The NFL's 5 Most Improved Offenses Entering 2016

Houston Texans

The Texans are an easy choice for this list.

No team added more offensive talent this offseason -- through the draft and free agency -- than Houston.

The Texans won the AFC South last year in spite of their offense. In fact, Houston’s offense, which ranked 25th in Adjusted NEP per play, was the worst offense of any 2015 playoff team. The Texans overcame their offensive inefficiencies thanks to their menacing defense, which ranked third in Adjusted Defensive NEP per play.

Houston grabbed daddy’s credit card and went HAM this spring, adding talent across the board.

The biggest area of need was quarterback, which they addressed by bringing in Brock Osweiler. Then they beefed up the running game by landing Lamar Miller. DeAndre Hopkins is the truth out wide, but Houston spent two of their first three picks in the NFL Draft on wideouts, selecting speedster Will Fuller and the ultra-athletic Braxton Miller.

All of the additions are nice, but any offensive improvement will mostly come down to Osweiler, who has a limited sample from which to draw conclusions. Among passers with at least 100 drop backs in 2015, Osweiler ranked 26th in Passing Net Expected Points per drop back. That’s actually worse than what Brian Hoyer, Houston’s former starter, did last season as Hoyer checked in at 20th in Passing NEP per drop back.

Even if Osweiler struggles, Miller should be a big upgrade over Alfred Blue in the run game. Among backs with 100 carries last year, Miller ranked 17th in Rushing NEP per play. Blue was 39th in this metric.

Houston showed it can win without a great offense, so if Osweiler can provide the Texans with just average quarterback play, they can be a real contender in the AFC. If he gives them above-average play, Houston could be one of the best teams in the NFL.