The Houston Texans generated a ton of buzz when they swung a trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs early last month, and it’s not hard to understand why.
Diggs has been one of the most prolific pass-catchers in the NFL for years, and he will be joining a receiving corps that already includes Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
Plus, the Texans have C.J. Stroud under center.
But as high-profile of an offseason addition Diggs may have been, he is not who Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler ranks as the Texans’ top get of the last couple of months.
That title belongs to edge rusher Danielle Hunter, whom Houston signed to a two-year, $49 million contract in free agency.
Hunter is one of the most dominant pass rushers in football and is coming off of a fantastic 2023 campaign with the Minnesota Vikings in which he racked up 83 tackles, 16.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
He will be joining a Texans defensive front that already includes defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who rattled off 45 tackles and seven sacks during his rookie year this past season.
The combination of Hunter and Anderson should wreak havoc in opposing backfields and could result in Houston having one of the best pass rushes in football.
Hunter, who played his collegiate football at LSU, was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
He registered four double-digit sack campaigns during his time in Minnesota, making four trips to the Pro Bowl along the way.
The 29-year-old posted 14.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.
Houston already had a solid pass rush prior to the addition of Hunter, as it logged 46 sacks as a team in 2023. It should be noted that the club lost fellow edge rusher Jonathan Greenard in free agency, but it definitely scored a rather significant upgrade in Hunter.
The Texans were expected to finish in the cellar of the AFC South last season, but they ended up winning 10 games and capturing the division title in an absolute stunner.
Not only that, but Houston routed the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. It went on to fall to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.
The future is bright for the Texans, and the acquisition of Hunter is a big reason why.
