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Don’t look now, but the Houston Texans are pushing a quarter-century in the NFL. They remain, for lack of a better word, the newest team in the league.
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As such, lists of their greatest players in franchise history aren’t going to impress quite as much as, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers or Dallas Cowboys.
In fact, when it comes to quarterbacks, one of their top five ever, in our estimation, started fewer than 10 games in his one and only season in Houston. Not exactly the stuff of legend. The four players above him are similarly easy to predict, though you might be a little surprised by the order.
Or maybe not. The Texans are pretty cut and dry when it comes to charting greatness. Here are the five best quarterbacks in team history.
5. Brian Hoyer (2015)
Here’s the aforementioned one-season player. Hoyer turned a stint as a starter in Cleveland into nine games as a starter in Houston before shipping out to Chicago. Nine starts and he’s the fifth-best quarterback in franchise history.
In fairness, it was a rather good season, relative to standards. He followed in the footsteps of the No. 2 player on this list and put up 2,606 yards passing with 19 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. The Texans went a decent 5-4 in his starts, too.
That one season is enough to rank him seventh in career touchdown passes and eighth in career yards in franchise history.
4. David Carr (2002-2006)
Carr might be considered one of the bigger busts as a No. 1 NFL Draft pick and he never put together much excellence with the Texans. But we’re prone to giving him a little excuse.
In five seasons as a starter, from 2002 to 2006, Carr was sacked 249 times. And that includes 2003 when he went down just 15 times. It was absurd how poorly he was protected in Houston, never really giving him an opportunity to shine.
He still ranks third in franchise history in yards passing and fourth in passing touchdowns. It’s just that 22-53 record that sticks out like a sore thumb.
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3. C.J. Stroud (2023-Present)
The truth is that Stroud is awfully close to the No. 2 spot on the Texans’ all-time list even though he’s only played three full seasons with Houston.
His first was dynamite, resulting in Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He threw for more than 4,000 yards with 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2023 in what appeared to be a superstar start.
Granted, things haven’t gone quite that well in the two years since. But Stroud remains a quality NFL starter and the potential for more Pro Bowls awaits.
2. Matt Schaub (2007-2013)
Schaub spent three seasons in Atlanta as a back-up to Michael Vick before shifting to Houston in 2007 and getting his first chance to start. He was pretty good in seven seasons with the Texans, too.
Schaub earned two Pro Bowls, in 2009 and 2012, and led the team to their first two playoff appearances and division titles in 2011 and 2012.
He’s the Texans’ all-time leader in most career passing stats and even Stroud would need three more high-quality seasons in Houston to catch him. Schaub remains wildly underrated for his time.
1. Deshaun Watson (2017-2021)
Try to forget all the nonsense and garbage that’s taken place with Watson for the purposes of this list. During his four seasons with Houston, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
No, he didn’t crack Schaub’s career passing totals on the statistical board and he was, ostensibly, suspended by the Texans in 2021 before being traded to Cleveland ahead of the 2022 season.
Before the chaos, Watson put up three Pro Bowl seasons along with 104 touchdowns in what was basically three-and-a-half on-field seasons. Things have gone awry since, but for a time, few were better.
More Houston Texans Rankings
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- 5 Best Wide Receivers in Houston Texans History
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 6:45 AM.