In the matter of three seasons, the Texans turned their biggest strength into their greatest weakness. They had depth, talent, and playmakers across the entire defensive line in 2018. And yet, we had no idea what we had.
We criticized Christian Covington for only stopping the run; now we beg for his quality gap control. We used D.J. Reader as a rotational piece; now he’s the fifth highest paid defensive lineman in the league. Angelo Blackson, Brandon Dunn, and Joel Heath were the cleanup crew when J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney decided to freelance. Watt and Clowney combined for 25 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, and 46 QB hits in 2018.