Brandon Dunn is feeling more comfortable as he competes for a starting defensive end job.
Texans defensive lineman Brandon Dunn received an off-the-field boost at the beginning of organized team activities. His family arrived. His wife and 1-year-old daughter finally moved to Houston earlier this summer to be with Dunn, who came to the Texans in October last season after the Chicago Bears waived him.
“It gives you a sense of security that the only thing you have to take care of is the stuff on the field,” Dunn said of his family’s move.
Coming off of his best year in the NFL, the 23-year-old now feels more settled and comfortable in Houston. And following the free-agency departure of Jared Crick, Dunn is taking the confidence he developed and the lessons he learned from last season into a position battle to be the Texans’ starting defensive end opposite J.J. Watt.
Dunn’s seven tackles in 11 games with the Texans last season aren’t impressive, but he came to Houston having played in only four games total during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He came on the recommendation of last season’s Texans defensive line coach, Paul Pasqualoni, who coached Dunn with the Bears.
Dunn views the limited playing time he received in Houston as a vote of confidence, one coach Bill O’Brien provided again this week.
“Dunny’s done a really good job,” O’Brien said. “He can play the nose. He can play end. He helps us on kickoff returns. He’s a very good teammate. Really good pickup for us last year, when he was on the Bears practice squad and we were able to bring him in here. He’s really our type of guy.”
The 6-2, 300-pounder, who played at Louisville, knows he needs to get better at pass rushing. Dunn hasn’t recorded a sack in his two NFL seasons.
He said he worked with former college teammates at a gym in Louisville to develop a move this offseason. He talked to new Texans defensive line coach Anthony Weaver about developing one goto move.
“Pass rush is my nemesis,” said Dunn, who recorded three sacks over three seasons at Louisville.
He said he’s learning from teammates — but hardly from Watt.
“There’s not much you can learn from J.J.,” Dunn said, “because he’s a freak of nature.”
The other men Dunn is competing with to be one of the starting ends in the Texans’ 3-4 scheme, Devon Still and Christian Covington, profile more as run stoppers than pass rushers. They too have limited NFL experience — though both have more than Dunn.
“The best man will win,” Still said.
Dunn said between defensive tackle and defensive end, his best position is “both.” A non-answer.
He’s just fighting to get on the field, so he won’t limit himself.
“I can play in this league,” he said. “I just had to get the right fit, the right team, the right people to believe in me.”