HOUSTON – The Houston Texans hit the field Monday morning in their final workout before travelling to Charlotte this week and a familiar face was on the sidelines watching most of practice.
Texans legend J.J Watt stopping through Houston as part of his preparation for the upcoming NFL season where he is on the number one crew for CBS’ NFL coverage alongside broadcasting legend and Houston native Jim Nantz.
Watt has long kept up with the Texans and their success under Head Coach DeMeco Ryans who he had the chance to play with while in Houston. He’s a big fan of Ryans and isn’t surprised at the success the team has had to this point as Ryans begins his 4th season as head coach.
“You have to remember where this organization was before he took over,” said Watt. “You want to take those next steps but you can’t forget to appreciate what he has built which is a culture and an identity and persona for this team and it’s something to be proud of.”
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Watt, who’s a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a former defensive star with the Texans and is very high on what the defense was able to achieve last season as they finished number one in the NFL. With the stars all returning in 2026 the bar is high once again and Watt believes they have what it takes to elevate their game and help the Texans reach the Super Bowl.
“They should be putting themselves in that conversation there’s a reason for it and we’ve seen it,” said Watt Monday. “You get a couple of things cleaned up in the last year or so in playoff games. The defense is incredible to watch. How do you even get quality work done against a defense like that. I’m a defensive guy so I like those conversations.
Watt went on to rave about the tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
“He has every single tool in the tool box mentally and emotionally and the sky is the limit for Will,” said Watt. “I have zero doubts he’ll continue to raise the bar for what’s possible for him.”
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“He’s getting into the territory of the tiny details of the game and knowing tendencies and studying and knowing every player he goes against and how he can defeat that. He has everything else it’s not like you need to continue to add strength, speed and sight because he has it. He can learn from Danielle who is a hall of famer and deserves more credit than he gets.”
Watt believes it doesn’t begin and end with Anderson Jr. because the combination with Hunter and now Jadeveon Clowney the potential for improvement is a given.
“When you have guys like Will and Danielle on the edges and you add JD (Clowney). It’s amazing at the weapons at the disposal of Matt Burke.”
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