KC Chiefs: Five pass rushing units Patrick Mahomes should fear in 2019
By Cullen Jekel
Week 6: Houston Texans
Houston, a team that won the AFC South after going 11-5 in 2018, didn’t make major changes to the defensive pass rush. It will be interesting to see how DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney handles playing under the franchise tag this season after he and the team failed to reach a long-term deal. Still, he’ll be a piece in the lineup, and a critical one, at that.
Clowney finished second on the Texans in sacks in 2018 with nine, seven behind J.J. Watt. Watt also led the team in quarterback hits with 25, followed by Clowney at 21 and linebacker Whitney Mercilus at 14. Mercilus also finished third on the team in sacks with an even four.
As a team, Houston finished 2018 with 43 sacks (tied for 11th in the NFL) and 92 quarterback hits (tied for 16th).
In the draft, the Texans selected defensive end Charles Omenihu out of Texas in the fifth round. Maybe he cracks the rotation in 2019. After all, he collected 9.5 sacks his senior season for the Longhorns, and totaled 16.5 sacks and 30 tackles for loss during his time in Austin. Houston primarily focused on shoring up the secondary in free agency.
Despite not adding a pass rusher in free agency and not adding one in the draft until the fifth round, the Texans’ pass rush, with a perennial Pro-Bowler in Clowney, a future Hall-of-Famer in Watt, and another threat who lives up to his surname in Mercilus, could very well disrupt the Kansas Chiefs passing scheme.