Defensive end J.J. Watt has been the focal point of the Houston Texans’ pass rush since 2012, the year after his rookie season when he flashed immense potential in the AFC wild-card.
However, the 2020 defense’s pass rush may be dependent on the performance of youngsters on the roster in second-year defensive end Charles Omenihu and third-year outside linebacker Jacob Martin. In 2019, Omenihu collected 3.0 sacks while Martin tallied 3.5. The potential for more is out there.
“Obviously those guys being effective will be massive for us,” Watt told reporters on Saturday. “With our third-down package, you have to have pressure coming from all different places. You have to have guys coming up the middle, being able to put pressure on the pocket up the middle so the edges have the ability to bend the corner and get to the quarterback.”
Watt emphasized that the pass rush will have to be formidable in the early portion of the Texans’ schedule when Houston faces Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Kirk Cousins in the first four weeks of the season.
Said Watt: “With some of the guys in our league and some of the guys we’re going to play early on in the season who are extremely mobile and extremely good at moving around in the pocket and sometimes out the back of the pocket, you have to have guys who can chase them down and be able to get them wherever they want to go, because those guys really will go anywhere and they have the arm strength to throw from anywhere.”
Omenihu has been working in the offseason with Super Bowl champion outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware on his technique as the former Texas Longhorn looks to take a leap in year two.
“It’s going to be very important that we’re all on the same page and that we all do a great job together of collapsing the pocket and not just getting pressure from one spot or another,” said Watt.
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