Houston Texans AFC South

The rookie tight end out of Connecticut is getting his first chance in the pros with the Texans. Over the course of the past three seasons with the Huskies, Hansen totaled 46 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns in 40 games.

A third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Smith suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 that landed him on injured reserve until returning in Week 8. He then sustained a season-ending torn meniscus in his knee in Week 9. Wilson reports Smith is now 100 percent healthy and has no restrictions this offseason. He'll compete for a role behind starters Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter and slot corner Jalen Pitre.

Stover sustained a knee injury during Houston's playoff loss at New England in the divisional round back in January, but he's had time to move past the issue, allowing him to participate in the team's offseason workouts. After the Texans drafted tight end Marlin Klein in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, Stover's path to a spot on the final 53-man roster for the upcoming season looks narrow.

Collins' restructure guarantees his salary for the next two seasons while providing him cash increases of $9 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027, per Schefter. Houston general manager Nick Caserio made it clear in an interview during the 2026 NFL Draft that the team is not considering trading Collins despite having received calls about the 27-year-old wideout, as DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN reports, and the Pro Bowler's new contract reinforces his long-term status as the No. 1 target for C.J. Stroud. While suiting up for 15 regular-season games in 2025, Collins secured 71 of 120 targets for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns -- his third consecutive season with over 1,000 receiving yards.

The 26-year-old from Tulane spent time on the Saints' practice squad last season and hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2024, when Jackson served as one of the Titans' top return men and totaled 412 kick-return yards and 215 punt-return yards across 12 contests. He'll likely compete for a similar role ahead of the 2026 season.

Marks averaged a meager 3.6 yards per carry during his rookie regular season with the Texans, but the 2025 fourth-round pick had 24 catches for 208 yards and scored more receiving touchdowns (three) than rushing touchdowns (two). He also was a productive pass catcher in college, recording at least 47 receptions in four of five NCAA seasons. Montgomery is likely to lead the Texans in carries, but he ceded the majority of pass catching opportunities to Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit over the past three campaigns, as Montgomery had 24 or fewer catches in two of his three seasons with the Lions.

Hull played in six games for the Saints during the 2025 season, logging 19 rush attempts for 48 yards. The running back also produced some special teams value in his outings, adding 179 yards as a kick returner. Rushing depth will be key for a Texans offense that just reworked the offensive line, so any depth additions to solidify the room will help them develop the consistent rushing attack they were missing in 2025.

Pitsenberger played all four of his collegiate years at Yale, ending his career in 2025 as the team's captain. The running back ended his final season with 313 rushes for 1,571 yards and 19 touchdowns over 12 games while adding 16 receptions for 128 yards. Pitsenberger will provide additional depth to the Texans' running back room heading into training camp.

Sobkowicz played for Illinois State throughout his four-year collegiate career. The wide receiver amassed 83 receptions for 1,141 yards and 19 touchdowns over 15 games in 2025. The Texans already have a deep wide-receiver room that will be further fortified with the return of Tank Dell (knee), so Sobkowicz will have to prove he has remarkable value as both an offensive player and a special-teams contributor to maintain a spot on the roster after cutdown day.

Stroud shouldn't lack for motivation, coming off a 2025 campaign in which he and his offensive line were the weak links on an otherwise loaded team. The Texans then picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, though it's not equivalent to a huge vote of confidence when the price tag ($25.9 million) is lower than what it costs to re-sign even a mediocre starting QB. There's still hope in Houston that Stroud can be more than mediocre, with help from a remade offensive line that added first-round pick Keylan Rutledge and veterans Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller and Evan Brown. The combination of better blocking and a locked-in QB could do wonders for Houston's offense, but even a slimmed-down version of Stroud is unlikely to offer much in the way of rushing stats for his fantasy managers.

Bond (5-foot-11, 197 pounds) is likely a slot receiver to the Texans after a Boston College career where he provided quality underneath receiving production but little in the way of big plays. Bond's reliable hands could prove useful to the Texans. It just would probably require some injuries at receiver first.

Ramsey (6-foot-0, 202 pounds) started the second of his first two collegiate seasons at UCLA and then both of his campaigns at USC, though over the course of his three seasons as a starter he missed a total of seven games due to injury. While Ramsey doesn't stand out in terms of frame, athleticism or physicality, he boasts experience and versatility, having rotated between his natural position at safety and nickel in 2025 to help round out USC's secondary. As a rookie in Houston, Ramsey figures to compete with M.J. Stewart and Jaylen Reed for depth opportunities behind Reed Blankenship and Calen Bullock.