There are important NFL players and then there are the players who shoulder the fate of their teams based on day-in, day-out performance during the season. These are the latter. Here are the 3 Players Who Will Make Or Break The Houston Texans' 2015 Season.
QB Ryan Mallett
Houston went 9-7 last year and almost made the playoffs despite having terrible quarterback play all season. The lone bright spot was Ryan Mallett, who threw for 400 yards in a game and a half as a starter before a torn pectoral muscle forced him to miss the rest of the season. Mallett showed potential that he could be a long-term starting quarterback in this league, and now that he's had a whole offseason to train as a starter, he should have a breakout year in 2015.
DE Jadeveon Clowney
Last year's No. 1 pick was limited to four games last season because of various injuries, which also hampered his effectiveness when he did play. Now that he's fully healthy, the Texans will be getting a game-changing player they didn't have last year. Houston's defense already has J.J. Watt, but re-signing cornerback Kareem Jackson and bringing in nose tackle Vince Wilfork from the Patriots and safety Rahim Moore from the Broncos should be enough to catapult them into the top 10, if not higher. Adding a healthy Clowney into that mix could put them in the top 3, while another year without him could keep them in the middle of the pack.
WR Cecil Shorts
Texans fans have mixed feelings about Andre Johnson's final days with the team, but that doesn't take away from just how explosive the wide receiving corps is now. Cecil Shorts will likely go down as one of the sneaky great pickups of the offseason if he can contribute for the Texans like the did for the Jaguars.
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