The Houston Texans defense will be one of the league’s best again in 2017 and J.J. Watt will continue to be the primary driver as he settles back in following 2016’s injury.
Shortly after the 2016 season came to a close, the speculation that the Houston Texans no longer needed defensive end J.J. Watt started to rear its ugly head. He’s been called superfluous on a defense filled with talented players (per ABC 13) and the fact that the defense didn’t completely fall apart without him is held up as if that’s the standard in the NFL.
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The standard is much, much higher and few players can achieve what Watt can. The four-time All-Pro and three-time Defensive Player of the Year is a good bet to be one or both of those things again when healthy. 2016’s derailment was shocking after four-straight seasons of domination in the NFL.
As Watt continues to work on coming back so he can be a healthy player in 2017, it feels that the sports world has already moved on to his heir apparent on defense: Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney, who struggled initially in the NFL, came alive in 2016. He was rightly voted to the Pro Bowl.
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Now, talk of him being a Hall of Fame player is starting to come out. Anthony Weaver, defensive line coach of the Texans, mentioned that he thinks Clowney can be a Hall of Famer, per the Houston Chronicle. Naturally, the former first-overall pick has a lot of pressure on him to be that kind of player and deliver on all of his potential.
The focus is turning just a little too quickly toward Clowney, however. Will he be great? Hopefully! But will he outshine a player like Watt when he’s healthy and back on defense? Probably not.
As the offseason slowly plods along and as fans eagerly anticipate training camp, the preseason, and the start of the season, it’s important to keep a balanced perspective of your team. For the Texans, that means letting some hype invigorate the fandom, but it also means taking some expectations with a grain of salt.
On a defense filled with so many great talents, there are only a limited number of offensive snaps that will allow game-changing plays to take place. Somebody is going to make those plays on the Texans defense. And that somebody is more likely to be J.J. Watt with his proven record of doing so than Clowney or someone else in the defensive front seven for the Texans.
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Let the hype wash over you, Texans fans. Get excited. But don’t sleep on the one true Hall of Famer on the defense. He’ll be coming back with a vengeance in 2017.