Houston Texans Positional Breakdown: Defensive Line

Nov 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) and the defensive line reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Texans 28-23. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Our Toro Times positional breakdown series continues, but has shifted to the other side of the ball. After looking over all the offensive players, we now can start to examine how the defensive line stacks up for the Houston Texans.

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The Texans run a 3-4 defensive scheme which uses larger defensive linemen than the traditional 4-3 defense. The majority of teams that use this defense rely on outside linebackers to generate the pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and while Houston has spent two first round picks on outside linebackers since 2012, the majority of their pressure still came from their stout defensive end J.J. Watt.

So while we all know that Watt is the centerpiece of the line, lets take a look at him as well as the other members of defensive line, and why not begin with the guy that makes it all go.

Next: The Most Dominant Defender In The Game