Tag: Jerry Hughes

Making a 53-man roster out of active ex-Buffalo Bills

Let’s have some fun:

The NFL is a league with plenty of turnover among players and staff. Every offseason, all 32 teams churn their roster through trades and drops, leading to recycling of personnel through free agency.

When Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott mentioned in his end-of-season presser to ‘not expect wholesale changes‘, it got us thinking: What if the entire roster was changed?

Well, as it turns out, we could.

Here are the ground rules we set for this exercise:

  • All players/coaches had to have been on a 90-man roster or practice squad at some point during the 2023 season (dating back to March 15, 2023) with one exception (below).
  • Players who weren’t in the NFL in 2023 were still considered if they were active in another league (CFL, XFL, etc.) this past season.
  • Players/coaches had to have been on the Bills’ 90-man roster, 53-man roster, or practice squad for at least one day at some point in their careers.
  • Construction of the 53-man had to be realistic and balanced in terms of numbers at each position (ie. we don’t have 1 running back and 15 wide receivers).
  • Players had to be listed at a position they’ve taken snaps in (ie. couldn’t put a TE along the OL, etc.).

This is what we came up with…

Sheldon Rankins gets a #THICCSIX fumble recovery for Texans

Sheldon Rankins of the Texans added his name to the estimable #THICCSIX list for the 2023 NFL season.

There are few more satisfying things in sports than a big man rumbling for a touchdown, and the Houston Texans experienced that phenomenon in their game against the Tennessee Titans with 10:10 left in the first half. Houston was already up 10-0 with the return from concussion of quarterback C.J. Stroud, and then, veteran edge-rusher Jerry Hughes strip-sacked Titans quarterback Will Levis, and the 6-foot-2, 305-pound Rankins took over from there.

Rankins just qualifies for a #THICCSIX under the official rules, which we hold here at Touchdown Wire. No man under three bills can have one, but Rankins now has the first of his eight-year career.

Unfortunately, Levis was injured on the play.

Texans DE Jerry Hughes says Will Anderson ‘has that Von Miller ability’

Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes says that he sees similarities between All-Pro Von Miller and rookie Will Anderson.

Having played 13 previous seasons in the NFL gives Jerry Hughes unique perspective.

The Houston Texans defensive end has 201 games worth of experience to know what skills are on display, which makes Hughes a credible commentator on Will Anderson.

Hughes used a lofty comparison for the No. 3 overall defensive end when meeting with reporters Sunday at Houston Methodist Training Center.

“Just one, it’s great to have someone who is eager to be out there early on the field, and two, he has that Von Miller ability — just how great he is with his hands,” Hughes said.

Miller has 123.5 career sacks, eight Pro Bowls, three All-Pros, and a Super Bowl MVP. Hughes wasn’t forecasting Anderson would have the same career success, but merely noted the former Alabama product has some of the same skillsets.

“He is already fast and he’s able to kind of setup some of his rushes off of his speed already, so, that he’s able to kind of understand the game it’s going to be tremendous for us,” said Hughes. “Then just how he’s picking up our defense. Picking up the small things about attacking the ball as a defensive lineman.”

Where Hughes sees maturity in Anderson’s play is in his focus on takeaways.

Said Hughes: “We always emphasize turnovers and that’s going to help us be the defense we want to be. You see a lot of our young guys picking up on that, especially Will and that’s what you want to see especially up front. Just someone who can slow down the game, but also utilize his God given ability and then put some technique to that as well.”

Hughes led the Texans with 9.0 sacks last season. The 34-year-old may get eclipsed if Anderson plays like Miller, the 2011 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

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Ranking edge rushers in the AFC South entering 2023

Taking a look at ranking the edge rushers in the AFC South.

The AFC South has some young talented pass rushers across the board. Five players were selected in the first round, there’s a No. 1 overall pick, and only one of the five first-rounders has played at least five NFL seasons.

For this list, it features the top two edge rushers from each team in the division. Let’s take a look at how they rank:

Texans DE Jerry Hughes still productive as 7-tech pass rusher

Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes is one of the best 7-tech pass rushers according to the Touchdown Wire.

The Houston Texans are undoubtedly getting younger at edge rusher with the drafting of No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson. However, the club still believes they have an effective defensive end in Jerry Hughes, and the tape may prove it.

According to Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, who studied edge rushers in various techniques from the 0-tech to the wide-9, the best rusher using the 7-tech is none other than Hughes.

