Willing it into existence

I would not say the Houston Texans had an offseason that solves all their problems, but that's only because their problems, to me, were beyond the grasp of money. Nick Caley and C.J. Stroud are the two most important people for the franchise's success and how they work together in 2026 is more important than anything else. Their success or failure to create a functional passing game will overshadow everything else that happened over the past month and that will happen over the next month.

But, the Texans have poured a lot of money and resources into the offensive line and the running back room in an attempt to create a new strength. It's been a smart offseason approach, even if it has felt – in a lot of ways – like trying to make the best of a situation that hasn't really shook out major difference-makers. David Montgomery isn't a superstar running back, but he was handily the second-best running back available after Kenneth Walker and did not cost major money. I have shared my rationale on why I'd prefer Cade Mays to Braden Smith, but Smith and Wyatt Teller both play positions of need and neither of them are long-term impediments to establishing better players there if the opportunity comes along. These are low-risk football decisions. And, to give credit where it has been earned – this team is loaded with talent. This might be the best roster, 1-to-53, Nick Caserio has ever created in Houston. I don't offer that praise lightly.

They also leave the team with a glaring hole (my opinion, not the team's) at center. Jake Andrews had a nice season compared to the expectations as a waiver claim, but I wouldn't say his play rose to more than the level of "nice backup to have." The rest of the line, the wideout room, the tight end room, running back ... depth is prevalent now on this offense. But Evan Brown and Jarrett Patterson are the main backup plans on the interior, and both of them feel like potential stopgaps at best.

Normally on March 31st, pointing out a roster hole like that is not important so much as a tacit acknowledgement that you can't fix every situation at once. After all, to get a good center, one has to be available. If the Texans didn't think Mays rose to that level, and weren't going to pay Tyler Linderbaum, then you can argue that there wasn't one.

But there is a glaring player that I think should be available and that the Texans should have interest in: Dolphins center Aaron Brewer.

And to be clear, yes, the Dolphins have said he's a pillar. But the Dolphins also implied that about Jaylen Waddle once. This is a total teardown in Miami, whether they have three pillars or two is mostly about who is willing to offer what. Brewer will turn 29 in October and is coming off the best season of his career – that's exactly the kind of player the Dolphins should be trying to trade away if they can create enough value in the process.

You won't find a better run blocking center than Brewer in the bin of potentially available players. The question instead is more elemental: Can you find a cheaper player that gives you 80 percent of what Brewer could in the draft? Can you lock in those long-term savings? And folks ... I've seen Nick Caserio draft offensive linemen. Juice Scruggs was an overdraft by at least two rounds on most boards. I'd simply rather have the bird in the hand. Especially for a team this close. Frankly, the Texans could do both. They could afford to trade for Brewer and draft an interior line prospect on Day 2, the area where most of those players are expected to come off the board.

Sliding Brewer into the interior line, to me, would turn the Texans offensive line into a strength. It would force teams to have to respect their run game to have Brewer and Ed Ingram coming downhill. It wouldn't be settling for the best rational option, nor would it be coming cheap – but it could be a force multiplier. And while I'm not normally the type of person who believes you should trade high draft picks for veterans, these are the situations that call for it. The team is loaded for bear to the point that every marginal improvement matters. This would not be a marginal improvement, but a transformational one. And the Texans do have extra draft capital this year thanks to the Laremy Tunsil trade.

Like most fanfiction trades, I doubt this one comes to fruition. Or, I guess the better way to put it is: If it were going to come to fruition, it probably would have happened already. The Texans could absolutely throw down a Nico Collins extension and adjust the upcoming Will Anderson extension to have a low early cap number to fit someone new in, but it feels like something they would have done already if it were going to happen.

But every time I sit down to write about this team, I just keep thinking more and more about why something like this shouldn't happen. And I keep coming up with no actual answer. I don't even think this draft class is good enough that it would stop me from throwing the first-round pick on the table.

This is chips pushed towards the middle time. The Stroud rookie contract is coming to an end soon. It's possible that the defense keeps being incredible for a long time, but nothing is ever guaranteed and attrition comes for everybody.

If it was all about maximizing the chances for the next two years ... I think this is the best the Texans could do from this moment.