The 2020 Houston Texans have to fix their pass rush deficiencies. 31-year-old defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who will be 31 come Week 1, need reinforcements.
While the club expects defensive end Charles Omenihu to take a leap in his second year, the club has a promising edge defender returning in outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor.
The 2018 sixth-round pick from Wake Forest via nearby Alief Taylor High School produced 1.0 sack, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, and two pass breakups in his 12-game rookie season.
On Oct. 7, 2018, when the Texans hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, then-general manager Brian Gaine, who joined sideline reporter John Harris on the Texans Radio Network prior to kickoff, mentioned the rookie as part of the team’s pass rush.
“To have [Jadeveon Clowney] out there with Whitney and J.J. all at the same time, we’re excited about the prospects of Duke Ejiofor as well,” said Gaine. “We feel like we got a pretty deep arsenal in terms of rushers.”
Ejiofor was set to take the same leap Omenihu could take in his second year, but the 6-4, 255-pound outside linebacker tore his Achilles tendon in the offseason.
“It’s been unlucky,” coach Bill O’Brien said on May 10, 2019. “Duke’s a great guy and he just has had some bad luck. He’ll be back, though. He’ll be back at some point and he’ll have a chance to be a good pro football player.”
What the Texans like about Ejiofor is his versatility. The former Demon Deacon has also made an impression on the coaching staff that he is a smart, hard worker with versatility.
In the 2018 preseason, Ejiofor sustained a hamstring injury that landed him as questionable on the injury report for Week 1 at the New England Patriots. Ultimately, Ejiofor was declared inactive, and he made it back for Week 2 at the Tennessee Titans, where he recorded 1.0 sack in his first career game.
If Ejiofor can return to form from his Achilles injury, then the Texans should have adequate and young enough pass rushers to complement Watt and Mercilus.