Everything is just coming up edge rusher in Houston, Texas. Take a quick look at some of the most recent transactions the Houston Texans organization has completed, and you’ll see the wonderfully massive extensions handed out to DEs Danielle Hunter (1-year, $40.1 Million) and Will Anderson (3 years, $150 million). Texans general manager Nick Caserio has also signed free agent DEs Logan Hall and Dominique Robinson and re-signed DT Naquan Jones, signaling a clear effort to fill up the space between Hunter and Anderson with some tough meat. But, what about the players direclty behind those big defensive linemen? The linebacking group has been one that the Texans have fortunately been able to mostly ignore, thanks to the consistency of starters Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o. Both of these players have kept up with the extremely talented defensive front and defensive backfield, but, if either To’oTo’o and/or Al-Shaair were to go down with an injury, Houston’s defense would immediately be in a spot of discomfort. #3 LB E.J. Speed has been better than expected since arriving in Houston in 2025, but he would not be able to man green-dot duties at the same level of Azeez Al-Shaair, and he wouldn’t be able to fill in Henry To’oTo’o’s assignments without suffering growing pains. What can the Texans do to sure up their LB room? Well, why not the draft!

Currently, the Texans have 8 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft including:

Currently, the Houston Texans depth chart at LB currently Looks like this:

As with my previous prospect posts, I want to explain that this “top five” list does not include what I believe to be the five most talented linebackers of the draft class. Instead, this top five list is more a collection of what I believe are the five most intriguing LB prospects for the Texans in the 2026 NFL Draft. Since I believe this to be a pretty good LB class with draftable talent everywhere, I wanted to include LB prospects that I think Houston should target basically in every round of the draft. I want this list to have someone the Texans can consider drafting from the first round all the way down into the 6th and 7th rounds. With their first pick at 28th overall, Houston will have the choice of multiple starting caliber linebackers, but they may be more interested in taking a guard, tackle, or safety. It’s unlikely that the Texans would use such a valuable pick on a position that isn’t in need of another starter, but it’s not impossible considering the level of talent that might be available inside the top 50. Only time will tell what direction the Houston Texans will go in this year’s draft, but in the event that they go LB, here are the five most intriguing LB targets for the Texans in the 2026 NFL Draft:

Honorable Mentions: LB Jimmy Rolder, Michigan; LB Red Murdock, Buffalo; Harold Perkins Jr., LSU; Taurean York, Texans A&M

Measurements: Height: 5’ 11 ⅞”; Weight: 220 lbs.; Hand: 9 ½’’: Arm: 31 ¼”; 40-Yard Dash: 4.53s; 10-Yard Dash: 1.58s; Vertical Jump: 39.5”; Broad Jump: 10’ 9”;

2025 Stats: 11 Games; 81 Tackles; 8.5 TFLs; 3.0 Sacks; 2 Ints; 3 PDs; 1 FF; 2 FRs; 73.1 PFF Grade (75.3 Rdef, 74.7 Tack, 70.2 Prsh, 72.3 Cov); 2nd-team All-ACC

2024 Stats: 13 Games; 101 Tackles; 15.5 TFLs; 7.0 Sacks; 4 Ints; 1 Int TD; 3 PDs; 1 FF; 83.4 PFF Grade (85.4 Rdef, 79.3 Tack, 68.5 Prsh, 83.1 Cov); 2nd-team A.P. All-American; 1st-team All-ACC

This was a hard decision to make, but I’m putting Pitt LB Kyle Louis at #5 instead of Texans A&M LB Taurean York and Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez. I love both of these players so much as developmental prospects for the Texans that can quickly hop in and be prepared in case there’s an injury to a starter, but I think the lack of size for York and Rodriguez is going to hurt them more than it will for LB Kyle Louis, who’s coverage ability and fluidity of motion make him more valuable at the NFL level.

Louis’s popularity was just a simmer for much of the 2025 season, but after his senior bowl performance started spreading around, everybody knew about him. Louis has truly incredible coverage skills and backpedal speed, able to twist his hips and blast off in a variety of directions without losing any agility. In 2025 in particular, Louis became much more aware of opposing offenses, and was able to cut down rush attempts and check downs quickly. But, under 6’0” and only 225lbs., the size concerns for Louis stand out like a sore thumb. He’s going to have a much more difficult time covering TEs and WRs in the pros, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be strong enough to attack rushers through the gaps. Although, despite the size, Louis’s missed tackle percentage of just 10.5% is lower than other LBs in the class line Josiah Trotter and Jacob Rodriguez.

