Texans punter Shane Lechler, DE J.J. Watt named to NFL All Quarter Century team
Texans punter Shane Lechler, DE J.J. Watt named to NFL All Quarter Century team
The Houston Texans have been an above-average roster over the past several seasons and they've had some impactful players along the way. Perhaps bigger than defensive end J.J. Watt, who is expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the time comes in 2027.
Who else deserves love? How about the punter that set up Houston's defense in the 2010s, Shane Lechler, a prominent figure in the locker room and around the league for decades. Well, ESPN believes he might be the G.O.A.T. of the 2000s in special teams.
Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder unveiled their NFL All Quarter Century team, which includes a slew of Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers and some of the most impactful players in the game. Technically, four players made the cut, but only two are known for their time in H-Town: does anyone really think of Houston star Ed Reed or Vince Wilfork?
Watt is the first in a long line of promising defensive ends in Houston, where he established himself as perhaps the league's best past rusher for over five season. He spent 10 seasons with Houston, and reamins the franchise's all-time leader in tackles for loss (172) and sacks (101). Watt was named first-team All Pro five times and was selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He also earned Defensive Player of the Year three times, starting in 2012 after recording a franchise leading 20.5 sacks.
"We wanted to save a spot for Watt because he can play as an edge rusher or interior lineman," Schatz wrote. "He is one of only three players in history to win Defensive Player of the Year three times, and he has the best plus-EPA of any player since 2000 (minimum 50 games)."
"Another way to describe Watt's greatness is with a look at defeats. That's a metric that adds together turnovers, tackles for loss and plays that prevent a conversion on third or fourth down. There have been only a dozen seasons of more than 40 defeats since 1991. Watt has three of them, including a record 57 defeats in 2012."
Lechler is widely considered the best punter of the new century and his consistency with hang time, arch angle, plus length of punt easily clears all other participants. He was only in Houston for five seasons, but it made the difference in helping Houston win multiple division titles.
"One of the greatest and longest-tenured punters in NFL history, Lechler was named a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season. Throughout his 18-year career, he racked up more first-team All-Pro selections (six) than any other punter in NFL history (no one has had more than four). Lechler led the league in gross punt average in five seasons, and his career average in yards per punt is an NFL record for punters who have played over 120 games."
The Texans open up the regular season on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
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