The Texans linebackers put up some really good tackle numbers in 2021 and 2022. But there was an evident reason for that with those two defenses and it wasn't a good reason, either. In all honesty, it was a linebacker group that really struggled to shut down the run and don't even get me started on play action.
2023 didn't start too much better, but as soon as DeMeco Ryans' defense started to make sense for the linebackers, the overall play really started to improve. Blake Cashman took over as the leader in the middle and made impactful plays for the rest of the season. When Denzel Perryman was healthy/active, he was a rock-hard hitter who exploded into the backfield.
But the one player people yearned to see take off was Christian Harris. Over the last half of the season and into the playoffs, he was one of the team's most valuable defenders. It's a good thing, too, because Cashman and Perryman moved on for 2024, leaving Harris by his lonesome. Thankfully, though, the Texans finally got the guy that I'd wanted the year prior - former Titans/49ers LB Azeez Al-Shaair. The Azeez-Christian combination gets me excited about this linebacker group. The depth at the position will be tested, though, in the preseason and it'll have to step up if/when injuries strike.
With training camp just around the corner, let's dive into this linebacker group, one now led by a newcomer to Houston (but not a newcomer in this defense) and a playmaker who's on the verge of being a household name all over the NFL.
Linebackers (numerical order)
0 Azeez Al-Shaair
6th year - 1st in Houston
2024 FA signing
2023 Stats (TEN) - 17 games, 163 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 9.0 TFL, six QB hits, one FR, four passes defensed
- 5th in the league in 2023 with 163 tackles
Heading into the 2023 offseason, I wrote my linebacker position breakdown and in the section where I outline the free agents that the Texans could/should/might sign, I put at number one Azeez Al-Shaair. Even though he didn't always start in San Francisco due to the presence of arguably the best linebacker combination in the league (Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw), he did start 31 times and proved he was ripe for a big opportunity to lead a defense. I thought Houston was that perfect spot and it was…a year later. After a pit stop in Tennessee where he was tremendous in 2023, Al-Shaair has arrived in Houston to lead this defense after signing a free agent contract this offseason. Okay, so it was a year later, but the Texans got their guy to lead this defense and he's THAT DUDE to do it right.
13 Del'Shawn Phillips
5th year - 1st year in Houston
2024 FA signing
2023 Stats (BAL) - 17 games, 24 tackles, 1.0 TFL, one FF, one FR
Phillips was an outstanding special teams player for the Ravens. He racked up 375 special teams snaps in his final season in Baltimore and registered 24 tackles and a TFL mainly on teams' units. That is certainly what he's known for, but the Texans linebacker position isn't completely settled behind the presumed starters Al-Shaair and Harris. These four preseason games and the one joint practice against the Rams will be a big showcase for Phillips to prove his mettle as a linebacker and special teams star.
22 Jacob Phillips
4th year - 1st year in Houston
2024 FA signing
*No 2023 Stats
I remember seeing the news during the offseason that the Texans had signed Phillips and instantly, I got that quizzical look on my face. You know that one where there's a name or a thought just on the tip of your tongue and you just can't figure it out. I sat there for a second and then typed "Jacob Phillips" into my Google machine and it all came flooding back.
"OH YEAH!", I exclaimed.
He was Patrick Queen's running mate at linebacker on the historical 2019 LSU championship team. Wait a second, I thought, what happened? Injuries are what happened, to a point where Phillips played just 20 games in three years for the Cleveland Browns and didn't play at all in 2023. But, rolling the proverbial dice that Phillips might be healthy is well worth it. He's long, all day athletic and can run. If he pans out, what a move to help the defense and special teams. He's as intriguing to me as any player in this camp, no cap.
35 Jake Hansen
3rd year in Houston
2022 UDFA
2023 Stats - 14 games, 12 tackles
It feels like Jake just got to Houston, but he's working on this third year for this organization. He's been productive for the team on both defense and special teams in that time frame, but an injury slowed him down at the end of last season and he was held out of OTA/minicamp in order to fully heal for training camp. He can play any linebacker position, contribute on the core four special teams and provide outstanding depth at linebacker, a position that desperately needs it during a 17 game season. He has such good football instincts that it's hard to overlook him when he's out on the field and he'll get plenty of opportunity to shine with four preseason games and joint practice against the Rams.
