Houston Texans: 5 Things to watch at training camp

2. Houston Texans: How well the defense picks up Tampa 2 in 2021

For the first time in a long time, the Houston Texans defense won’t have a 3-4 base formation when they take the field on defense; rather, they are moving to a 4-3 base with Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 defense.

A new look on defense is a welcome change because what the Texans had last season sure didn’t work out in their favor as they had one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Though a very familiar face is no longer on the roster and now plays for the Arizona Cardinals, the defense needs to show improvement from last season.

Showing improvement with the players added to the roster like linebackers Christian Kirksey and Shaq Lawson to name just two of the new additions, plus returning linebackers like Jonathan Greenard and Whitney Mercilus, will be of most importance for this unit to succeed in ’21. Zach Cunningham led the NFL in tackles in ’21, but the linebackers as an entire unit need to better than the group that was on the field last season.

It is simple for the Texans: if the defense is better, it will help the offense and vice versa, so improvement is the word of training camp when the defense is involved.