Latest news with #Mercilus
USA Today
10-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
59 days until the Texans' 2025 season opener: Who has worn No.59?
The Houston Texans are less than 100 days away from kicking off the 2025 season in Los Angeles against the Rams at SoFi Stadium and we're counting down the days until a victory ensues on the west coast. Texans Wire will each day tell you which player has worn the number of the day leading up to kickoff and pick the player who ensured the number best during their time at NRG Stadium. As for today, let's take a look at who has won No. 59 since the inaugural season in 2002. Texans players to wear No. 59 No. 59 currently belongs to no one and to be honest, likely won't be worn again. Although his number isn't "retired" like J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson, the most famous player to don the jersey currently calls NRG Stadium home on Sundays when he's running up and down the sidelines trying to get his team together. Do you still not know who it is? Don't worry, you'll see in a second. Best Player: DeMeco Ryans If you were to consider Mercilus as the G.O.A.T of the jersey, it's a fair debate, but Ryans was the first real defensive star in franchise history. While Mario Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in 2006 and eventually became a fixture of Gary Kubiak's defense, Ryans took the Texans' by storm, earning the nickname "Cap" within several weeks of his tenure of OTAs. A second-round pick out of Alabama, the Texans shifted the former SEC Defensive Player of the Year inside to middle linebacker in hopes of making him a more sure-fire tackler. That led to a 156-tackle rookie season, including 13 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. For his efforts, Ryans was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. The folllowing season, he was named to his first Pro Bowl roster. Over his six seasons, Ryans averaged over 114 tackles and 8.4 tackles for loss. He was the anchor of the defense during the rebuilding era under Kubiak, and eventually helped Houston reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2011 before being traded to Philadelphia ahead of the 2012 campaign. Overall, Ryans still ranks No. 1 all-time in solo tackles in Texans' history. His 72 tackles for loss are among the top five, while his six forced fumbles rank in the top 10. After leaving in 2012, Ryans returned to NRG Stadium to replace Lovie Smith as head coach in 2023. Since his return, the Texans have gone 20-14 during the regular season, won two AFC South titles and two wild-card round games while being underdogs. Add in his coaching and Ryans clears as the G.O.A.T. of No. 59. Houston probably won't place his number in the Ring of Honor since its respect for Mercilus is too high, but the man himself likely gets the nod should he lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance.
USA Today
16-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New York Giants pass on David Wilson, select edge rusher in PFF's 2012 re-draft
New York Giants pass on David Wilson, select edge rusher in PFF's 2012 re-draft After winning the Super Bowl in 2011, the New York Giants held the final pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft. With the controversy and dispute surrounding Brandon Jacobs' contract that resulted in the team ultimately releasing the star running back, it wasn't a huge surprise that the Giants selected David Wilson, a running back out of Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, Wilson's football career was short-lived. He played in 12 games for the Giants in 2012, recording 358 yards and four touchdowns with one fumble. He became the first player in NFL history to record 200 kick return yards and 100 rushing yards in a single game, and the first player since 1970 to have a kick return touchdown and two rushing touchdowns in the same game. In 2013, Wilson was placed on injured reserve (IR) after suffering a neck injury in Week 5. The injury would result in his retirement from the NFL. What would have happened had the Giants selected someone else, though? If they knew then that they have today, who would they have picked over Wilson? Pro Football Focus specializes in such questions, and in their 2012 re-draft, they think the Giants would select edge rusher Whitney Mercilus out of Illinois. Mercilus logged only three season-long 70.0-plus PFF overall grades in his 10-year career, but he hovered around 70.0 marks in tackling, pass rushing and run defense from 2012-2017 — just not always at the same time. He was a solid defensive lineman from this class. In 2012, the Giants had players like Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Linval Joseph, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Chris Canty along the defensive line. Now, Houston didn't take long to move Mercilus to outside linebacker, which the Giants could have done as well. But in reality, had the Giants selected Mercilus with that pick, he would have sat behind that line and made very few appearances in his rookie season. However, that time would have allowed him to hone his skills as an edge rusher, and maybe he would have posted even better PFF grades with instruction from star veterans like those along the 2012 Giants' defensive line. That's obviously not what happened, though. Over his 10 seasons in the NFL, Mercilus recorded 362 tackles (237 solo), 73 tackles for a loss, 58 sacks, 117 QB hits, 13 forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Nine and a half of his 10 seasons were played with Houston, and the final four games of his career were with the Green Bay Packers.