39 Henry To'o To'o
2nd year in Houston
2023 4th round selection
2023 Stats - 14 games, 61 tackles, 2.0 TFL, one QB hit, one FF, two passes defensed, one FR
The Texans drafted To'o To'o in 2023 and early in his rookie campaign, he was a starter in the middle of this defense. As a rookie, he was extremely valuable in this defense and on special teams, racking up 61 tackles in his first year in the league. He's got more in his bag for sure in year two and I can't wait to see his first-year-to-second-year leap that most players in the league make. With more comfort in this defense, I expect To'o To'o to take those strides as he fights for playing time in this defense. The Texans will need To'o To'o at some point during the season, given the physical demands of playing this position, and he'll be ready to take his game to higher heights in 2024.
43 Neville Hewitt
10th year - 4th in Houston
2021 FA signing, 2023 re-signing, 2024 re-signing
2023 Stats - 16 games, 14 tackles
I've said this before, but you don't see Hewitt coming, you HEAR him. Ball carriers FEEL him. I'll put it this way, there have been numerous occasions in his three years in Houston when I couldn't exactly see who made a tackle, but I heard it and automatically told Marc as he does play-by-play "Hewitt." And, I've been right with my spotting as a result. There's nobody on this team that I would want to be hit by less than Hewitt. He finishes guys and when he has a running start on teams at a returner, he leaves a mark. He's been such a tremendously valuable piece on special teams, but he can also be a factor against the run on defense as well.
45 Maxwell Tooley
Rookie
2024 UDFA
2023 Stats (BYU) - 12 games, 92 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, one INT, one FF, two PBU
Tooley was the best defender in the BYU stable and he popped on my radar screen in the CIncinnati game in 2023. He had really snatched my attention as a junior against Notre Dame and I made a mental note because I typically like funky numbers on linebackers. You know, like LBs that wear #31, for example (Will Anderson, Jr. at Alabama, anyone?). But he missed the rest of that season with an injury. Even though he was off my radar screen for a bit, Tooley got back on it during his senior campaign, running around the yard and making plays for the Cougars. He'll have plenty of opportunity with this linebacker corps to get meaningful snaps to show the decision makers what he can do for this defense in 2024 and beyond.
48 Christian Harris
3rd year in Houston
2022 3rd round selection
2023 Stats - 16 games, 101 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 7.0 TFL, three QB hits, seven passes defensed, one FF
- Interception, pick six v. Cleveland in the Wild Card weekend win over Cleveland - became just the second Texan with a pick six in a playoff game (J.J. Watt in 2011)
When I thought about Harris in year two as a Texan, the one thing that came to mind was growth. Early in the season, Christian just didn't seem sure of himself out on the field. He wasn't playing loose, fast and ferociously as we had expected. Then, the switch was flipped around midseason and there was NO looking back. He had seven TFLs and seven passes defensed during the 2023 season and all occurred after Week 7. He earned the trust of the coaching staff and became a monster out on the field. It culminated with his two game playoff performance that included 15 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, two QB hits and a pick six that no one will ever forget. Now, heading into year three, he's the emotional and productive heartbeat of this defense - blitzing, covering, running-and-hitting and finishing. Can't wait to see #48 back in action in 2024.
49 Tarique Barnes
Rookie
2024 UDFA
2023 Stats (Illinois) - ten games, 25 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, two QB hurries
Former teammate of Hansen at Illinois, Barnes started off the 2023 year well, but nagging injuries slowed his progress in his final year in Champaign. But, here in Houston, he can show his speed, playing fast from either of the three linebacker positions. He was used as a spy at Illinois to track fast, dual threat QBs. Like Tooley and Jamal Hill, the rookies will more than likely start at the back of the pack, but Barnes has traits that can get the coaches' attention quickly.
56 Jamal Hill
Rookie
2024 6th round selection
2023 Stats (Oregon) - 14 games, 31 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, two FF, two QB hurries, two PBU
First impressions upon seeing Hill for the first time - he's not the biggest linebacker in the world and, holy cow, he can run. In today's NFL, not being a 1990s sized linebacker isn't the worst thing in the world, nor is it even a real knock against him. But, a 2020s linebacker has to be able to run and Hill can do that. He was a former safety at Oregon so there was a bit of a transition for him when he moved down to linebacker in his final season. As a 6th round rookie, the expectations aren't through the roof, but Hill will need to show how well he knows this scheme and then execute it, first and foremost. Staying healthy is the biggest key for rookies being able to stack good day after good day and if Hill can do that, he's going to be heard from at this position.
