The Houston Texans have Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett as options to start at quarterback this season and they will battle in training camp to see who will be the starter and this comes as the team drafted Jaelen Strong and Kenny Hilliard to help give depth on offense for Arian Foster, DeAndre Hopkins and Cecil Shorts in 2015.
The Texans nearly made the playoffs last year despite having to play four different quarterbacks during the season and now Bill O'Brien feels he has two strong potential starters. Some have argued that the Texans would have been good enough to get into the playoffs as a wildcard had they had better play from the position and they could get that this year. The team traded for Mallett last season and signed him back as a free agent and they also brought in Hoyer in free agency.
Last season Hoyer was the starter for the Cleveland Browns, but the team opted to bring in Josh McCown to take over instead of signing him back. Hoyer comes in after starting 7-4 last year, but he faltered down the stretch of the season and the Browns lost five straight games. Hoyer now has the chance to rebound and while the two will compete, the Houston Chronicle reports that Hoyer has the edge over Mallett for now for O'Brien as the starter.
Hoyer signed a two-year, $10.5 million contract this offseason and he likely will be given the first chance to win the starting job. The Texans have a solid offensive unit even with Andre Johnson in Indianapolis and the team has added some other names to the mix with Hilliard and Strong. The team brought in Cecil Shorts and they also have a budding star in DeAndre Hopkins. The team expects Hopkins to step up with Johnson gone and getting Strong should help with depth as well.
According to the Houston Texans main website, Mallett and Brian Hoyer will both take first team reps in OTA workouts coming up later in the month. While that doesn't mean O'Brien will name a starter after that, it means that the team expects the two to compete during camp. Mallett signed a two-year, $7 million contract in the offseason and he comes in after playing in three games and passing for 400 yards and two touchdowns for the Texans.
Jaelen Strong comes in after playing two years at Arizona State and he has great size at 6-foot-4 and he could be the third receiver on the roster. Strong comes in after putting up very good numbers at ASU, making 17 touchdowns catches over the past two years. Strong had 82 catches last season for 1162 yards and in his career he averaged over 14 yards per catch on 157 total receptions.
Hilliard could get some carries along with Alfred Blue behind Arian Foster, as he has been one of the most worked running backs in the league over the past few years. Hilliard and Blue both are from LSU and Hilliard comes in after being a mid-round pick for the team. The Texans could be a playoff team this season with some QB play.