The Texans stayed on the defensive side of the ball in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft and chose USC's Solomon Byrd.
The defensive end was the 238th overall selection, and he comes to Houston with 20 collegiate sacks in his career.
Byrd spent 2018 through 2021 at Wyoming, where he played in a combined 23 games and registered 10 sacks. He earned an undergraduate degree with the Cowboys, transferred to Southern California, and rang up 10 sacks the last two years, with six coming in 2023. He's thrilled to join to the Texans.
"I'm extremely excited," Byrd said. "I've seen what they did last year with the d-line. They've got something cooking, for sure."
Byrd also forced a combined seven fumbles in his college career and finished with a combined 31.5 tackles for loss. He described what he does well, and what he needs to improve upon as a professional.
"I'm a dynamic pass rusher and I think I can add that," Byrd said. "I think I have a plethora of moves. The thing for me is, I need to get really, really good at one of them."
At 6-3, 255 pounds, Byrd is a Palmdale, California native. He's the first defensive lineman taken by Houston in the 2024 Draft, and the second Trojan, joining safety Calen Bullock.
