In their brief history, the Houston Texans have some terrific pass rushers.
The Houston Texans have done a great job in their brief history, especially in the last decade or so, of drafting pass rushers that make an impact.
Sacks play such a crucial part of today’s game. Defensive players who can get to the quarterback have to be accounted for by the offenses in their gameplans.
In recent seasons, the Texans have brought in some game-changers; guys who can disrupt and pressure offenses. A few of them made this list!
Houston Texans’ all-time leaders in sacks
Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks – No. 5:
27.5 Sacks
The Texans plucked Antonio Smith from the free agent pool in 2009, and again in 2016. In his first five-year run with the team he recorded 27 sacks. He added a half-sack in his NFL swan song at the end of his career in his second tenure with the team.
His best two seasons in this category were in 2011 and 2012 when he nothche13.5 sacks. Those years, he also added 55 tackles, 42 of which were solo, and 17 tackles for loss. He got a nod for the Pro Bowl in 2011.
The defensive end played well throughout his career, but he started to flourish when the Texans added a certain high-powered pass rusher in 2011, taking some attention away from Smith.
He left after the 2013 season, returned for one more year in 2016 when he played in 13 games to polish off a solid, if not a particularly spectacular, 13-year career.
Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks – No. 4:
29 Sacks
In 2014, the Texans made hard-hitting Jadeveon Clowney the number one overall pick. In his rookie season, Clowney made no impact as he only played in four games due to injury.
His sophomore campaign began with him still hurt, but when he finally hit the field healthy, Houston caught glimpses at what he might become.
In 13 games in 2015, Clowney earned 4.5 sacks and made 40 tackles. The best was yet to come.
Over the next three seasons, Clowney recorded 24.5 sacks, made 158 tackles (129 solo), had 53 tackles for loss, and notched 59 hits on quarterbacks. He also earned three straight Pro Bowl bids.
After the 2018 season, the Texans traded Clowney to the Seahawks, where he had some injury issues and experienced a down year with only three sacks and 31 tackles in 13 games.
His career is far from over and he will be a big performer for several more seasons.
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.
Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks – No. 2: Mario Williams
53 Sacks
In the 2006 NFL draft, the Texans selected Mario Williams number one overall, passing on some flashier names such as Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart. It turned out to be a wise move as Williams was named to four Pro Bowls in his career while the three more prominent names combined for none.
Of course, Williams did not play his whole career in Houston, but his six years with the Texans were pretty darn good. He averaged nearly nine sacks a year, had over 30 solo tackles per season, and wracked up over 15 hits on the quarterback per campaign. He also forced 11 fumbles while in Houston.
He was named to two Pro Bowl playing for the Texans in 2008 and 2009. He was also named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice.
Unfortunately, Williams moved on in free agency after the 2011 season. He had three more very productive seasons with the Bills, including two more Pro Bowls and an All-Pro nod. His career tapered off quickly after that. He played in both 2015 and 2016 but recorded only 6.5 and 32 total tackles.
His six years for Houston were very productive, and he is second all-time in sacks for the franchise.
Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks – No. 1: J.J. Watt
96 Sacks
Was there any doubt J.J. Watt would top this list? Yet another first-round pick on this list, Watt blossomed after a decent rookie season in 2011 into the greatest defensive player in franchise history.
From 2012 through 2015, Watt had 69 sacks, including two seasons with 20.5. He led the league twice in that category. He also had 129 hits on the quarterback, leading the league three times.
His last four years have been riddled with injuries. He has played in only 32 games, 16 of which came in 2018, and he proved once again that when healthy, no one is better as he put up 16 sacks and 25 QB hits that year.
Since his rookie season, Watt has been an All-Pro in all five of his healthy seasons. He is one of the most disruptive forces in the game when he is on the field. Every opponent’s gameplan has involved some way to try to keep Watt off the quarterback. Few plans work.
Watt, at 31, maybe has two or three seasons left where he can be a significant impact. He has to avoid injuries, which is always hard to do in the NFL. If he can put up some good numbers for a few more seasons, he will be a shoo-in for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, if he isn’t already.
J.J. Watt is going to top the list of the Houston Texans all-time leaders in sacks for a long, long time. And he’s not done yet. It will be interesting to see where he sets the mark by the time his career is over.