5x All-Pro Watt among Texans selected to ESPN NFL All-Quarter Century Team
5x All-Pro Watt among Texans selected to ESPN NFL All-Quarter Century Team originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
With June marking the halfway mark of 2025, that means it's list season for a lot of NFL publications. And with 2025 marking the quarter mark of the 21st Century, we get some exclusive lists. On Wednesday morning, ESPN released its NFL All-Quarter Century Team.
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The article named a full 53-man roster and coaching staff comprised of what the publication thought were the best NFL players since 2000. The Houston Texans ended up having five representatives on the team, with four players and one coach making the final cut.
Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was among five representatives from the Texans named to ESPN's NFL All-Quarter Century Team on Wednesday.© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Defensive end J.J. Watt (2011-2020) was the most notable representative from Houston to make the list. The 5x All-Pro and Texans Ring of Honor member was listed as the team's "versatile defensive lineman".
"We wanted to save a spot for Watt because he can play as an edge rusher or interior lineman," ESPN writer Aaron Schatz said of Watt's selection. "He is one of only three players in history to win Defensive Player of the Year three times, and he has the best plus-EPA of any player since 2000 (minimum 50 games)."
Along with Watt, Vince Wilfork and Ed Reed were also named to the team, at the nose tackle and safety positions respectively. Wilfork and Reed both spent a short amount of time in Houston, with Wilfork wearing the blue and red from 2015-2016 and Reed spending seven games with the Texans in 2013.
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Shane Lechler was selected as the team's punter. Lechler spent five seasons in Houston from 2013-2017 following a 12-year long tenure as the Oakland Raiders punter. Lechler retired in 2017 but was still impressing until the end, leading the league in punt yardage in his age 41 season with Houston.
"One of the greatest and longest-tenured punters in NFL history, Lechler was named a first-team All-Pro in his rookie season," Schatz said of Lechler. "Throughout his 18-year career, he racked up more first-team All-Pro selections (six) than any other punter in NFL history (no one has had more than four). Lechler led the league in gross punt average in five seasons, and his career average in yards per punt is an NFL record for punters who have played over 120 games."
The Texans didn't just have players represented on the list, as former defensive coordinator and interim head coach Wade Phillips was selected as the team's defensive coordinator. Phillips was on Gary Kubiak's staff from 2011-2013 and took over as interim head coach following Kubiak's dismissal after starting 2-10 in 2013.
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Speaking on Phillips' time in Houston, Schatz said, "He took the Texans' defense -- with some help from rookie J.J. Watt, of course -- from 30th in 2010 to eighth in 2011. Then he took the Broncos to No. 1 in defensive DVOA in both 2015 and 2016, with a Super Bowl championship. Including Phillips' stops as a head coach (Bills and Cowboys), his defenses have ranked in the top half of the league in 15 of 18 seasons since 2000."
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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