Houston Texans on defense who needs to impress at mini-camp

Chase Winovich - Defensive end/linebacker

Through Winovich's first two seasons, he recorded 13 sacks and 70 total pressures.  But the last two seasons totaled only one sack and 15 pressures.  During those two years, he only played 176 pass rush snaps due to injuries.

Winovich is another player that needs to prove he’s healthy and ready to go.  If he can get back to his old form from a couple of seasons ago, he’ll give Coach Ryans’ a versatile piece to work with in this defense.  Winovich has played at linebacker and defensive end, so he has the versatility that Ryans will be able to utilize to his advantage.

The bottom line with Winovich is he has to get healthy and stay healthy.  He can be a productive player for this defense, and add a solid rotational piece for Ryans to work with.

If he doesn’t step up, he could be out the door on cut-down day, depending on the performance of other players he shares a position with, such as the two other players mentioned in this article, Jerry Hughes and Jonathan Greenard.

If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on Winovich rebounding from the last couple of seasons, making this team, and becoming an integral part of the defense.  But other talents will be battling him for a spot, so he’s going to have to show up.