Texans OC Nick Caley believes C.J. Stroud is 'locked in' for a breakout 2026 season
· Yahoo Sports
Most people would say that the Houston Texans' offense struggled under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley amid a playoff run.
To a degree, they'd be right. Houston's elite defense could only do so much in the divisional round loss against the New England Patriots to keep pace with Drake Maye on the road. Meanwhile, Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud coughed up four interceptions, including a pick-six that separated the two sides in a 28-16 loss.
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But Caley believes there's still a new gear unlocked for Stroud as he enters Year 4 with the franchise. He believes that since the season came to a close, Stroud has made strides and is poised for an even better 2026 campaign.
"There was a lot of progress that C.J. and the offense made last year," Caley told the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander. "We continued to get better from the start of the season to the end of the regular season and just continued to make progress from week to week. So we're going to continue to build on that. It's a new year. C.J. has done a great job out here. Looks good. Locked in."
Even with a 12-win season and the No. 1 defense nearly intact, Stroud must play better for Houston to stand a chance. The good news? The offense should feel different this fall with the newest additions to the line, tight end room and running back corp.
Tytus Howard was traded this offseason to Cleveland, while the Texans added proven veterans like Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith to strengthen the run blocking. Houston also upgraded its running game by adding Lions starter David Montgomery to pair with Woody Marks. And for good measure, Houston also upgraded the tight end with the draft selection of Michigan's Marlin Klein and signing of former Saints starter Foster Moreau.
Last season, Houston's ineffectiveness on the ground severely limited its ability to be a more dynamic offense. It was a priority to fix this offseason for Caley.
"You always want balance, and each game is a little different," Caley said. "I think we found a way to even that out as the season progressed. So finding a way to do that. And balance doesn't come necessarily in terms of a 50-50 run-pass ratio, but it's also the usage of different players."
Caley also said that fixing the blocking at tight end was a top move needed this offseason for the franchise to function.
"You can deploy different types of blocking schemes with different surfaces that you're attacking," Caley said. "Tight ends are an extension of the offensive line. We can get sturdy, we can control the edges, that always is going to help."
Houston returns to the practice fields for the start of training camp on July 21.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans OC Nick Caley believes C.J. Stroud is 'locked in' for a breakout 2026 season