Retooled Houston Texans defensive line expected to have massive season

The amount of work the Houston Texans have done on their defensive line should not go unnoticed this year. They’ve completely revamped the position, and besides a few players, it’s a whole new group in 2024. Their biggest addition is obviously Danielle Hunter, but the other two acquisitions they’ve made in the group that shouldn’t going unnoticed are Foley Fatukasi and Denico Autry. . After losing Sheldon Rankins and Maliek Collins in the offseason, they found the two best possible players at a cheap price. However, they also added more talent this year. Let’s look at their depth chart.

Depth Chart (16)

The four starters will clearly be Anderson, Hunter, Fatukasi and Autry. Their safeguards should not be neglected, however. With an experienced veteran like Barnett finishing the last half of the season with the Texans with 2.5 sacks, a raw young passer like Horton continuing to grow, and Tim Settle serving as the rotation, it’s not going to be pretty, but it will be the case. surprise some.

The Texans came away from this offseason with a win considering the turnover they had on their defense. After spending their salary cap on Hunter, Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon, as well as extending Dalton Schultz, they found some gems with what little cap space they have left.

Demeco Ryans showed us that he can get the most out of players left out of other teams. Blake Cashman is a good example. Cashman was traded to the Texans after playing in just 14 games in three seasons with the New York Jets. After being seen by the national and New York media as a failure, people didn’t have high expectations of him. That is until Ryans came to Houston and made him a good linebacker who just got paid by the Minnesota Vikings. The fact is that anyone, even the “busts”, can excel in this defense. No need to worry if you’re concerned about line depth, Ryans will get production from someone the fanbase isn’t expecting.

The Texans’ focus was clear this offseason. Contact the quarterback early and often. They added two big passers and another to help in the running game. But adding Hunter and Autry to a pass rushing group that already included Will Anderson has all the makings of being deadly. Only time will tell, but there is a very good chance that this group will see a huge increase in production this season.