Engagement is always a double-edged sword. Nobody wants to scream into the void, but with engagement comes disagreement and ultimately arguments. No one in Houston and no one rooting for the Texans argues more than about the state of the offensive line. It’s a seemingly annual affair with dedicated fans feeling let down year after year.

Having never been a fan of another team (outside of the Oilers), I cannot speak to whether this is normal or not. Maybe most cities hate their offensive lines. That seems to be the mantra year after year. If only our line were better then the would be franchise quarterback would finally play like one. The would be all-pro running back would finally play like one. The receivers would magically get that extra second to get open. World peace would suddenly be within our grasp.

I don’t mean to make light of it all. In this space we try to look at the data end of things and we try to avoid those common pitfalls fans, executives, and coaches find themselves falling into. So, we are going to look at the offensive line position by position between the player that took the most snaps last season and the current player projected to take the most snaps.

Left Tackle: Aireontae Ersery vs. Aireontae Ersery

Ersery was second to Jake Andrews with 1225 total snaps. His overall 58.5 PFF grade was below average overall compared to most tackles. Whether you consider Ersery a bust or not depends largely on expectations. Taking a second round pick and throwing them in the most difficult position on the offensive line is a ballsy move. His 65.4 pass protection grade was actually close to average. It is the 50.9 run grade that is concerning. It is fair to ask what kind of growth we can expect between year one and year two. That ultimately depends on who you ask. Some like to lean into the notion that the biggest growth period is the time between year one and year two. Others would point out that below average regulars rarely ever become good ones. Both can be right at the same time. I doubt Ersery ever will be a Trent Williams, but if he can be league average that would be an improvement. Advantage: 2026 Texans

Left Guard: Jarrett Patterson vs. Wyatt Teller

Simply saying Patterson buries the lede. It started with Laken Tomlinson. Then we had some Juice Scruggs. We actually finished with Tytus Howard after giving Patterson a try. Patterson narrowly beat out Howard in total snaps at the position with 409. He had an overall grade of 60.1 with a 64.6 pass protection grade and 55.4 run blocking grade. Howard performed a little better at left guard, but not much. Tomlinson and Scruggs were virtually unplayable. The grand sum of all of that ended up being an albatross on a line Nick Caserio called good, but everyone else on planet Earth would say wasn’t.

Is Wyatt Teller a good guard? PFF doesn’t think so. They pegged him as the 39th rated guard out of 79 qualified guards last season in just over 700 snaps. I’m not a math teacher, but that puts him squarely as average. However, given what the Texans have had at left guard, that qualifies as manna from heaven. Maybe more importantly, he rated better as a run blocker than pass blocker and that is the direction the Texans seem to want to go. The important point here is that if he can maintain average overall performance then that will be light years ahead of where they started 2025. Advantage: 2026 Texans

Center: Jake Andrews vs. Jake Andrews

Andrews led the Texans in snaps last season with 1236. That might be the most remarkable thing about him. Calling him a successful addition really depends on your definition of success. According to PFF, he was below average with an overall grade of 60.6. Those that want to put a positive spin on things will point out that he played much of last season on one leg. Others will say that the Texans are actively trying to upgrade this spot. Our grades are not based on whether a player is good or not but by whether they are better off today than they were yesterday. By sheer definition it is a push. Advantage: Push

Right Guard: Ed Ingram vs. Ed Ingram

Ingram is the one shining spot from Caserio’s 2025 offseason. He rolled the dice and finally didn’t come up snake eyes. In 1072 snaps, he managed an overall grade of 73.8 which made him one of the top dozen guards in the NFL last season according to PFF. He was brought back on a substantial three year contract, so they are betting on more of the same. What makes Ingram unusual is that his run grade (79.9) was better than his pass protection grade (52.4). I personally think it is unlikely that he turns these numbers in again, but hopefully he can get close to that. Advantage: Push

Right Tackle: Tytus Howard vs. Trent Brown/Braden Smith

Let’s be honest about Tytus Howard. He had over 1100 snaps, but his overall grade was a pedestrian (62.3 overall). That’s a reasonable grade and puts Howard squarely in the average range. On the positive end, he played three different positions last season between left guard, right guard, and right tackle. It’s overwhelmingly difficult to have Pro Bowl level production when moving around that much. On the negative end, you were paying him to be a Pro Bowl level tackle.

Picking a winner is difficult because attendance is a large part of the grade. Both Trent Brown and Braden Smith graded better than Howard last season, but neither were healthy enough to play most of the season. Caserio is gambling that he can cobble 17+ games with both. Brown had a tantalizing 71.5 run blocking grade which gives the Texans a strong right side of the line on running plays when he is healthy. Smith is similar to the others in that he blocks well on pass protection (71.9) but struggles more in the run game (58.0). Advantage: 2026 Texans

Let me be very clear. This is not a good offensive line. However, if 2025 performances hold and Ersery improves they could be an average offensive line. We have been accused of wearing Battle Red colored glasses around here, so I should be very clear about that assessment. It is better than the line that ended the 2025 season and almost certainly better than the one that began the 2025 season. Two things can be true at the same time. They can be improved and not quite good enough to be solid. Caserio still has the draft to change that and with the recent additions he doesn’t HAVE to do anything rash. If he sees a good center prospect he certainly should jump at that. If he sees good guard prospects he can do the same. However, as things stand now the 2026 line looks better than the 2025 version.