The players who have the most to prove this season

There’s good and bad – depending on how you look at it – with the Texans being one of the most exciting teams in the NFL.

The good thing is that there will undoubtedly be more attention on the team this upcoming season, with several nationally televised games, including the Hall of Fame game against the Bears to kick off preseason in August.

The problem is that everything is pushed back a few weeks. That means mandatory minicamp begins this week for the Texans, one of 10 teams whose minicamps are taking place this week.

Last year, we looked at eight players who had the most to prove heading into the 2023 season: Kenyon Green, Derek Stingley Jr., Nico Collins, Jonathan Greenard, Christian Kirksey, Davis Mills, Brevin Jordan and Steven Nelson.

If you need a reminder, check out this link. Most players far exceeded expectations. We didn’t make it due to injury and make his return to this list.

In no particular order, here are eight players who have the most to prove in 2024:

Green, a 2022 first-round pick, missed the entire 2023 season with a shoulder injury. He is now healthy and participating in OTAs with a new number (76).

This is Green’s first offseason. He also suffered an injury his freshman year, costing him valuable development time.

The key for Green this season will be staying healthy. He’s not a lock to start at left guard, but it would be an ideal scenario for the Texans if he emerges as a starter.

He will compete with Jarrett Patterson and Kendrick Green for the leading role.

Pitre was arguably the Texans’ most impressive rookie in 2022 after leading the team with 147 tackles and five interceptions. But he admitted his second season was “up and down”.

At one point last year, Pitre, the team’s captain, was benched during a game due to his performance. He returned to the starting lineup the following week.

Pitre, who finished with 84 tackles in 2023, allowed three touchdowns in coverage, and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 135.4 when targeting him, according to Pro Football Reference. He didn’t have a single interception.

Pitre said his goal in 2024 is to stay calm.

“I think this is the next step for me,” he said last month. “You just have to be calm and understand what the coaches expect from me.”

This is not an accusation against Harris. He has been one of the most impressive players in the second half of the 2023 season for the Texans.

But how he performs this season will be a big factor in how good the Texans are in 2024.

Harris had 101 tackles and seven pass deflections in 16 games last season. He’s starting to become what Houston envisioned when they drafted him in 2022.

Quitoriano was considered the best tight end on the roster, but he has not been regularly available since being drafted in the fifth round in 2023. He also did not participate in OTAs open to the media, as he watched from the sidelines.

In two seasons, Quitoriano was available for 16 of 34 games. He only had two catches for 34 yards, and his role appears to be diminishing with Brevin Jordan surpassing him on the depth chart.

Not to mention, the Texans drafted Cade Stover, a tight end out of Ohio State, in the fourth round this year. Quitoriano risks being kicked out of training camp if he doesn’t perform.

Entering training camp, Quitoriano is fourth on the depth chart.

Metchie is on this list almost by default. He is entering his third season in the NFL, but this is actually his second after missing his freshman year due to a diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

He returned for the 2023 season and had 16 catches for 158 yards in 16 games. He received the George Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers Association for overcoming adversity.

But in 2024, the former second-round pick will have a lot to prove.

He expected a better year last year, but struggled to get separation on the roads at times. He also only caught 53.3% of the passes thrown his way.

He’s not on the chopping block, but definitely wants to have a better year in 2024. The Texans traded up in the 2022 draft to take Metchie at 44th overall. He was widely considered one of the best slot receivers in the country coming out of Alabama.

The increased competition at the position adds additional pressure on Metchie to produce and find his place in Bobby Slowik’s offense. He will likely enter training camp sixth on the depth chart.

It’s interesting how quickly things can change over the course of a season. Pierce went from the focal point of the Texans’ offense in 2022 to the third string on the depth chart after another coaching change and struggled to adapt to a new scheme in 2023.

This is new territory for Pierce, who as a rookie was a media darling.

But it’s a new year. Pierce will be in the same offense for a second straight year, which should help. He also won’t have the pressure of having to produce as the No. 1 guard. That’s why the Texans brought in Joe Mixon.

That said, the Texans still need him. He has the potential to be a game-changer, as we saw in year one. He has to release that.

The Texans added Stefon Diggs and Ben Skowronek to the receiver room, making Woods expendable. The Texans could save nearly $5 million on the salary cap by reducing it.

It’s still worth keeping Woods around. He’s a 32-year-old veteran with a powerful voice in the locker room. He has great hands. But he is obviously no longer what he was in 2018, when he made 86 receptions for 1,219 yards.

With Diggs, Collins, Tank Dell, Noah Brown and Metchie being virtual locks to make the roster, Woods is fighting for one of the final spots with Skowronek, who has value on special teams; Steven Sims, a playmaker who returned a punt for a touchdown last season; and Xavier Hutchinson, a second-year receiver drafted in the sixth round in 2023.

Woods is in the final year of a two-year contract with the Texans.

Okudah, who was selected third overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, has a high ceiling if Houston is the right fit.

He wasn’t great in his lone season with the Falcons last year after finishing with no interceptions and just three pass deflections in 12 games. The Texans hope they can unlock the potential that made him one of the most sought-after prospects in 2020.

Okudah has a good chance to start. But he’s currently battling with CJ Henderson and rookie Kamari Lassiter for the outside cornerback position, facing Derek Stingley Jr.