Nine practices in the sweltering heat of Houston, followed by four crisp practices at the Greenbrier in West Virginia have all led to this — the Houston Texans finally getting to hit someone in an opposing jersey, instead of hitting other Houston Texans. On Saturday afternoon, all roads lead to Minneapolis, a house of horrors last season when the Vikings beat the Texans like a SKOL drum, 34-7.
Saturday will be under much different circumstances than Week 3 of last season, as the Texans’ (presumably) backups will go against the Vikings’ (presumably) backups, with far more individual goals of staying employed in the NFL taking precedence over the actual final outcome of the game. So, with that in mind, here are four things to watch for in the Texans’ first preseason outing of 2025:
4. Offensive line combos
The position group under the most scrutiny in this camp is clearly the offensive line. I would hope that we will see the starting offensive line out there on Saturday night for at least a couple series, because they need the reps. That’s not just conventional wisdom from assessing an offensive line with four new starters, but that’s also what my eyes are telling me from seeing every snap of training camp. Players to watch —
* The top two centers, Jake Andrews and Jarrett Patterson, who are in a battle for the starting position
* Rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery, who is in line to start at either left tackle or right tackle
* Blake Fisher, last year’s second round pick, who may be fighting for his spot on the roster
3. Who gets the carries?
The running back position for the Houston Texans is, quite honestly, a jumbled circus of a mess right now. The primary back, who we expect to get most of the carries this season, Joe Mixon, has yet to practice due to a foot injury of some sort. Nick Chubb was next in line, but he got banged up in practice on Tuesday. Dameon Pierce just dropped into practice for the first time this camp on Wednesday, and that was a walk through. This leaves rookie Woody Marks, second year back Jawhar Jordan, veteran J.J. Taylor, and fullback hybrid British Brooks as the backs most likely to tote the rock on Saturday. Like I said, a mess.
2. Rookie wide receivers
Two of the more exciting players in training camp this season have been the two rookie wide receivers drafted out of Iowa State, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Both have had big moments in camp, and both will make the team. Higgins is actually listed as a starter on the team’s first depth chart. The fun thing about these two is that both are the perfect understudies for Nico Collins and Christian Kirk, as they mirror each of them physically and from a skill set standpoint. Higgins is a big body like Nico Collins, and Noel is a smaller, quicker guy, like Kirk.
1. S.W.A.R.M. (And J.J. McCarthy)
The Texans’ first string defense has been a terror throughout camp, oftentimes making C.J. Stroud look pedestrian at quarterback. The Vikings are likely starting J.J. McCarthy, who injured his knee last summer before even getting a chance to compete for the starting job as a rookie. The reports have been mixed on McCarthy in Vikings camp, so it might be fun to see Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter tee off on him the way they have done to Stroud. On the other hand, putting Anderson and Hunter in bubble wrap for the rest of training camp, and thus an injury, isn’t such a bad idea either.
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