‘Violent, toughness, twitch, flexibility,’ Texans defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. off to fast start at training camp

HOUSTON – Mario Edwards Jr. has dominated drills, using timing, power and moves to his advantage.

The veteran defensive lineman has found a comfort zone in Texans coach DeMeco Ryans’ aggressive 4-3 scheme. And Edwards, a former Las Vegas Raiders second-round draft pick from Florida State, has drawn a lot of praise from the coaching staff.

It’s gotten to a point where it would be surprising if he doesn’t have an impactful season with the defending AFC South champions. Edwards has just been that good.

“The thing that popped off on film is he has twitch, he can really get off the football,” Texans defensive line coach Rodrique Wright said. “I’m impressed with how violent he is. We’re teaching these guys to attack and get off the football. That’s what he has, that makeup of toughness and twitch and flexibility playing off the edge and inside. This is another guy that this front is made for. I told him if you had been in our system the whole time, he would have been lights out. He’s happy to be here and we’re happy to have him.”

Edwards, 30, played for the Seattle Seahawks last season. The Gautier, Mississippi native has also played for the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. A former national champion with the Seminoles and All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, Edwards has 156 career tackles, 21 1/2 sacks, four forced fumbles and six pass deflections. In 15 games and one start last season for Seattle last year, he had 21 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, five tackles for losses and six quarterback hits.

He signed a one-year, $2 million deal that includes a $200,000 signing bonus with $500,000 total guaranteed with a $1.21 million salary with $300,000 of it guaranteed for skill, injury and salary cap, plus another $350,000 available in playtime incentives.

With the Titans in 2022, he had three sacks and 11 quarterback hits. He had a career-high four sacks in 2020 with the Bears.

“Mario, a veteran, he shows up intense every day, Ryans said. “Locked in and asking ‘coach, how can I get better?’ You show up with that mindset, it’s easy for us to coach you. Mario has done a great job for what we’ve asked him to do.

“Little scheme change for him and he’s taken to it well. He’s taken the coaching well. Coach Rodhas been doing a great job with him. He just adds to the versatility amongst our defensive line and that’s what we’re looking for across our entire team. As many versatile players as we can have allows us schematically to mix things up a lot.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com