Texans' Updated Depth Chart, NFL Salary Cap After Stefon Diggs Trade with Bills
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVApril 3, 2024
The Houston Texans are all in on maximizing their competitive window while quarterback C.J. Stroud is on his rookie contract.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the AFC South team is finalizing a trade to land star wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday. The Texans will send Buffalo draft pick compensation.
According to Over The Cap, Diggs is joining a team with overall cap space of $29.6 million.
Here is a look at Houston's depth chart for its offensive skill players after the move:
- QB: C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills
- RB: Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce
- WR 1: Stefon Diggs
- WR 2: Nico Collins
- WR 3: Tank Dell
- WR 4: Noah Brown
- TE: Dalton Schultz, Teagan Quitoriano
What a difference a year makes.
The Texans were going into the 2023 NFL draft fresh off a 3-13-1 record, which was their third consecutive season with four or fewer wins. They looked like one of the worst teams in the league with plenty of long-term question marks about the direction of the franchise.
And then everything changed.
They selected Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick, traded up to select pass-rusher Will Anderson with the No. 3 overall pick and landed Dell in the third round. Stroud turned into an immediate star as the Offensive Rookie of the Year, Dell looked like a foundational cornerstone before suffering a broken fibula and Nico Collins had a breakout year with 1,297 receiving yards.
Houston won the AFC South and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs before falling to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.
It was clear in that Baltimore game it needed another impact piece or two if it was going to take the next step in 2024, and Diggs certainly fits the bill. He is a four-time Pro Bowler with six consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards, including when he led the league with 1,535 in 2020.
NFL @NFLHigh level of difficulty? No problem for Stefon Diggs 😱<br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BUFvsMIA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BUFvsMIA</a> on NBC<br>📱: Stream on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLPlus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFLPlus</a> <a href="https://t.co/GqJJdyI3EW">https://t.co/GqJJdyI3EW</a> <a href="https://t.co/XXn09FxpAf">pic.twitter.com/XXn09FxpAf</a>
The receiver group of Diggs, Collins, Dell and even Noah Brown can be the best in the league, and running back Joe Mixon is someone who can make plays out of the backfield as a pass-catcher. Throw in Dalton Schultz at tight end, and Stroud will have no shortage of weapons around him.
There will be no shortage of expectations either.
