Former Houston Texans superstar ranked among NFL’s top 25 players since 2000

The NFL offseason is over and training camp is underway, but players aren’t quite ready to hit the field for official games. The Hall of Fame Game is less than a week away, so there’s still time to produce some offseason content. So what better time to check out the top 25 NFL players since 2000?

ESPN came together to compile a list of the 25 best players since 2000, and one of them is a former Houston Texans superstar.

Star defensive lineman JJ Watt was ranked the No. 7 player in the NFL during that span, which is an incredible honor for the former Texan. ESPN detailed his accomplishments, which were quite a long list.

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“Five-time Pro Bowler, five-time first-team All-Pro, three-time Defensive POY (tied for most all-time), HOF All-2010s Team, only player with 20+ sacks in multiple seasons,” ESPN wrote.

Watt’s NFL career has been nothing short of dominant, and he retired while still in peak condition. By all accounts, Watt still seems ready to play — and he even hinted to Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans that he’d stay ready in case a call came his way out of desperation.

“Watt has won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career, but his most dominant season came in 2014,” ESPN’s Sarah Barshop wrote. “He had 20.5 sacks, the second time he’d done so in his career, along with 59 solo tackles, 29 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown. Watt had another defensive touchdown and three offensive touchdowns. He won his second NFL Defensive POY award and finished second to quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the MVP voting. Watt received 13 of 50 MVP votes, the most for a defensive player since Lawrence Taylor won the award in 1986.”

The NFL’s elite player spent 10 seasons with the Texans before playing two years with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring. Watt will forever be known as a Texans legend as he continues his post-game career in the broadcast booth – though a potential call-up to help the team in its Super Bowl run at the end of the 2024 NFL season would make fans very happy.

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