Jerry Hughes has known Dylan Horton for a while.
The Houston Texans’ fourth-round pick was wearing Hughes’ No. 98 while with TCU, their alma mater. At the Horned Frogs’ spring game last year, Hughes introduced himself to his future Texans teammate.
“He was wearing No. 98, so, I figured go see who the guy is at TCU who is rocking my old number,” Hughes told reporters June 13 at mandatory minicamp.
Most spectators are aware the Texans shored up their edge defense with Alabama defensive end Will Anderson at No. 3 overall. However, the Texans continued to add to their trenches with Horton at No. 109 overall in Round 4.
Hughes summed up Horton as, “another tall, tremendous athlete with a lot of upside,” who has the ability to, “kind of get off the ball, use some of his size to his advantage.
Horton is listening to the instruction defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire and assistant defensive line coach Rod Wright have been dispensing throughout the Texans’ offseason workouts.
Along with undrafted defensive end Ali Gaye from LSU, Hughes believes the Texans’ defensive line has a trio of rookies who can help Houston achieve their objectives defensively in 2023.
Said Hughes: “It’s going to make us that better of a team when we have young guys that can fly around, play fast, and also be smart as well.”
The Texans gave up the most rushing yards last season at 170.2, and gave up the fourth-most yards per carry at 5.1. Having an attacking defensive line with younger players hitting their potential is a recipe to fortify the trenches.
