Football is in the air, and I don't mean soccer

Owen Daniels

  new Houston Texans jerseys tight end Owen Daniels predicted he'll be ready by the first game of the regular season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season. "The Doc says my ACL looks great, so I'm looking forward to being ready for Week 1," Daniels said during a fan chat on NFL.com

Daniels was the No. 1 fantasy tight end in 2009 when he went down with an ACL injury, crushing what was becoming a break-out season for the young tight end. Fantasy owners will be a little wary of drafting Daniels this season but he could be a bargain late in drafts. Keep a close eye on his recovery.

Brandon Pettigrew

  According to the Detroit News, Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew will be granted medical clearance to resume all on-field activities in time for the opening of the team's training camp on July 31st. Pettigrew is recovering from season-ending ACL surgery (from an injury suffered on Thanksgiving Day) and is still a candidate to begin camp on the PUP list (though he would be eligible for a promotion to the active roster at any point during the preseason).

Pettigrew showed flashes of fantasy usefulness last season as a rookie in the Lions' young offense. While he may be on the mend, he also has to deal with the addition of former Denver tight end Tony Scheffler to the offense during the offseason.

Not only is Scheffler on-board, but wide receiver Nate Burleson and rookie Jahvid Best have been added to the offense. Not enough footballs to go around, in my opinion, which means Pettigrew should remain undrafted at the conclusion of standard redrafts this summer.

Often, this includes untested rookies fresh from the college game. Other times, breakout players are coming back from injury. In addition, players can compound on recent success and cement themselves as true superstars.

The Houston Texans jerseys are certainly no exception. Although many people have pegged the Texans as a sleeper pick for a few seasons, countless others are declaring 2010 the year of the Texans.

Not only are the Texans likely (hopefully) to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, the roster is littered with players who are ready for prime time. In fact, in order to make the jump from also-ran to playoff participant, the Texans will need big performances from some if not all of the players on this list.

We all know what Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans will provide. Those stars will need help from some of their less heralded team mates to play meaningful games in January.