No. 3: The Return of J.J. Watt
The quarterbacks aren’t the only big names returning to the conference, however.
Due to the fact he is often injured, it can easily be forgotten defensive end J.J. Watt may be the best defensive player in all of football. In 2014, he easily could’ve walked away with the MVP award. In fact, Watt was voted as the No. 1 player on the annual Top 100 countdown after that season by his peers on NFL Network.
Simply put, Watt is a stud. But after missing all but the first five games of the 2017 season with a tibial plateau leg fracture in his left leg, Watt will be returning as a hungry dog ready to pray on opposing offense of players. Sure, there’s always the possibility that the injuries have slowed him down. But adding a player like Watt to an already stellar defense, plus the aforementioned Deshaun Watson coming back on the other side of the ball, the Texans can easily be a force to be reckoned with.
While the Texans offensive line remains a big question mark, the returns of Watt and Watson should provide the division with its fourth out of four playoff-caliber teams. The Titans and Jaguars were there last year, the Colts have Andrew Luck coming back and the Texans will be returning two of their best players not named DeAndre Hopkins.
All four teams within the division have a shot at the playoffs, which should make this a very interesting divisional race to follow.