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The Houston Texans have the defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year, J.J. Watt, leading the defense heading into 2015. Watt has the ability to impact a game in so many ways. He collected 20.5 sacks in 2014, four forced fumbles, recovered five fumbles, returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown and he led the NFL with 32 quarterback hurries. Watt also contributed as a tight end in 2014, catching three touchdowns. Combined Watt scored five total touchdowns and almost single-handedly led the Texans to the playoffs. The bad news for the rest of the NFL is, Watt will have plenty of help in 2015.
The Texans went out this offseason and signed former New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork. Wilfork is the perfect fit in Romeo Crennel‘s defense and even spent one season in the system in 2004. He’s going to help clog up running lanes and require double and triple-teams by the opposing team’s center and guards, which will allow the Texans’ extremely fast linebackers to stay clean and make plays. In my opinion, Wilfork was the most important offseason signing by any NFL team.
In addition to Wilfork, the Texans made one of the best under-the-radar signings when the team inked former Denver Broncos safety Rahim Moore to a three-year, $12 million contract. Moore is only 25 years old and is coming off of the best season of his career in 2014 where he finished with 49 combined tackles, four interceptions and five passes defensed. Having a fast safety like Moore on the back end of the defense will allow Crennel to take more chances with coverages and blitzes.
The additions didn’t stop with Wilfork and Moore. The Texans took two potential game-changing talents with their first two selections in the 2015 NFL Draft. In the first round, the Texans chose Wake Forest corner Kevin Johnson, who could step in and contribute as a slot corner from day one. With their second-round pick, the Texans took Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney, who some talent evaluators had a first-round grade on. McKinney will likely open 2015 as the Texans’ starting strong-side linebacker.
If those additions weren’t enough, the Texans will also be getting 2014 No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney back from micro-fracture knee surgery. Inside linebacker Brian Cushing, who played through a broken wrist in 2014, has had three surgeries, one on his broken left wrist, an arthroscopic procedure on his ankle and one on his left knee, the same knee that he tore his ACL in, in 2013. Getting these two guys back to 100 percent is like adding the top two free agents on the market.
When you combine all of these new pieces with Watt, Whitney Mercilus, Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson, it’s going to make a nightmare for offensive coordinators who face the Texans in 2015. In fact, if the team can get consistent quarterback play from either Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer, I could see the Texans winning the AFC South over the Indianapolis Colts.
Jason Fletcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.
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