the moment of the catch based on the positions of the ball receiver, the defensive players and other metrics): the fourth-best value of all running backs.

He cost the Texans a seventh-round pick and an annual salary of just under six million US dollars.

Texans: Eyes on the playoffs?

Tight end Dalton Schultz has also signed a new contract. The veteran is under contract for the next three years, during which he can earn up to 36 million US dollars. With 635 receiving yards and five touchdowns, he turned out to be a reliable starting point in the Texans offense.

Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, one of the most accurate in his field in the past season, also received a new contract (3 years, up to 15.9 million US dollars). In total, the Texans have so far signed players to contracts worth up to around 180 million US dollars.

The objective seems to be clear: The playoffs. The squad has been strengthened around rookie sensation Stroud. Ryans receives important pieces of the puzzle for his young defense. And general manager Casserio himself knows how much can happen in a year