The Houston Texans are knocking on the door of the NFL’s best.
C.J. Stroud has led the team to a playoff win in each of his two seasons under center. Nonetheless, Houston has struggled against the elite units in the league like the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
With Stroud on an affordable, rookie contract, it’s imperative that the Texans surround him with more talent to seize this golden opportunity.
The Texans could start by poaching players from a division rival.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have frequented NFL rumors surrounding their future with running back Travis Etienne.
The two-time 1,000 yard rusher had his worst season last year and Jacksonville responded by drafting two running backs in this year’s draft. Tank Bigsby is another threat to Etienne’s role on the Jaguars.
John Johnson of RotoBaller suggests Etienne heads west to Houston as a pass-catching back in tandem with Joe Mixon.
“ETN, thus far, has appeared to be better in this area than Texans RB Joe Mixon, who is more of a pure runner,” Johnson wrote. “Perhaps Etienne would fit well catching passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud and working on passing downs in a committee with Mixon.”
Mixon is coming off 1,016 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, but you could argue now is the time to start managing his workload. He just turned 28 and was held out of OTA’s for an undisclosed injury that put him in a walking boot.
Etienne and Mixon would be the perfect pair as two talented backs who can reach their full potential with a less snaps. Each has proven himself as a capable bellcow back, but a committee backfield save their legs until the playoffs.
Thought this was an interesting article on draft fallout from @JFowlerESPN.
I’d guess Travis Etienne is available very cheap in trade market right now. Bhayshul Tuten skill set complements Tank Bigsby skill set nicely. pic.twitter.com/m5SE9KIM7B
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) May 7, 2025
C.J. Stroud has already seen turnover on his offense between Tank Dell’s season-ending injury and Stefon Diggs’ departure. A new acquisition could give the third-year quarterback some confidence.
It wouldn’t hurt to take Etienne from a division rival either.
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