Got a question about the Texans? Life in general? Drew Dougherty's your guy. He's been with the Texans since 2009 and is chock full of meaningful, as well as generally useless, information. Fire away by clicking HERE.
Corey Almaguer: Dear Drew, I am tired of hearing that we will not be a good team this year. I'll say it now: playoffs here we come. The energy is different, along with the players and coaching staff. What do you think?
DD: I like the optimism, Corey. Going from three wins in 2022 to the playoffs in 2023 is a mighty leap, but much wilder things have happened throughout the course of NFL and sports history. With a new coaching staff, the maturation of some talented young players, and the infusion of talent that happened through free agency and the Draft, Houston can certainly take a big step forward this season.
Curtis Brown: Dear Drew, With the amount of young and unproven talent in the WR room, who do you think benefits the most from Bobby Trees' (Robert Woods) presence? What WR has the best chance to breakout?
DD: Guys like Nico Collins, Amari Rodgers and Tank Dell. Each has a unique skillset, and all showed flashes of thing-to-come during OTAs and minicamp. Collins and Rodgers are entering their third NFL seasons, while Dell is a rookie. Dell's ability to get in and out of cuts is something we’ve written about recently, and it's uncommon. I think Woods is an underrated addition to the team and will a key cog in good things to come.
Matt Taylor: Dear Drew, it feels like we have a brand new team. What can we look forward to as fans to get us excited about this year's team?
DD: A lot.
Running back Dameon Pierce was electric last season and should be even better in this year's offense. The line in front of him has excellent tackles in Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard, and tight end Dalton Schultz is a proven pass-catcher in the NFL. We touched on the wide receivers in the question above, and they're very intriguing.
The defense has budding stars-in-the-making in safety Jalen Pitre and cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr.. Linebacker Christian Harris was impressive last year as a rookie. Jerry Hughes is back after nine sacks in 2022. Jon Greenard appears to be healthy. Will Anderson, Jr. is the third overall pick in this year's Draft, and some around the Alabama program have argued he might be the greatest defensive player Nick Saban's had in his time with the Crimson Tide.
I didn't even mention the special teams, which were excellent in 2022.
There are many, many reasons to be excited about the future.
Gavin Gareke: Dear Drew, Will the Texans have more uniform combinations this year? Also, will the Battle Red pants be coming back?
DD: Yes, and yes. Just yesterday I tweeted about how the team will wear the Battle Red helmets three times this season. They did it just once last year. So obviously, they'll wear those helmets on Battle Red Sunday, November 26 against the Jaguars. The uniform combos this season, will get announced the week of the game.
But expect to see the return of the Battle Red pants for at least one game, if not more in 2023. Then in 2024, there's a whole new bag of tricks that'll get released. It'll be the most significant uniform change/departure from the current unis.
Chris in Chatsworth, CA: Dear Drew, Will Arian Foster make the Ring of Honor? And who else do you think will go in?
DD: Based off what we've heard from the top, I don't think Foster gets in. In mid-June, Cal and Hannah McNair were on the SportsRadio 610 'In the Loop' show with John Lopez and Landry Locker. They asked the McNairs about the criteria for the Ring of Honor, and Hannah—who's the Vice President of the Texans Foundation—said the goal is to put players who were integral parts of Super Bowl teams in the Ring of Honor. Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt never played in a Super Bowl, but they'll likely end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the coming years.
Cal McNair added that they've set "a high bar" and want it to be a "really special" group of Texans.
"We have been in other places where they're having a ring or circle sort of induction, and you don't even know who this person was," McNair said.
The only other former Texan I could see going in is receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He averaged over 1,200 receiving yards in seven seasons with the team, and just signed with the Titans. He was terrific during his time here.
Peter Hernandez: When are the Texans coming to San Antonio?
DD: There are no concrete plans right now, but you might see some sort of visit in October. After the regular season in the spring of 2024 there's also a chance the Texans will come to San Antonio. We love going and we love connecting with our fans there.
Leonard Posinksi: Dear Drew, I'm a transplanted Houstonian in Dallas, where you are fed cowboys 24x7x364/365. Can the Texans do something about getting the same coverage in Dallas?
DD: Hey man, just make sure you're always checking the Houston Texans Mobile App, HoustonTexans.com, and subscribe to the Houston Texans on YouTube. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and you should be set.
