The Houston Texans began their preseason campaign with a 20-10 loss on the road vs the Minnesota Vikings, but one of the true purposes of preseason is to find standout players that can contribute effectively when the games really matter.
The Texans defense is a unit that has high expectations this season, widely considered to be one of the best in the league heading into the year. While the secondary gets a lot of attention with Derek Stingley Jr, Kamari Lassiter, and new acquisition CJ Gardner Johnson, the Texans linebackers have a much deeper and strong group.
Led by Christian Harris who looks to stay healthier this season as well as Azeez Al-Shaair as the defensive captain, that duo looks to continue to be effective this season. However, the depth was a little weak at times, as Henry To'oTo'o got a lot of playing time and continued to improve.
This season, the Texans linebackers seem to have a more well rounded group, and that was shown in the very first game of the season by E.J. Speed. After spending six seasons with AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts, Speed was signed by the Texans during free agency in April on an affordable one year, $5 million deal to bolster up the linebackers.
E.J. Speed is my Texans standout defensive player of the week!
— Jacob (@TexansJacob) August 9, 2025
92.1 PFF Grade (Subject to change)
2 Tackles
1 PBU
90.7 COV Grade
2 Run Stops
Speed can potentially earn some snaps this season for Houston pic.twitter.com/Hfp6BCP7Cg
E.J. Speed Shows Off His Potential to Be a True Difference-Maker at Linebacker
On the field in Minnesota, Speed led the defense with a standout performance early that got Texans fans on notice and excited. The signing in April was praised, and he looks like a low-risk, high-reward type of player. Speed made an impact with his quickness all over the field and his recognition of plays. This year, being Speed’s seventh season in the NFL, brings experience to a relatively young linebacking core, besides Al-Shair.
With Too’Too in his 3rd season, along with Jake Hansen and Jamal Hill moving into their sophomore year, Speed is now the oldest linebacker on the Texans. That will definitely help improve the play of the younger players in the group.
Like his name, Speed truly is fast and had a career year in 2024 with the Colts. The former fifth-round pick in 2019 had a career-high 142 tackles and 13.5 stuffs on defense (seven tackles for loss) along with an interception.
Speed certainly has caught the eye of Houston and will likely move up the depth chart. If the 30-year-old keeps it up, look for Speed to potentially start at one of the linebacker positions on the Texans for the regular season. After all, he does have potential playtime incentives on his contract.