The 2015 NFL season is just weeks away, and there’s plenty of intrigue to spare surrounding the Houston Texans as the days tick down. Here are three things to watch for in training camp:
Is Ryan Mallett the answer at QB?
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.
How improved will Houston's defense be?
Getting a player like Jadeveon Clowney back will obviously boost a defense that ranked in the middle of the pack last year, 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 this year, if not higher.
Can the young receiving core replace Andre Johnson?
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 and the addition of Arizona State standout Jaelen Strong via the draft gives the team a young piece with legit #1 wideout potential. We haven't even talked about DeAndre Hopkins yet who's primed and ready to lead the charge in 2015.
Whoever is throwing to these guys, be it Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett, is going to have a ton of fun.
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