When looking at how the Houston Texans' roster switched up over the course of this NFL offseason, the biggest changes undoubtedly came upon their offensive line group.
With an array of departures and additions throughout, this five-man group will look vastly different compared to last year, and it comes at a great time considering the numerous shortcomings this protection unit had throughout the 2024 season.
Yet, even with many new faces in the fold and an almost entirely new group starting Week One, there's one player who's remained in the mix of this roster throughout the chaos, and could be in line for a massive breakout season, and that's Texans' guard/center Juice Scruggs.
Pro Football Focus analyst Jonathan Macri outlined Scruggs as the Texans' biggest breakout candidate for the 2025 campaign ahead, as the third-year lineman could be locked into a starting spot on the interior and could make a major statement in that process.
"The Texans offensive line received a major shake-up this offseason, and for Scruggs, the continued fluctuation of his usage coming out of last season hopefully comes to an end, as he potentially locks into the right guard spot," Macri wrote. "Having played both guard positions and center last year, Scruggs significantly improved his blocking and overall grades across the board from his rookie year, doing so on nearly double the workload. Should this trend continue, and with a more consistent role, expect Year 3 to be the best of Scruggs’ career so far."
Scruggs continued to develop into a versatile, young option on the interior throughout last season even with the turbulence, finishing as the 27th-best center in the NFL via PFF grade, and at just 25 years old, there's room for improvement, and those steps forward would be a vital development for this Texans offensive line that struggled during their last time out.
If the Texans can get Scruggs to be a staple on the interior and provide a more consistent outlook than the team saw last season in both pass protection and run blocking, this Houston offense will be in good shape.
