While the Houston Texans didn’t live up to expectations during the 2024 NFL season, their defense was one of the best in the league, leading them to a 10-7 record and a playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
According to PFSN’s Defense+ metric, Houston had the seventh-best defense in the NFL last year. Now, their secondary is poised to get even better after making a massive trade for a Super Bowl champion, and one analyst believes it could turn the Texans into contenders.
NFL Analyst Believes C.J. Gardner-Johnson Trade Will Take Texans To Next Level
Led by the tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, Houston finished last season with the fourth-highest sack rate and second-best pass success rate of any defense in the NFL. That strength allowed them to hang around against a superior Kansas City Chiefs team in the Divisional Round.
Their backfield was even stronger, with Derek Stingley Jr. allowing the second-lowest completion percentage among cornerbacks with at least 200 coverage snaps (46.7%). Houston locked up Stingley with a three-year, $90 million extension this offseason that made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.
Now, with the addition of C.J. Gardner-Johnson via trade from the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL analyst Kay Adams believes Houston has one of the best secondaries in the NFL.
“I think we’re underreacting to the Texans’ secondary, which I was in love with… They were already good,” Adams said. “[Kamari] Lassiter, the lowest completion percentage allowed in the entire NFL as a rookie… Then, at number two, it is Stingley, who had the lowest pass rating against of anyone in the league.
“Now, you’re adding CJ GJ. This is a fire starter. We talked to Justin Reid about being a tone-setter in the secondary, like, that’s CJ GJ. It’s the attitude that you need. He had a six-interception season last year. He’s versatile, and he brings the edge that you want.
“Then [Calen Bullock] led all rookies with five interceptions last year… You got Jimmie Ward, a wily vet who’s still got something to prove and wants it, [who] leads by example. I don’t know, I love this. I think this is the best secondary.”
Adams asked her co-host, Matt Hamilton, whether he also felt this way. He agreed, describing Gardner-Johnson as Houston’s missing piece and made some lofty comparisons for the Texans’ unit.
“You have to win a ring if you want to get mentioned with teams like the Legion of Boom and the No Fly Zone — I don’t want Richard Sherman and Aqib Talib coming after me. But this might be the best secondary we’ve seen since those groups a decade ago. I think this is really special what they have going on there,” Hamilton said.
“You show those numbers with Bullock and Stingley, and it speaks for itself. Those are two lockdown corners, and now adding CJ into that mix, I think that was the one piece they were missing. I think this is going to be a generational type of secondary group that we see in Houston.”
Houston entered the playoffs with the lowest Offense+ grade of any team last season, putting the burden on the defense to carry the team and capping the Texans’ playoff ceiling.
However, the defense had a terrific season that provides hope for 2025, especially since their young cornerstones should only continue to get better as they develop and Gardner-Johnson gives Houston another key piece on their defense.
If the offense can better support C.J. Stroud, the Texans could have a special 2025 season.