Top 5 Houston Texans Of All Time: Defense

Sep 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans fans hold up Defense signs during the game against the Tennessee Titans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Last week I took a look at the best players to ever line up on offense for the Houston Texans. You can read that article here, and now I’m going to work my way through my top 5 Texan defenders in the history of the franchise. The defense was a much more difficult group to narrow down to five, as there have been some excellent defenders play in Houston over the years, but I did my best. Feel free to leave comments with disagreements, corrections, and critiques of the rankings.

Number 5

Dunta Robinson – CB – 2004-2009

With respect to both Kareem Jackson and Jonathan Joseph, both excellent cornerbacks playing for the Texans right now, Dunta holds the place as the best Texans corner. In his six seasons with the team, Robinson accumulated 393 tackles, 13 interceptions, 63 passes defended, and 6 forced fumbles.

His 329 career solo tackles remain the second most in Texans history (although he is likely to be passed by at least one other player in 2015), and he has more interceptions than anyone else to play for the team. He lived up to his draft position (no. 10 overall in 2004), and remains one of Houston’s most successful draft choices.

Sep 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs conerback Dunta Robinson (21) during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 26-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

In 2004, Dunta became the first of three Texans to win the Pro Football Writers Association’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award, after starting all 16 games and recording 87 tackles and 6 interceptions. While Robinson may be most well-remembered for writing “Pay me Rick” on his shoes in reference to Texans GM Rick Smith and their contract dispute, hopefully his legacy will be more closely tied to his successes on the football field.

Robinson helped to build the team into what it is today, especially in terms of the defense. With his ball-hawking ability, and fearlessness when it came to stopping the run, the team was able to develop a solid defense. Dunta played several years after leaving Houston, with the Falcons and the Chiefs, but he could never match the consistent production he had in his early years as a Texan.

Next: Number 4