Going into this 2013 NFL football season the Houston Texans are a team some are saying have a chance to make a run at a championship. A lot of this is hinged on the Texans young players stepping up and filling big voids. One of those voids is the Texans lack of a pass rushing presence on the off the edge. In 2011 OLB Connor Barwin led the team with 11.5 sacks. But in 2012 the Texans didn't have a OLB register more than 6.5 sacks. Defensive Player of The Year JJ Watt had 20.5 sacks from the DE position to lead the Texans. The Texans are hoping their 2012 1st round pick Whitney Mercilus will fill that void this year.
Whitney Mercilus has the physical skills to be a great pass rusher but needs time and work on the field. Last year as a rookie Mercilus only saw limited time up until OLB Brooks Reed got injured in the Thanksgiving day game against the Lions. In the limited amount of time he did get last season he got 6 sacks, that led all Texans OLB's. Mercilus came into camp this season noticeably bigger, and ready to be a force outside. Mercilus was drafted 27th by the Texans in 2012. Coming out of Illinois Mercilus led the nation with 16 sacks as a junior playing DE. In my opinion Mercilus should have a big year. Team's will double team JJ Watt a lot, and this should make his job much easier. The other plus about Mercilus is that in nickel situations he's going to flourish. Both Mercilus and OLB Brooks Reed were DE's in college, and are both great rushing the passer from the 3 point stance.
Mercilus Stat Predictions: 49 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed.
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