Kyle Louis working as the crasher on the T/E stunt, able to redirect upfield and keep his balance through contact with the closing speed to finish. Unique skill set. pic.twitter.com/HGCYcUSaoP

Instead of an heir apparent to Azeez Al-Shaair, I see Kyle Louis as a potential replacement to one of Houston’s most overlooked defenders, LB Henry To’oTo’o. To’oTo’o had to step in as the starting weak side linebacker after a calf injury suffered in July 2024 kept LB Christian Harris out for the first 14 games of the regular seasons. To’oTo’o took that opportunity and never looked back, steadily improving his tackling, his ability to diagnose runs, and his coverage skills. 2025 was his best season yet, making game-winning play against the San Francisco 49ers, game-flipping tackles against the Denver Broncos, and a coverage LB performance worthy of hanging in the Louvre in the divisional round against the New England Patriots. If To’oTo’o had a few less missed tackles and a few more TFLs, he might have made the pro-bowl with how complete his 2025 season was, so Houston can’t count on him sticking around much longer if they’re not planning on giving him an Al-Shaair-level contract. This moment is perfect for a young, athletic defender like Kyle Louis to arrive, learn from To’oTo’o his rookie year, and then step right into the starting Will LB role in 2027, hopefully with little to no drop off for the Texans defense to worry about. And, if that doesn’t work out, Louis will almost certainly make a starting-caliber safety.

Kyle Louis is a unique LB prospect who actually profiles best as a big nickel pic.twitter.com/cQKMExe30S

Measurements: Height: 6’ 2 ⅞”; Weight: 226 lbs.; Hand: 9 ¼”; Arm: 31 ⅞”; 40-Yard Dash: 4.6s; Bench Press: 20 Reps

2025 Stats: 15 Games; 89 Tackles; 4.5 TFLs; 1.5 Sacks; 4 PDs; 2 FFs; 2 FRs; 77.6 PFF Grade (83.6 Rdef, 57.6 Tack, 57.7 Prsh, 69.3 Cov)

2024 Stats: 11 Games; 76 Tackles; 6.5 TFLs; 2.0 Sacks; 1 Int; 4 PDs; 1 FF; 1 FR; 78.1 PFF Grade (84.4 Rdef, 66.8 Tack, 64.5 Prsh, 64.7 Cov)

This was possibly the most difficult spot to nail a player to. Obviously, if this were a standard top 5, placing Ohio State LBs Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and Georgia LB C.J. Allen in the top 3 would be expected. But, since this top 5 is trying to identify the five best LBs the Texans will realistically get a chance to draft, Reese and Styles are off the board immediately. C.J. Allen will stay because he may fall to pick #28 (and he’s also one of my favorite players in the draft), and in the place of Reese and Styles, I’ve tried to select mid-round LBs that I believe could be future starters for Houston if they target them with a second/third-round pick. But…what if Houston waits a little longer than the second or third round to draft a backup linebacker? What if all the best LBs fall off the board by pick 50, and Houston has to start digging through their big board to find the next man up?

Enter Alabama LB Deontae Lawson. Even though it’s possible Lawson goes before the 4th round, I see him as a high-upside mid-to-late selection that has the size and athleticism to become a real contributor at the next level. A four-year starting LB for the Crimson Tide, Lawson was the Mike LB on multiple loaded defenses, frequently benefitting from the pass rush in front of him or coverage behind him. But, don’t let that fool you – Lawson was a two-time team captain that plays with his hair on fire. He’s usually lined up inside the box, so he can’t be another multi-purpose defender like Pitt LB Kyle Louis can be, but he’s one of the only LBs in this class that has prototypical NFL size. You can rely on him to be able to shed blocks from pro-size linemen and tight ends, but despite the size and strength, he doesn’t have the stacking or shedding technique needed to consistently get off of blocks. You can say the same thing about his tackling, too. When he’s hot, Deontae Lawson is one of the better tacklers in the SEC, but his ability to wrap up and corral ball-carriers goes up and down, which is disappointing to see from a multi-year starter. Against Vanderbilt, he was caught in the wrong spot over and over and ended up chasing down ball-carriers, which isn’t a good sign. But, despite the concerns, his athleticism and improvement in 2025 gives me and others some hope. Battle Red Blog’s Kenneth Levy had this to say of Deonte Lawson:

Lawson is a less athletic, higher floor, lower ceiling version of Anthony Hill Jr. Three years of starting experience with. I trust Lawson to slowly earn starting reps with his intelligence and play fervor. – Kenneth Levy, Top “my guys” for the Houston Texans 2026 Draft Class

He’s still a little late to reacting to some plays, and will end up shooting through the wrong gap at times, but Lawson has the size, speed, agility, and most importantly, the steady improvement needed to instill confidence in NFL coaches. He keeps his eyes on the QB and has the range to get to the ball carrier within seconds, being a major contributor to Alabama’s defense the last two years. His draft stock has gone down due to his aforementioned tackling woes and the fact that he’ll need to either gain weight for the MLB role or move to the WLB spot in the NFL, where late reaction-time may cause even more problems. But, if he’s still available in the fifth round, he’s worth drafting even if it’s just to improve depth at the position.