Battle Red Blog
The 2026 Pro Bowl rosters have been announced, and the Houston Texans have notched 4 spots on the starting lineup:
This is equal to the four Pro Bowl starters that Houston sent last year, but there’s a few new names here. Both Nico Collins and Derek Stingley Jr. are making their second-consecutive Pro Bowls, but Azeez Al-Shaair is making the first Pro Bowl appearance in his seven NFL seasons. A team captain, Al-Shaair has had his best season with the Texans in his second year here, starting every game except last week (ankle injury) and tallying a team-leading 96 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 2 QB hits, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 interception, and a PFF grade of 70.3. Al-Shaair is a smart, instinctive pounder on the field, reacting quickly to opposing offenses and launching himself through the gaps on the line to meet the opposing tailback right at the line of scrimmage.
Will Anderson Jr. has earned his first Pro Bowl as a starter (last year he was an alternate), which is not a big surprise considering how dominant he has been all year long. Anderson has started all 15 games for the Texans so far this season, tallying 11.5 sacks, 45 tackles, 17 TFLs, 22 QB hits, 3 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and a team-leading PFF grade of 91.9! Anderson has been everything the Houston Texans could have asked for when they traded up to select him third overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s relentless, powerful, and so quick you can blink and miss another one of his sacks. He’s stepped up this year, combing with fellow DE Danielle Hunter to make the deadliest pass-rushing duo in the NFL.
Speaking of Danielle Hunter, I am a bit surprised to see that he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster as of right now, seeing as he was arguably as great as his teammate who will be a starter in the Pro Bowl Games. K Ka’imi Fairbairn has also been nearly perfect all season for the Texans and has saved their hides on more than one occasion, and yet he has been snubbed, as well. The Pro Bowl rosters are determined by a combination of votes from fans, coaches, and players and has always been a sort of popularity contest, but I still would have liked to have seen another defender or special teamer for Houston get the nod.
In addition to the four Pro Bowl starters, three more Texans players have been named alternates, which is down from the six alternates Houston had in 2024:
It’s nice to see that these three defensive backs are all receiving the attention they are due after the clinic they’ve...
