ESPN Reveals Texans' Most Under-the-Radar Offseason Move

The Houston Texans have made a fair share of noise through their initial moves of free agency. Whether it be on the offensive side of the ball like their deal to ship out All-Pro tackle Laremy Tunsil, or on the defensive side with their acquisition of Super Bowl-champion C.J. Gardner-Johnson, this front office has clearly been busy.

Yet, through the chaos the Texans have had their part in, they've also managed to make a few intriguing moves around the edges that don't jump off the page, yet could pay major dividens in 2025.

In the eyes of ESPN insider DJ Bien Aime, the Texans' most overlooked move may have been their signing of former Chicago Bears defensive end Darrell Taylor to a low-risk, one-year contract.

"Getting Taylor as a rotational player was a savvy move," Bien-Aime wrote. "He has 24.5 sacks in four seasons, including 9.5 in 2022. The Texans rotate often to keep the defensive line fresh, so when defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. head to the sideline, Houston now has someone coming in who could get after quarterbacks. Coming off the bench, Taylor strengthens an already-strong unit."

The questions have been plentiful for what's to come on Houston's offensive side of the ball, but when it comes to the defense, it's a pretty surefire bet that this group will return to a similar dominant form as last season. Taylor, a former second-round pick in the 2020 draft, could be another appealing asset to add to that front seven.

Taylor has nice size at 6-foot-4, 267 pounds, is still in the early stages of his career, and only comes at a small cost on a prove-it deal worth under $3 million. Even in a worst-case scenario where a signing like this doesn't pan out, there's such negligible risk from the Texans' brass –– effectively making this a swing worth taking.

The Texans' pass rush already has a nice bundle of playmakers as is, and it showed throughout their lethal 2024 showing, but for a creative defensive mind like DeMeco Ryans, adding more young talent to help assist Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. perform at their best is far from a poor investment.

Houston will have their respective concerns to address this coming season, but very few of those likely reside on their defensive front. If able to maintain their health similar production as they did last campaign, this unit will inevitably become a driving force to several wins.