NBC Sports’ Peter King has covered 40 seasons of the NFL. He’s seen the best players begin their careers, reach their peaks and eventually exit the league.
As such, he’s put together a list of his all-time 53-man roster of every player he’s covered during his career. King caveated that he only included players whose careers weren’t half over yet. It’s an expansive list that includes a lot of NFL legends and Hall-of-Famers.
Three former Texans stars made the roster, too: defensive end J.J. Watt, safety Tyrann Mathieu and punter Shane Lechler.
King named Watt as his lone “hybrid” player on the defensive line because of Watt’s versatility. He also put Watt in the same tier of player as Hall-of-Fame and two-time Defensive Player of the Year defensive end Reggie White – right behind Lawrence Taylor.
“I put Watt in White’s league for many reasons, but there’s this: In 2014, I think Watt had the best season by a defender in my 40 seasons,” King wrote. “[Watt had] 20.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, three receiving touchdowns (as a short-yardage tight end (kudos, Bill O’Brien)), a fumble returned for touchdown, an interception returned for touchdown (80 yards), and a safety in 1,132 snaps played. Talk about no time off.”
The reasoning makes sense as well when you consider Watt won Defensive Player of the Year three times from 2012 to 2015 during his decade in Houston. The only defensive players to win DPOY that many times are Taylor and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who are both also on King’s roster. Watt also finished his career with five Pro Bowls and five All-Pro nods.
Mathieu also made the list as King’s third safety. While he only played one season in Houston, Mathieu became one of the best players at his position since he was taken in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals in 2013. He tallied an interception, a fumble recovery and recorded five tackles in his Texans debut and finished with 89 combined tackles, three sacks and two interceptions as a 16-game starter.
King called Lechler the best punter he’s ever seen after 18 NFL seasons – 13 with the then-Oakland Raiders and five with the Texans. Lechler made seven Pro Bowls and six All-Pro teams during his career, although none were in Houston. He was still solid with the Texans, though, and actually had a higher net yards per punt average in Houston than he did in Oakland and a higher percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line.
While all of these players rightfully made the list, that was the old Texans. This new regime, led by head coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio, got off to a fast start in 2023 with an AFC South title and a playoff win.
C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. are foundational pieces for the next era in Houston, and could perhaps be added to similar lists when their careers are beginning to wrap up in the distance future.
