Charles Omenihu in for a bigger role on Houston Texans’ defense

Houston Texans rookie Charles Omenihu is expected to take on a bigger role if he can make plays as he did in his debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Houston Texans raised certain concerns after their season opener against the New Orleans Saints when they were only able to notch one sack on quarterback Drew Brees. Defensive end J.J. Watt went without recording a single statistic on the stat sheet and Brees was comfortable enough in the pocket to pick apart the Texans’ secondary.

Whitney Mercilus was the only defender to bring down Brees and also create a turnover by intercepting him in the red zone. Texans pass-rushing options were limited outside of Watt and Mercilus, Angelo Blackson, D.J. Reader, Carlos Watkins, Brennan Scarlett, Zach Cunningham, Benardrick McKinney, and Jacob Martin are all players that have been put into situations to rush the quarterback with the Texans trading away Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Texans will continue to utilize multiple players to shore up the absence that Clowney left behind and Charles Omenihu could be one of the defenders that could step in for a bigger role. Omenihu was inactive for Week 1, however, he made his made debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars did not disappoint.

Omenihu had a strip-sack against Jaguars’ quarterback Gardner Minshew and with that play helped the Texans accumulate four sacks for the game. He was given the nod to be on the active roster as Watkins was part of the players that were a healthy scratch for Week 2.

Having another edge rusher on the active roster could pay off for Watt and the rest of the defense to play better overall. Texans needed another pass rusher to step up with Duke Ejiofor being ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury, and Omenihu can be that rotational pass rusher that can be utilized on passing downs to bring additional pressure on the quarterback.