The same positive attributes that apply to 6-tech rushers basically apply to 7-techs, and here, we have to point to Jerry Hughes, the veteran pass-rusher who amassed seven solo sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 17 quarterback hurries in the 7-tech position, to the tight end’s outside shoulder. Hughes was a stalwart in this role because he’s able to combine speed and bend around the edge with power moves to foil the best left tackles. Here, against the Eagles in Week 9, left tackle Jordan Mailata got a taste of what that looked like.

On the year, Hughes generated 9.0 sacks. It was the first time since J.J. Watt’s 16.0 sacks in 2018 that a Texans defender had come close to reaching the double-digit mark.

Despite how Hughes was used in former coach Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 scheme, the former Sugar Land Stephen F. Austin High School product will be part of an attacking front with new coach DeMeco Ryans.

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The Xs and Os: The NFL’s most disruptive pass-rushers from every gap

From Dexter Lawrence to Nick Bosa, who are the best pass-rushers from every gap — wide-9 to nose tackle? Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar investigate.

Today’s NFL is about two things above all else — creating and defending explosive plays. In the effort to defend explosive plays, defenses align their pass-rushers all over the line of scrimmage in everything from stunts off of base fronts to overload fronts, where offensive linemen have to adjust more than they’d like to against numbers that don’t work for them.

Anything to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible.

Still, quarterback disruption is about more than just scheme — you also have to have a certain number of guys with the right tools and traits to blow things up from every gap.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into the traits needed to get after the quarterback from every gap — from 0-tech (right over the center) to wide-9 (far outside the offensive tackle).

Greg and Doug spent this week’s “Xs and Os” building the ideal defensive line with those specific traits, and here, we drill down to the best pass-rushers in the 2022 season from every gap. Who does it best, and what are the tools needed to do it?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

[mm-video type=video id=01h4070wd6c5h5xc5h4x playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h4070wd6c5h5xc5h4x/01h4070wd6c5h5xc5h4x-4f09cde313c169cad39a8a8a06c224b8.jpg]

You can also subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

(All metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified). 

DE Jerry Hughes predicts Texans will be ‘more violent’ on defense

Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes believes the defense will be “more violent” in 2023 under new coach DeMeco Ryans.

Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes can already see the changes to the defense.

New coach DeMeco Ryans spent the entire offseason program from April 3’s voluntary workouts to June 14’s mandatory minicamp laying down the foundation of his scheme he ran with as the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons.

Hughes spent his first season with the Texans under then-coach Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2. Although the former Sugar Land Stephen F. Austin product was able to lead Houston with 9.0 sacks last year, the focus of the defense was different.

“We’re not trying to run around blocks anymore,” Hughes said. “It’s moreso attacking. We got to be defenders, we got to be the aggressor. I think that’s what a lot of guys were excited to get back to, is kind of football, in my mind.”

Not only has the defensive philosophy changed for Houston, but the Texans have added younger personnel with rookie defensive end Will Anderson, fifth-round linebacker Henry To’oTo’o, and the continuous ascension of second-year safety Jalen Pitre. Houston also signed defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, linebacker Denzel Perryman, and safety Jimmie Ward in free agency.

Hughes has also noticed the defense is “probably faster.”

Said Hughes: “Guys are running around making plays. They have been with our strength staff here who has done a tremendous job of keeping everyone healthy. With that added element, guys are moving a lot faster.”

A faster scheme with an attacking scheme should lead to a different on-field profile for Houston in 2023.

“I think you’re see a lot more violent defense, guys that are flying around the ball,” said Hughes. “We got 11 hats coming after you. It’s going to be something that a lot of people are going to be excited to see. I know I am. I know the guys on defense are. We’ve just been perfecting it for these past couple of months. It’s going to be really exciting.”

The Texans were tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles for the fifth-most takeaways last season with 27. However, Houston gave up the third-most total yards in 2022 with 6,452.

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DE Jerry Hughes still feels young, credits the Texans’ training, nutrition staffs

Houston Texans DE Jerry Hughes is entering his 14th NFL season, but credits the training and nutrition staffs for being able to keep up.

Jerry Hughes doesn’t know how he is able to do it.

The 34-year-old defensive end was able to move about and keep pace with his younger teammates at Houston Texans mandatory minicamp June 13-14. Despite the heat, Hughes was able to glide on the playing surface at Houston Methodist Training Center.

“God is good,” Hughes said. “But still able to kind of move around with these young guys in this heat. It’s been quite a blessing.”

