The Houston Texans have been rather active this offseason. Before NFL free agency kicked off, they were able to fill a major need when they traded for wide receiver Christian Kirk.
They continued to make moves from there, with their offensive line shuffle garnering the most attention. That's understandable since they moved on from Laremy Tunsil, Shaq Mason, and Kenyon Green in the same offseason. They replaced their outgoing linemen with Cam Robinson, Trent Brown, Ed Ingram, and Laken Tomlinson.
Houston even added C.J. Gardner-Johnson in a savvy move when they traded Green to Philadelphia.
Even their internal moves made headlines as they gave a massive extension to cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive end Danielle Hunter. As much as those moves deserve attention, ESPN's D.J. Bien-Aime says their best under-the-radar move was adding Darrell Taylor from the Chicago Bears.
"Getting Taylor as a rotational player was a savvy move," Bien-Aime said. "He has 24.5 sacks in four seasons, including 9.5 in 2022. The Texans rotate often to keep the defensive line fresh, so when defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. head to the sideline, Houston now has someone coming in who could get after quarterbacks. Coming off the bench, Taylor strengthens an already-strong unit."
The 6-foot-4, 267-pound defensive end was the 48th overall pick out of Tennessee in the 2020 NFL Draft. He started out on the wrong foot with an injury holding him out of his rookie campaign. He then recorded 6.5 sacks in 2021 and 9.5 in 2022.
He was traded to the Bears for a late-round pick and had his lowest output with three sacks. That led to a soft market but the Texans hope to capitalize.
Even if Taylor doesn't return to the form we saw in 2022, he gives them incredible depth at the position as he joins Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, and Derek Barnett. The Texans line is incredibly deep which is just one reason this move is being praised.