Did the Texans waste their edge defender talent in the 2010s?

The Houston Texans had one of the best groups of edge defenders in the 2010s, but the lack of playoff wins suggests such talent may have been wasted.

The Houston Texans had a formidable edge defender group throughout the 2010s. The catalyst was defensive end J.J. Watt, who the club took in Round 1 of the 2011 NFL Draft. As the club transitioned from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense, Watt became the war daddy for Wade Phillips’ defense and not former 2006 No. 1 overall pick, Mario Williams.

The Texans added outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus in the first round of the 2012 draft, and Jadeveon Clowney with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft, the first of the Bill O’Brien era, who brought on Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Texans group of edge defenders had the best wins-above-replacement for the 2010s. However, aside from the Oakland Raiders, there are two teams on the list who achieved more than Houston.

The Denver Broncos with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware won a Super Bowl in 2015. The Philadelphia Eagles with Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Chris Long won a Super Bowl in 2017.

All the Texans have to show for the 2010s is four wild-card playoff wins — no Super Bowl appearances, no first-round byes, no conference title game appearances.

It would appear the Texans wasted the combined talent of Watt, Clowney, and Mercilus. After all, Watt produced 96.0 sacks, tied for second-most in the decade, and Mercilus had 50.0 of his own. The Texans as a team logged 370 sacks, tied with Buffalo for 17th in the 2010s.

However, the Broncos and Eagles had something the Texans didn’t receive until the end of the decade: stable quarterback play. Denver had Peyton Manning under center, and Philadelphia relied on Carson Wentz, who, even though he was injured and replaced by Nick Foles for their Super Bowl run, was an effective signal caller in 2017.

One fear is that as Deshaun Watson ascends to the top of the NFL, the Texans’ edge defense is going to taper off. If only the two forces could play at a high level in the same season, it could result in the Texans making a magical run in January.

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