Houston Texans Make J.J. Watt Highest Paid Defender Ever

Aug 23, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans have made J.J. Watt the highest paid defensive player in NFL history according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, signing him to a $100 million extension with $51.8 million guaranteed.

Watt has graded out as Pro Football Focus’ number one 3-4 defensive end in each of the last two seasons, but we didn’t need anyone’s grades or statistics to see how dominant this young player is. For the Texans, it was worth keeping Watt around through the best years of his career, signing him to a six-year extension.

The last two seasons, Watt has a combined 32 sacks, 23 passes batted down, eight forced fumbles, and two fumbles recovered. He’s racked up 161 tackles over that time frame and has proven that he is perhaps inarguably the best young defensive player in the league, or maybe just the best young player in the league in general.

When you watch Watt play, his game is so well-rounded. He’s too big, too fast, and too strong for most offensive linemen to handle over the course of an NFL game.

Watt’s dominance has earned him a reputation as the most disruptive defensive lineman in the league, and he spoke out about that back in August, declaring that he’d out-played his rookie contract.

The Texans apparently agreed.

Not only did Houston get Watt a shiny new contract, they spent the first overall pick this year in the draft on defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, a bookend pass rusher that figures to be a major factor for the Texans immediately.

Houston certainly has it’s hands full with a couple of star defenders, and now has the best young player in the league locked in for the next six years on top of his original rookie contract with a monster deal.

Watt certainly earned it.