I’m looking at the teams the Texans have to beat to get over the hump: Chiefs, Ravens and Bills.
If i’m Nick/DeMeco I am spending my offseason building a team that can beat them in January. All those teams play outdoors, likely going to have to play in bad weather to get to the big dance.
So what does this team need?
I hear the comments about WRs but to me TE is a bigger need. We need TEs that can block AND we need passing game weapons for CJ. I think improving at TE is better value if you want to win a bad weather game in January.
Having a WR that can run by the defense is nice playing at NRG but there is no better lockdown CB in the league than mother nature. Short passing game and running game is where this team needs to focus.
Obviously OL needs to improve. Interior OL specifically and OL coach needs to change.
Then the route combos need to be addressed. Keep Slowik, teach Slowik, whatever you do you shouldn’t have targets running to the same area as often as this team does.
And when you fix these problems C.J. needs to raise his level of play to an MVP level like Mahomes, Allen and Jackson. Nothing else matters if he can’t make the players around him better.
The other 3 QBs do that. They throw to JAG players the team can upgrade as well. They don’t make a lot of Nicos so gotta elevate the Metchies of the world that will get targets.
If a Khalil Shakir or Rashod Bateman are good enough for Allen and Jackson then a comparable talent should be good enough for C.J.