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Colts Pass Rusher Justin Houston Ranked #46 on the PFF All-Decade Top 101

By Luke Schultheis

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Houston Texans v Indianapolis Colts Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Indianapolis Colts veteran pass rusher Justin Houston has been ranked #46 by Pro Football Focus on the PFF All-Decade Top 101:

46. EDGE JUSTIN HOUSTON

Injuries somewhat derailed Houston’s career, and that had an impact on the player he could have become. Still, at his peak, he was a legitimate rival for the best pass-rushers in the NFL and was more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the likes of Von Miller in the AFC West. Over a three-year span in the middle of the decade, Houston topped 90.0 in overall PFF grade every season, and he came within a sack of breaking the all-time single-season record in 2014. Houston wasn’t the same player after injuries started to take their toll, but last season a reduced role in Indianapolis saw him have his most productive pass-rushing season in years (60 pressures) and his best overall PFF grade (87.1) since 2015.

Of course, the vast majority of Houston’s past production has come with the Kansas City Chiefs (2011-18)—where the star sackmaster was a First-Team All-Pro, NFL sacks leader, and 4x Pro Bowler.

Over the past 9 years, Houston has accumulated 89.5 career sacks (tied for 50th on the NFL’s all-time career sack list), 426 tackles, 109 tackles for loss, and 16 forced fumbles in 118 games (112 starts).

After signing a 2-year, $23 million deal with the Colts a year ago, the veteran pass rusher was as good as advertised, recording 44 tackles, 11.0 sacks (team-high), 60 QB pressures, and 2 forced fumbles in all 16 starts for Indianapolis.

Per Pro Football Focus (subscription), his overall grade of +87.1 was the 12th best among all edge defenders this past season—including a pass rushing grade of +81.9:

The 31 year old is in the last year of his current Colts contract, but with another strong season, he could be a candidate to be re-signed on another short-term deal—albeit maybe at a reduced rate entering his 10th NFL season.

As it stands, the Colts are fortunate to have one of the NFL’s top pass rushers over the past decade on their squad for both his valued production and veteran leadership.

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