You know a position is in trouble when our own community calls the Houston Texans out for it. Despite an offseason where names like Kamire Lassiter, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs were added, the team didn't do much to improve the linebacking corp. They did add middle linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, but in doing so they gave him the money that former linebacker Blake Cashman likely would have gotten.
So even though they play different spots on the field, the Texans signed Al-Shaair instead of Cashman. In doing so they brought in a middle linebacker who wasn't as good of an outside linebacker as Cashman was. It was the wrong move to make. They needed to retain Cashman while signing Al-Shaair, but that's not what happened.
Instead, the linebacking corp got somehow weaker from year to year. It's so bad that Texans Wire listed Houston's linebacking corps at just 21st in the NFL. It's not an unfair grade, either. When you look at the rest of the unit, it's fair to see why they rank so low.
The article lists Al-Shaair, former starters from 2023 Christian Harris and Henry To'oto'o as key players at the position, while also naming Jake Hansen, Jamal Hill, and Neville Hewitt. That's not exactly a group that has us very excited about the things to come. Harris improved as the year went on but he still wasn't "good" on the year. To'oto'o struggled as a rookie, but he belongs to a super impressive draft class, so he'll get his shot to prove his critics wrong.
While the rest of the players listed, Hansen, Hill, and Hewitt, are largely unimpressive. However, some believe Hansen could step up and become a major player for the team. We saw Cashman do the same thing in Houston, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that Hansen does something similar in 2024.
Despite that possibility, there aren't a lot of people who believe this unit will be much improved. It's certainly possible, it's just not likely.
