There’s no doubt in where the Houston Texans’ biggest weakness lies on the 2025 roster. It’s the offensive line. Unfortunately, the shorts and helmets portion of the offseason schedule didn’t provide much clarity for Texans fans on how that unit is coming along ahead of the season.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime shared some thoughts on the Texans’ minicamp sessions, highlighting that outside of Tytus Howard being the only guarantee across the front, there’s little to glean from the past month on the practice field.
“Howard is the only surefire starter, and his position on the unit isn't even clear,” he wrote. “Throughout the offseason, it's been nothing but shuffling, and minicamp was no different.”
Howard took reps at right tackle and right guard throughout OTAs and minicamp as the team attempts to resolve an almost entirely rebuilt unit across the board. Second-round pick Aireontae Ersey has rotated with Howard at right tackle, along with Blake Fisher and Zach Thomas. Jersey has also traded reps with Cam Robinson at left tackle.
At guard, it’s mostly been veteran free agent signing Laken Tomlinson on the left side with Howard on the other side. Still, Trent Brown, Juice Scruggs, and Ed Ingram are guys looking for somewhere to compete along the line.
Center seems primarily between Jarrett Patterson and Jake Andrews.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans said during minicamps that the evaluation of the new offensive line is made more difficult at this stage of the offseason.
"For the big guys up front, they play a physical game, we won't truly know what we have until we put pads on," Ryans said. "Until we see these guys in training camp and see them in game action, actually get their job done."
It certainly doesn’t help that this new line is facing off against one of the best pass-rushing units in football in shorts. How do you evaluate Ersery in reps against Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson in shorts? It’s nearly impossible to get a full-scope picture in that scenario.
Training camp is a little over a month away, and Houston has only been able to make baby steps in the one category they need to take a massive step forward in to be contenders in a stacked AFC race. Last year, franchise quarterback CJ Stroud ate 52 sacks behind a line that featured Laremy Tunsil at left tackle. Stroud suffered a sophomore slump as a result and is now facing questions about his abilities as a result.
The most likely starting combination appears to be Robinson-Tomlinson-Patterson-Howard-Ersey from left to right based on the reps, reports, and projections of future plans. But anything can change, and given the nature of the NFL, it’s bound to before the season kicks off this fall.
