D.J. Reader is a dying breed of nose tackles still demanding top dollar in this league, but the Houston Texans should do their due diligence in order to keep him. Drafted in the fifth round, Reader overcame obstacles that late-round players face as they compete for playing time with players with bigger pedigrees.
Although Reader was no small prospect coming from Clemson’s football program, he was an afterthought in Clemson’s stacked defense. However, he continued making unheralded plays that helped put his teammates in a position to get drafted and he put himself in the radar for Houston to select him in the 2016 draft.