NFL insider says Houston Texans lived up to offseason hype at latest practice

The Houston Texans may be starting to hit their stride at exactly the right time. All offseason they have been the subject of a lot of hype and high expectations , perhaps moreso than any other previous version of this franchise. While it's a long journey from here to February, the pieces seem to be clicking into place just as the NFL preseason ramps up.

According to ESPN's Texans beat reporter DJ Bien-Aime , this latest practice at training camp from general manager Nick Caserio's former high school has some observers believing that all the talk about deep playoff runs in the offseason was justified. C.J. Stroud was dealing and the defense also came to play, as well.

We will only get bits and short clips from practices these days, but there was at least one notable highlight-reel pass that came out of today's session. Here's Stroud unleashing one of his gorgeous rainbow passes to new star wide receiver Stefon Diggs .

We can think of maybe two or three quarterbacks in the league who can put that much touch and accuracy on a deep ball right now and one of them has won multiple MVPs.

As for the other side of the ball, reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year winner Will Anderson Jr. sat out today's practice and Pro Bowl edge Danielle Hunter also sat out. That the defense came through with those two key huge pieces out is a good sign for their overall development.

We learned last week that Denico Autry will miss the first six games of the regular season due a suspension over violating the league's PED policy. Until then this Texans defensive line will have to hold down without him. Once he joins up they should form one of the most formidable units in the AFC up front.

So long as the key pieces like Stroud, Diggs, Anderson, Hunter and Laremy Tunsil stay relatively healthy this should be a serious contender come playoff time.

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