INDIANAPOLIS -- Since becoming the coach of the Houston Texans, DeMeco Ryans has stressed the importance of the defensive line. His value led to the Texans trading up for Will Anderson Jr. during the 2023 NFL Draft. And by the end of the 2023 regular season, Houston's defensive line unit accounted for 38.5 of their franchise record 46 sacks.
The defensive line was one of the Texans' best position groups last season. But when it comes to the 2024 NFL Draft, Ryans and the Texans can add more talent to their front four, starting with Texas' prospect Byron Murphy II.
"It would mean a lot to get drafted by Houston," Murphy said. "Just staying in Texas, I'm familiar with it because I am from Texas. It would mean a lot playing for DeMeco Ryans as a young African American coach. It would mean a lot to me."
Murphy is entering the draft as one of the top-rated prospects at his position. He decided to forgo his senior season and enter the draft after a career year with the Longhorns –– recording 29 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks across 14 games.
Murphy would meet Ryans' desire to improve the defensive front. The potential selection of Murphy at pick No. 23 would help the Texans establish a defensive line that will continue creating havoc on the opposing team's offense while playing next to Anderson.
"The D-line class, it's a lot of varying degrees of capability amongst the players that we have," Ryans said. "There are big physical guys who can get after it. It's about us mixing the right guys together and deciding which formula works for us.
"How can we get the right guys to complement each other, and play well off one another because that's how I see D-Lines play. It's not about just one guy. It's a complement of eight guys who can come in and continue to put pressure on the opposing team."
Ryans believes the 2024 draft class has several "good guys" on the defensive front, explosive and twitchy players who can play on the inside and out.
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