It is clear to anyone that watches football that the Houston Texans had a bad offensive line in 2024. Of course, the team could have gone anywhere with that information. They traded out offensive coordinators, so they could have simply blamed it on the offensive scheme. They also let the leading offensive line coach go. So, they could have easily blamed it on bad coaching. Obviously, Nick Caserio and company didnt just stop there. They also took three of the players that were starters on day one of the 2024 season and have replaced. PFF is not the end all be all of human existence, but it is one rating system. They ranked the Texans as the 22nd best offensive line in the NFL last season. Some rating systems had them higher, but most had them lower. Another group called Sharp rated them as 27th when looking at pressure rates and win , they did break down some stats individually. They were 27th in pass blocking win rate, sixth in pressure percentage rate, 23rd in sack pressure percentage, 23rd in blitz percentage, and 20th in time to sack. So, based on most of the numbers, the Texans were in the bottom 25% of the league. So, for those shedding tears over the loss of the three guys we are ridding ourselves of, how good were they exactly? Well, lets look at PFF grades for pass protection, run blocking, and overall production for the three guys leaving and four guys coming Tunsil: 78. 1 Overall, 89. 1 Pass, 74. 0 RunShaq Mason: 60. 5 Overall, 63. 6 Pass, 56. 9 RunKenyon Green: 38. 6 Overall, 39. 7 Pass, 44. 6 RunCam Robinson: 63 Christian Kirk Jersey. 2 Overall, 67. 2 Pass, 60. 0 RunTrent Brown: 65. 2 Overall, 64. 2 Pass, 68. 4 RunLaikan Tomlinson: 62. 1 Overall, 65. 1 Pass, 59. 7 RunEd Pearson: 54. 0 Overall, 49. 1 Pass, 58. 1 RunNotice that all three of the linemen leaving had worse run grades than pass blocking grades. So, even when we leave aside locker room concerns Ive mentioned before, we can see the direction they are moving. A 60 grade is essentially the water level for average. So, we replaced one good lineman, one average lineman, and one terrible lineman with three average lineman and one below average blueprint appears pretty clear. When you put them up against the linemen that are coming back it makes perfect sense, The Texans had by every definition a below average offensive line in 2024. it is probably way too optimistic for them to become a good offensive line overnight. However, lets take a look at the returning Howard: 70. 2 Overall, 74. 9 Pass, 61. 3 RunJarrett Patterson: 64. 1 Overall, 69. 9 Pass, 58. 8 RunJuice Scruggs: 63. 0 Overall, 62. 1 Pass, 63. 7 RunBlake Fisher: 44. 7 Overall, 46. 7 Pass, 43. 8 RunSo, regardless of position, the Texans have one above average lineman and five average linemen already under contract. Fisher was decidedly well below average, but he was also a rookie. It would be unrealistic to suggest that he would suddenly become good, but maybe he elevates his game to the level of average. Ed Pearson was below average, but maybe he elevates himself to average as we look at the 2024 cap hit for the top eight offensive linemen and compare that the 2025 version then it starts to come into a lot more focus. We also have not added any draft picks yet. Lets look at the Tunsil: 25. 85 millionTytus Howard: 8. 40 millionShaq Mason: 5. 87 millionKenyon Green: 4. 35 millionJuice Scruggs: 1. 39 millionKendrick Green: 1. 32 millionBlake Fisher: 1. 20 millionJarrett Patterson: 0. 97 millionTotal Expenditure: 49. 35 millionCam Robinson: 12. 00 millionTytus Howard: 11. 58 millionLaiken Tomlinson: 4. 25 millionEd Engram: 3. 41 millionTrent Brown: 3 C.J. Gardner-Johnson Jersey. 00 millionJuice Scruggs: 1. 66 millionBlake Fisher: 1. 50 millionZachary Thomas: 1. 38 millionTotal Expenditure: 38. 78 millionObviously, there is some dead money tacked onto that, but teams have ways of getting around that. The whole idea is to piece together an average offensive line for less money than they paid the below average offensive line last year. That means they can afford maybe one other significant player at another also have the draft coming up where it might be possible to draft an average or above average lineman or two to add to the group. So, not only do you get an average line overall, but you also improve your depth. Of course, that is only the plan. Goodness knows whether it will work out or not.