Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks – No. 3: Whitney Mercilus
50 Sacks
After a crazy junior season at Illinois in which Whitney Mercilus record 16 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss, the Texans made him the 26th overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft.
As a pro, Mecilus has been a durable and consistent player. In his eight seasons, he has played in at least 15 games in all but one. Discounting the 2017 season when he missed 11 games, he has never had less than four sacks. Outside of that shortened season and his rookie campaign, he has never earned less than 39 tackles.
Not only does he have 50 career sacks, 324 tackles, and 216 solo tackles, but also 105 hits on the quarterback, He is double-figures in that last category except for his rookie and injured seasons.
He has also performed well in his eight postseason games, with seven sacks, 27 tackles, and 13 quarterback hits.
Fortunately, in December, the Texans extended Mecilus for four more years, so hopefully, he will be knocking around quarterbacks for Houston for several more years.