The Houston Texans are trying to build a team to make a Super Bowl run under Bill O'Brien. That is especially true while the Texans have the luxury of having Deshaun Watson on a rookie deal.
Watson is heading into the third season of his rookie contract, and so far, he has been a home run in Houston. Through two seasons, Watson has led the Texans to a 14-8 record and has thrown for 5,864 yards and 45 touchdowns.
Houston's franchise quarterback missed the majority of his rookie season after tearing his ACL which is why his numbers were slightly down in 2017. Even then, in six starts, Watson was on pace for a historic rookie campaign by throwing for 1,699 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Now, the Texans are hoping to take the next step after Watson helped lead Houston to the playoffs in 2018. Although, the Texans were quickly knocked out after falling to the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card round.
The team is coming back close to full health before training camps begin. Besides Will Fuller, who is coming off of a torn ACL in 2018. With training camps kicking off in a few weeks, here are three players who have the most to gain for the Texans during training camp this year.
3. Keke Coutee
Last year, Keke Coutee found himself having a decent-sized role in the offense at the end of the season. With injuries to Fuller and Demaryius Thomas, Coutee quickly ascended into the offensive gameplan.
As the Texans fourth-round pick, Houston drafted the Texas Tech product to add more speed to the offense. Coutee caught 28 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown in 2018.
The rookie receiver's best game came in the playoffs when Coutee totaled 11 receptions for 110 yards and a score. His performance went to waste though with his touchdown being the only one that the team would score all day.
Nevertheless, Coutee showed that he could be a dangerous weapon for Watson and the offense. This year during training camp, Coutee can continue working on his game and improve upon his decent rookie season.
2. Vyncint Smith
Another wide receiver who could benefit by having a good training camp is Vyncint Smith. Like Coutee, Smith was a rookie last year but only saw one start the whole season.
This offseason, Smith has done a lot of work with Watson—building chemistry with his quarterback. Of course, Smith has gotten more reps in the offseason programs with both Hopkins and Fuller recovering from injuries.
As a result, Smith can show O'Brien and the whole organization his worth in the offense. Last season, Smith earned his way onto the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent. This time around, he'll be looking to earn a role in the offense in a crowded wide receiver position during training camp.
1. D'Onta Foreman
The Texans drafted D'Onta Foreman with the 89th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft in hopes he could be a difference-maker on offense. That hasn't exactly gone according to plan but this offseason, Foreman has impressed during the offseason programs.
In two seasons in the NFL, Foreman has just 326 yards on 85 carries and even managed to somehow rush for negative one-yard in 2018. In 2016, Houston signed Lamar Miller to be their featured back in the backfield.
Since then, Miller has been solid but not as good as the Texans would like him to be. Miller has only rushed for over 1,000-yards just once since joining the Texans, and that came in 2016. Now, Miller heads into a contract-year with Houston and could see his role gradually diminish if he disappoints.
That leaves Foreman with a chance to continue impressing the organization during training camp and maybe vulture some of the touches from Miller in the offense.
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