Texans nose tackle Dunn isn’t one to take his job for granted
For half an hour, Brandon Dunn was really down on himself. He had just been cut by the Chicago Bears for the second time and wondered if a successful NFL career was a pipe dream.
“I took 30 minutes to be down on myself,” Dunn said. “Literally 30 minutes, because that’s when the Texans called.”
Dunn had twice been a member of the Bears’
practice squad. When a call came from Bill O’Brien inviting him to Houston, Dunn made some significant changes.
As he enters his fifth year with the Texans, the starting nose tackle is confident in what he already brings to the table while still looking to add more weapons to his arsenal.
“I can always do more, always get better,” he said. “And I plan to.”
Dunn, 26, takes every moment he has with the Texans seriously. While he’s one of the biggest
personalities on the team and is known for his humor and uplifting attitude, he is still all about business.
After being waived that second time, Dunn made an important decision.
“I am locking in,” he said. “It’s all or nothing. I’m betting everything on myself.”
That’s exactly what he did. He went to Houston and set out to prove himself. He was released from the active roster and immediately added to the practice squad. That would happen one more time before he was promoted for good.
He kept getting better, kept working toward his goal of not just making the team but staying on it. He felt a special connection to the Texans’ coaches and players and wanted to make it work.
O’Brien was crucial in Dunn’s turning the corner.
“(O’Brien) is the one who taught me to find the routine that works for me,” Dunn said. “It’s really redundant, but it’s about getting a routine, finding what fits you mentally and physically to get to the next day. What helps you get better each day?”
For Dunn, that meant changing a lot of things. He started focusing more on his nutrition, his workout regimen, and how much sleep he was getting.
“I took the idea of being a professional athlete very seriously,” Dunn said. “People throw that term ‘professional athlete’ around like that’s something easy. It’s not. It’s a really hard thing to be.”
And Dunn knows how fleeting it can be.
When he was waived for good in Chicago, Dunn had just walked out of a meeting. He was stopped in a hallway and pulled into an office, where the official cut happened.
“Of course you never see it coming,” he said. “That would be the worst attitude to have. It stings.”
When he got to Houston, Dunn knew nothing was guaranteed. But because of a few injuries that left him with more playing time and a couple of talks with O’Brien during which the coach was blunt about what he needed from him, Dunn transformed himself.
In 2017, he started eight games. Last season, he started 10. He finished the year with 24 tackles, four for loss.
By March, he’d earned a contract extension with the Texans.
“I do feel like the hard work has paid off, but I also understand there is a lot left to do,” he said. “We have something good going here. This is a special group, and we want to accomplish a few things.”
So Dunn keeps at it. He continues to take his job very seriously. From his diet to exercise to studying opponents, Dunn is constantly trying to better himself.
In the midst of it all, he also has become a favorite in the locker room, where he has been dubbed “DJ Dunnie” thanks to his control over the music.
Dunn claims he’s the best at picking the right music for any occasion.
“I should start doing weddings, parties, bar mitzvahs,” he joked. “I could have everyone covered.”
Luckily for Dunn, his football career is going well enough that he won’t have to start a side job. He has established himself as a crucial part of the Texans’ defense heading into this season.
“I love every second of this — the practice, the heat, camp, getting into the season,” Dunn said. “That’s why I’m here and why I keep pushing. I hope I have a lot of good years left in me.”