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An Overview of the Houston Texans Defense
The Texans began their rebuild with the hiring of DeMeco Ryans in 2023. They managed to play slightly better than mediocre defense that season in what was largely an evaluation year. The team made some key additions and a few minor tweaks ahead of the 2024 campaign, and the unit took the next step.
Last year's Texans played good defense. They were eleventh versus the run and seventh against the pass. Houston allowed a completion rate of 58.8%, making them the only team to hold opponents under 60%. They ranked second with 19 interceptions and fifth in total turnovers, while the pass rush got home 49 times to finish fourth. The goal for this year is to improve in the most important area: points on the scoreboard. They were not bad there either, allowing the 14th fewest.
With the defense playing well and no glaring holes to fill, there were no big-name additions in the offseason. Instead, the organization concentrated on fine-tuning the roster and making it deeper. Houston picked up four free agents who will contribute, with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and linebacker E.J. Speed likely to land starting jobs. The only rookie expected to make an early contribution is third-round corner Jaylin Smith. All things considered, this should be a tight defense in 2025.
Houston Texans Defensive Linemen
When the Texans used the third overall pick on Will Anderson Jr. in 2023, they put a cornerstone in place. Anderson has not disappointed. Like many young edge defenders, he was a little slow out of the gate. Anderson's learning curve was sharper than most. The light came on midway through his rookie season, leading to six sacks over his final six games. In 2024, he picked up right where he left off.
Anderson missed four games with minor injuries and was rested in week 18. In twelve games, he recorded eleven sacks and forced two turnovers. He was a bit light in the tackle columns at 27-10, leading to some consistency concerns. If we fill in the games he missed with his per-game averages, Anderson's numbers are roughly 38-15-15.5. His average points were 19th among edge defenders in 2024, putting him solidly in the second-starter range. At 23 years of age and entering his third year, we have not yet seen his best football.
Last offseason, the Texans allowed Jonathan Greenard to leave, signing Danielle Hunter to replace him. The younger Greenard went on to have a great season with the Vikings, bringing into question whether this was an upgrade or just a lateral move that cost more money. Maybe they simply saw Hunter as a better scheme fit. Regardless of the reasoning, the decision did nothing to hurt the team.
In the organization's defense, there are few players at the position that Hunter would not be an upgrade over. He put up twelve and a half sacks as a second-year player in 2016. The only things that have stopped him from reaching double-digit sacks every year since then were a shoulder injury in 2017 and a scary neck injury that caused him to miss much of 2020 and 2021. Hunter has fourteen or more sacks in three of his last five seasons, not affected by injuries. Adding twelve more in his first year with the Texans.
The move to Houston did not affect Hunter's big-play numbers. However, it did take a toll on his tackle production. Throw out his injury-shortened 2021, and Hunter had four consecutive seasons with at least 46 solo tackles and 65 combined, leading up to signing with the Texans. At 31-15-12 with 1 turnover, last year's numbers and point total represent Hunter's lowest production in a non-injury year since he was a rookie in 2015. As a tribute to just how good he is, Hunter still ranked 16th among edge defenders. He may not be the elite option he once was, but he remains a strong asset as a priority second starter with upside.
The Texans are not a team that uses a lot of rotational players on the edge. Derek Barnett worked 413 snaps as the third man last year and would have played fewer had Anderson not missed some games. Dylan Horton was fourth on the snap count list at 216. Both backups remain on the roster, but there is another contender for playing time this year with Darrell Taylor coming over from the Bears. His numbers were down a bit in 2024, but Taylor averaged roughly 22-8-7 with the Seahawks from 2021 through 2023. His presence could add a fourth wheel to the rotation.
Since moving to a 4-3 base defense in 2023, Houston's interior line has not been fantasy-friendly. The team returned no one from the 2023 lineup, electing to start from scratch last season. Unlike the edge, where the starters see more than 70% of the snaps, the Texans like to rotate on the interior. Seven players logged at least 172 snaps at tackle last year. Tim Settle Jr. was the only one to work on more than half of the plays, and he was barely over 50%.
As a result, no Houston tackle produced more than 31 combined stops, with Settle being the only one to exceed 16 solos. The team brought back Sheldon Rankins, who had one of the best years of his long career with them in 2023. Rankins finished at 29-8-6 with a couple of takeaways that year. Unless something changes, there is no reason to expect better production than that from any of these players.
- Edge Will Anderson Jr. – Priority second starter with top-10 upside
- Edge Danielle Hunter – Priority second starter
- Edge Darrell Taylor – Injury sleeper
- Edge Dylan Horton – Marginal impact
- Edge Derek Barnett – Injury sleeper with limited upside
- DT Sheldon Rankins – Bye week depth at best
- DT Tim Settle Jr. – Marginal impact at best
- DT Folorunso Fatukasi – No impact
- DT Denico Autry – No impact
- DT Mario Edwards Jr – No impact
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