Houston Texans: 5 dream/nightmare scenarios for the 2018 season
By T.A. Mock
Dream 4: Three players record 10+ sacks
The Houston Texans dealt with major injuries to two of their three main pass rushers in 2017. This year, all three are healthy and looking to wreak havoc on opposing offense. JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Whitney Merciulus all have the capabilities to notch over ten sacks in a season. All three have a rare blend of power and speed that they put to phenomenal use.
If these three are getting into the backfield at a good clip then the rest of the defense is going to be incrementally better. When Watt, Clowney, and Mercilus are full tilt they raise the level of play on the field. They provide energy to the rest of the team and the crowd that makes it incredibly hard for opposing offense to operate well.
There is a dark horse for another 10+ sack candidate. Duke Ejiofor has that kind of potential if the main three guys are eating up blocks. He could easily amass sacks in bulk if he gets playing time with these three.
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Nightmare 4: Pass rush is abysmal for multiple reasons
The biggest concern with the pass rush is health. JJ has missed two consecutive seasons for two different injuries. The broken leg isn’t likely to cause any issues in the future but, back problems like he’s had are always troublesome. Mercilus and Clowney have also missed a lot of time due to injuries.
These injuries could flare up and cause them to miss time or they could force these players to simply be less effective than they were in the past. The depth appears to be better than it was last year but, if guys start to go down again, so will this defense.