HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans open the 2022 NFL regular season against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 11 at NRG Stadium.
Coach Lovie Smith hasn't officially named Davis Mills as the starting quarterback, but it has all but been implied. Mills started 11 games last season for Houston and showed significant improvement in his last five games.
Houston added some weapons for Mills this offseason, including receiver John Metchie III in the second round of the draft. Metchie tore his left ACL in the SEC championship game in December, but he said after he was drafted that he'll be ready to play without "training wheels" in July.
Here's a look at the projection of the 53-man roster:
QUARTERBACK (2): Davis Mills, Kyle Allen
The Texans could keep three quarterbacks, but they may opt to try to keep Jeff Driskel on the practice squad instead of carrying an extra quarterback.
RUNNING BACK (5): Rex Burkhead, Marlon Mack, Dameon Pierce, Royce Freeman, Andy Janovich (FB)
Smith said during training camp that the Texans "want to be a team that can run the football." Part of that, he said, means keeping a fullback on the roster. Houston has two veteran running backs in Burkhead and Mack, but Pierce, a 2022 fourth-round pick, should have plenty of opportunities to take the lead back spot by the end of the season.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, John Metchie III, Chris Conley, Chris Moore
Although there were conversations about trading Cooks, the Texans opted to sign the receiver to a contract extension, keeping one of their best offensive players. Despite Metchie's injury, new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton believes one of his strengths is that "he can create his own yards once he gets the ball in his hands."
TIGHT END (4): Brevin Jordan, Pharaoh Brown, Antony Auclair, Teagan Quitoriano
The Texans didn't bring Jordan Akins back, and are instead expecting Jordan to be their lead tight end. Houston also drafted Quitoriano in the fifth round, and the tight end said he takes pride in contributing as a run-blocker
OFFENSIVE LINE (8): Laremy Tunsil, A.J. Cann, Justin Britt, Kenyon Green, Tytus Howard, Charlie Heck, Justin McCray, Jimmy Morrissey
By drafting Green, the Texans can move Howard back to tackle, where he'll play on the right side, opposite of Tunsil. Tunsil, who played only five games last season because of a thumb injury, did not attend OTAs. He did participate in minicamp, and Smith said his appearance "was a final piece of this puzzle that we're putting together."
DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Maliek Collins, Jonathan Greenard, Ross Blacklock, Roy Lopez, Thomas Booker, Damion Daniels, Rasheem Green, Mario Addison, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
Greenard's play was one of the few bright spots for the 4-13 Texans last season. He led the team with eight sacks, which is three more than Houston's leader in 2020. Smith has talked about how important the game is in the trenches, and his additions to the defensive line show the priority.
LINEBACKER (6): Christian Kirksey, Christian Harris, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Garret Wallow, Blake Cashman
Houston traded up five spots to draft Harris in the third round. Smith pointed out during minicamp that Harris "was out there with the ones a lot of the day." In 15 games last season for Alabama, the linebacker had 80 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
CORNERBACK (6): Derek Stingley Jr., Desmond King II, Steven Nelson, Tavierre Thomas, Tremon Smith, Isaac Yiadom
At the start of OTAs, Smith made the comment that the Texans couldn't "play the type of football that we want to play until we get better at the cornerback position." Later that month, Houston added Nelson and then made an even bigger splash at the position by taking Stingley with the No. 3 overall pick.
SAFETY (5): Eric Murray, M.J. Stewart Jr., Jalen Pitre, Jonathan Owens, Terrence Brooks
Perhaps the biggest free-agent loss the Texans had was Justin Reid signing with the Kansas City Chiefs. Houston drafted Pitre in the second round. Although he is listed as a safety, he actually played far more in the slot, compared to a traditional deep safety, in college. Last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information, Pitre played 657 snaps at slot cornerback, which was the most in the FBS.
SPECIALISTS (3): Ka'imi Fairbairn, Cameron Johnston, Jon Weeks
For the second season in a row, these three should stay the same. Special teams coordinator Frank Ross said Fairbairn has been "working on legs, feet and overall strength" this spring as he continues to "grow his body."