The Houston Texans are in the process of putting together their undrafted free agent class following the 2025 NFL Draft. The Texans hope to find a diamond in the rough who could make the 53-man roster or grab a spot on the practice squad.
On Sunday, the Texans added to their defensive line in the UDFA period, picking a player who made waves at the Senior Bowl earlier this year.
According to Arye Pulli, Houston signed former Utah Utes defensive lineman Junior Tafuna. The 6-foot-3, 308-pound defensive tackle spent his entire four-year college career with the Utes. He posted 108 combined tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 8 pass deflections, 7.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
Former Utah DL Junior Tafuna is signing with the #Texans, per source.
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) April 27, 2025
Was one of the top available prospects. pic.twitter.com/AiFjJ5jxll
Last season with the Utes, Tafuna had 31 combined tackles, four pass deflections, three tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, an interception, and a half sack. Throughout his time at Utah, Tafuna has predominantly played the b-gap, which means he’s lined up over the right guard and tackle.
According to Pro Football Focus, Tafuna played 487 defensive snaps, with 277 as a pass rusher (210 on run defense). Despite not many sacks last season, the 6-foot-3 defensive lineman had 13 hurries.
With his size and strength, Tafuna is hard to move off his spot and can quickly disengage from a block to make a tackle in the running game. Tafuna’s get-off is solid and is good at reading and reacting.
As things currently stand, Tafuna has an uphill climb to make the Texans’ 53-man roster, as they have a bunch of defensive tackles on their roster with NFL experience. Not to mention, Houston also drafted a defensive tackle in the seventh round (Kyonte Hamilton).
However, Tufana can make the 53-man roster. We’ve seen it every summer in the NFL ahead of the 53-man roster deadline. The former Utah defender will make his push for a roster spot in rookie minicamp, which will take place on May 2-5 or May 9-12.