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Houston Texas trying to strike deal with Vince Wilfork

By Will Osgood

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork (75) during Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork (75) during Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Texans are trying to strike a deal with free agent defensive lineman Vince Wilfork

Even though he’s an aged veteran, 33-year old Vince Wilfork is considered the kind of player who can make a difference for an NFL defense. Or at least the Houston Texans believe that is true of Wilfork.

And so they are trying to strike a deal with the 11-year veteran, who has only played for Bill Belichick in New England.

Wilfork, the 21st overall pick in 2014 out of Miami (FL), is a five-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. Playing most of his career in the Patriots’ 3-4 scheme, Wilfork never put up huge numbers–he has just 16.0 career sacks.

But he is generally regarded as an elite run defender. At 6’2″, 325 pounds, Wilfork is the ideal “two-gap” nose tackle who takes up space for linebackers and other defenders to find the ball-carrier and make a tackle.

Of course much of his best work came in the 3-4 defense coordinated by Romeo Crennel in New England. Crennel left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and eventually the Kansas City Chiefs, but is now the Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator under another Belichick disciple, Bill O’Brien.

O’Brien and Crennel would undeniably like to see Wilfork reprise that “two-gap” role for a year or two at a similar level of dominance as that which he showed when being such an instrumental part of the Patriots’ 2004 Super Bowl title and subsequent dominant teams throughout the past decade, including the 2007 team which went undefeated prior to losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

Of course the Texans have a player to complement Wilfork unlike any Belichick’s units ever possessed (or for that matter that any defense ever, almost) in the person of defensive end J.J. Watt.

Watt, at 6’6″, 290 pounds, presents an undeniable and incomprehensible combination of power, agility and motor to create terror for opposing offenses. In four professional seasons, Watt has already won two NFL defensive player of the year awards, and many analysts believed he should have won NFL MVP this season.

In just four seasons, Watt has recorded 57.0 sacks–the same number of LaMarr Woodley in eight seasons at outside linebacker (a position more expected to produce wild sack numbers).

If the Texans can get a productive Wilfork next to Watt–and based on what we’ve said of Watt, why wouldn’t Wilfork be interested?–they could possess one of the best defenses in the league in 2015.

[H/T: PFT.com]

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