Longevity in the NFL isn’t as much luck as it is being able to take care of one’s body, and Hughes recognizes the Texans provide the resources to extend, not just his career, but the quality.

One of the key pieces is nutrition led by director of team wellness Ladd Harris and implemented by assistant director of performance nutrition Jacob Mertins and performance nutrition coordinator Amy Johnson.

“I mean, we got a really good staff here,” said Hughes. “What they do as far as in the kitchen, getting us to refuel our bodies, they’re always giving us every bit of information we can to take as far as what to put in it.”

Sports medicine is led by director of Texans health Geoff Kaplan with Roland Ramirez serving as director of player care and sports medicine.

“The training staff, they do a fantastic job of any kind of bumps, bruises, tight muscles, whatever you name, they can work it out and fix it for you,” Hughes said. “I lean heavy on them because we got one of the best staffs here in the NFL. When you got that in-house, it’s hard to kind of miss game days. That’s really what you want to optimize.”

The former Indianapolis Colts 2010 first-round pick led Houston with 9.0 sacks through 17 games last year, 16 of which he started.

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Texans DE Jerry Hughes details how Will Anderson has been impressive

Houston Texans defensive end Jerry Hughes notes an aspect to Will Anderson’s style that can’t be measured conventionally.

The Houston Texans won’t put on pads until the fifth day of training camp, but rookie defensive end Will Anderson showcased his smarts, toughness, and physicality throughout organized team activities and mandatory minicamp.

Defensive end Jerry Hughes, 34, is pleased to be reining a youngster in rather than crafting ways to motivate him.

“That’s something you really love to see early on where you have to pull him back versus encouraging him to kind of be aggressive, trying to get him to use different techniques,” Hughes told reporters June 14 at minicamp. “He’s here early, getting in with all the coaches. That’s what you want to see from a young player, someone who is eager to learn and doing all the right things early on.”

The Texans took Anderson with the No. 3 overall pick from Alabama. The 6-4, 243-pounder terrorized off the edge for the Crimson Tide, earning two Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors. However, it isn’t Anderson’s play that has impressed Hughes throughout offseason workouts.

Said Hughes: “His intelligence. Just how smart he is as a young guy. Not afraid to sit in the front of the classroom, ask questions, be repetitive so he can make sure he understands what the coaches are asking him to go out there and perform and do. I think that’s just key. He has all of the physical tools to go out there and be a freak of nature and wreak havoc for four quarters. But now, when you’re at this level, it’s about mental, how can you attack opponents, how can you keep them guessing what you’re doing.”

Hughes, a former 2010 Indianapolis Colts first-round pick, noted that the best players in the NFL are at a high level, “when people can’t really get a read or beat on what you’re getting ready to do.”

The Texans have not had a player with double-digit sacks since J.J. Watt in 2018 with 16.0. Houston has never had a rookie go over the 10-sack threshold.

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Texans defensive line is earning better consideration than expected

The Houston Texans defense is actually better than expected in the latest Pro Football Focus rankings of all 32 teams’ defensive lines.

The Houston Texans are attempting to complete the rebuild. As such, there aren’t exactly spots on their roster that signify strength.

Although the Texans may not have position groups that are fortified, it doesn’t mean the groups that aren’t showing strength don’t have promise.

According to Zoltán Buday from Pro Football Focus, the Texans’ defensive line ranks No. 23 in a ranking of all 32 teams’ defensive lines.

While the Texans do not have an elite player on their defensive line — at least not until rookie Will Anderson Jr. gets acclimated to the NFL — they have more starting-caliber players than most teams that find themselves outside the top 20 on this list.

In fact, the Texans have four interior defenders who ranked in the top 100 players at the position. Furthermore, while edge defender Jerry Hughes will start his 14th season in the NFL, he is still capable of playing at a solid level, as he has earned PFF grades over 70.0 in each of his last six seasons and ranked among the top 40 at his position in each of those years.

Houston doesn’t just have Hughes that can be a solid contributor. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins has been a stalwart as the line’s three-technique. The Texans also have former 2020 third-round defensive end Jonathan Greenard entering a contract year. The Texans shelled out contracts in free agency for Sheldon Rankins and Hassan Ridgeway.

Anderson will be the wild-card that ultimately determines the strength of the group. If the No. 3 overall pick is able to play at a high level and bring disruption throughout his rookie campaign, then the rest of the league will know in 2024 that Houston’s defensive line is not to be taken lightly.

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