John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.

One of the best things to come out of the Texans' second preseason game, a 20-12 victory at Pittsburgh, was the performance of the defensive line.

Because of changes in the defensive line caused by tackle Maliek Collins' trade to San Francisco, tackle Sheldon Rankins' signing with Cincinnati and end Denico Autry's six-game suspension, the Texans need two new starting tackles and someone to step up to replace Autry.

Head Coach DeMeco Ryans, defensive coordinator Matt Burke and defensive line coach Rod Wright feel good about what they saw against the Steelers.
Even though Autry, who's eligible to practice and play until the season starts, end Will Anderson Jr. and tackle Tim Settle Jr. didn't play, the coaches were able to see 12 linemen, none more impressive than end Danielle Hunter.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Nick Caserio signed Hunter to a two-year, $49 million contract to get him to leave Minnesota to come home to Houston. He and Anderson are expected to be one of the premier combinations in the NFL.

Against the Steelers, Hunter played only seven snaps, but he recorded one sack and two quarterback hits. Ryans had seen enough of Hunter, whose playing time was done.

"Seeing Danielle step up and get after the quarterback is why we got him here – to get after the quarterback," Ryans said. "That's what he showed in his limited snaps, but he still did a really great job of being disruptive. That's what we expected. (I was) excited to see what Danielle did."

The Texans are hoping to see Hunter do for them what he did for the Vikings. In his last season with Minnesota, he totaled 16.5 sacks – 27 over his last two seasons – to go with 83 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, 41 pressures and 22 quarterback hits. His sacks, pressures, tackles and tackles for loss were career highs.

Compare Anderson's performance as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year to Hunter, and you can see why the coaches are so excited to see them play together. In 15 games and 13 starts, Anderson had seven sacks, 45 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 32 pressures and 22 quarterback hits.

The questions on defense aren't on the outside. They're on the inside, where Collins and Rankins combined for 11 sacks and helped the run defense improve from 32^nd to eighth in the NFL. This season, the Texans play a first-place schedule after winning the AFC South in Ryans' first season, and the offenses they're competing against, including an impressive array of elite quarterbacks, are much more prolific than 2023.

Another defensive lineman who stood out against the Steelers was one who's been standing out since training camp began – Mario Edwards. The Texans are Edwards' seventh team in his 10-year career. He's played end for most of his career, but he's stepped inside effortlessly.

Edwards, 30, participated in five tackles, including three unassisted. He had two tackles for loss and shared a sack with end Jerry Hughes. Tackle McTelvin Agim, another veteran free agent who's flashed in training camp, also contributed a sack.

When asked about Edwards' performance at Pittsburgh, where he got impressive penetration, Ryans said, "Mario has been disruptive all camp, and I wouldn't have expected anything different from him. He showed up playing on their side of the line of scrimmage and being disruptive. That's what we need from all our guys up front. I'm very pleased with what Mario did."

Edwards and Foley Fatukasi started at tackle against the Steelers. Hunter and Derek Barnett were the starting ends. Hughes, Agim, Khalil Davis, Kurt Hinish, Ali Gaye, Malik Fisher, Solomon Byrd and Marcus Harris were other linemen who played.

The linemen recorded all three sacks, six of seven quarterback hits and six of eight tackles for loss. That's the kind of production Ryans, Burke and Wright are looking for.

The Texans have two more preseason games to show what they can do against the Giants and Rams. They also have a joint practice at Houston Methodist Training Center against the Rams before reducing the roster to 53 and getting ready to begin regular season at Indianapolis.