Once a respected opponent, Denico Autry is now a Texan

The first day of the legal tampering free agency seemed to crawl along until the Texans made some noise with a potential signing. I honestly didn’t believe the news when I heard it because I had been highlighting this particular defender for YEARS as an opponent.

DL star Denico Autry was about to become a Texan. I mean, what?!?

I immediately started posting about how happy I was that Autry had finally joined the good guys. Autry moved from Oakland to Indianapolis in 2018 and he immediately had my attention. When the Texans faced the Colts in December 2018 at NRG Stadium, I knew one of the Keys to the Game was slowing Autry after he had 2.0 sacks in the first matchup at Indy.

Find a way to control Denico Autry. He had a BRILLIANT game against the Jaguars (three sacks and two forced fumbles). Must occupy him all the way through the whistle. He never stops coming.

He had 2.0 sacks in that matchup as well, giving him 4.0 sacks in two regular season games against the Texans in 2018. As a result, I was still worried about Autry a few weeks later as we prepared to face the Colts in the 2018 Wild Card matchup at NRG.

Find a way to control Denico Autry and Margus Hunt. Those two jump into the A gaps together and penetrate straight up field. They’re relentless to the ball so they’re difficult to block all the way to the whistle and that’s a problem.

Autry then went to hated Tennessee in 2020 and he continued to wreak havoc on the Texans. So, as we prepared for the Titans for the Week 18 finale of the 2021 season, I gave the ultimate compliment to Autry

The Best in the League – If you would’ve been able to convince me in the offseason that the Titans defense would feature the best defensive front in the league in 2021, I’d have told you that the Titans would be a Super Bowl contender. Honestly, I didn’t think they had that in them in 2021. I did think DL Jeffery Simmons was, and is, an absolute DUDE and…