The Texans named three new captains on Wednesday at the halfway point of their season.
Players selected defensive end J.J. Watt as a captain on defense, center Chris Myers as a captain on offense and safety Shiloh Keo as a captain on special teams.
"I like doing it at the halfway mark, because your teams are always different," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "It kind of lets the guys stand up and say, 'We see what you're doing. You're leading us in the right direction; keep doing it,' and I think they picked three great players there. Had a lot of guys get votes."
Watt and Keo, both second-year pros, are captains for the first time. Myers, a 2011 Pro Bowler, also was voted a captain last season after eight games.
Watt leads the NFL with 10.5 sacks. The 2011 first-round draft pick from Wisconsin also has a team-high 18 tackles for loss, 21 quarterback hits and 10 passes defensed.
"That's pretty impressive for a guy to be that young... and for those veterans and everybody in that locker room to vote for him like that," Kubiak said. "J.J.'s an all-business type of guy. He handles his business so well, and he's all about the game. He's studying all the time, working all the time and all about his team. For a very, very young player, that's a tremendous compliment"
Keo, a fifth-round pick from Idaho in 2011, has four special teams tackles this season, including two last week against Buffalo.
"He's a real sharp player," Kubiak said. "You watch him in the meetings, he's on top of what he's doing. He's an effort young man. That's his big role on our team, playing special teams. Our guys respect his effort, how he plays, how he goes about his business."
Myers, an eighth-year veteran, has started 72 consecutive games for the Texans. Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said he has become more of a vocal leader this year after the offseason departure of longtime starters Eric Winston and Mike Brisiel, who have been replaced by rookie guard Ben Jones and second-year tackle Derek Newton.
"His experience not just here but around the league has been great for those young guys," Dennison said. "He's coached them up as they go and always works with them. He understands that those five have to work as a unit. He's really the cog."
The three new captains join five captains who were selected before the season: quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson (offense), inside linebacker Brian Cushing and defensive end Antonio Smith (defense) and inside linebacker Tim Dobbins (special teams).
Twitter.com/NickScurfield
