There is plenty to be discussed on what went on with linebacker Whitney Mercilus in 2018, specifically regarding the reason for the nosedive in his production. Tearing his pectoral early in the 2017 season, there were thoughts that his injury was having lingering effects on his play in 2018, but that is far from the truth. Mercilus was a product of the versatility mantra that the Bill O’Brien preaches and it hurt one of the team's most dynamic players on the roster.

Mercilus had a stretch of 20.5 sacks over 32 regular season games plus 27 tackles for loss throughout the seasons of 2015-2016 and he was becoming a top end edge player for the Texans. The pectoral injury he suffered came in the fifth game of the season in 2017 and when 2018 arrived, Mercilus was pushed to the unfamiliar position of an off-the-ball linebacker instead of his normal comfort zone of playing on the edge.

Mercilus was the consummate team player and played the third fiddle to edge rushers J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. Playing out of position and in-coverage, there were plenty of instances throughout the season he was overmatched due to having never played in the way the Texans wanted him to during the 2018 season. Head coach Bill O’Brien said the following about Mercilus in mid-November, when most started realizing that Mercilus was not himself on the field.

“Whitney, he’s a very, very solid guy, very solid player,” O’Brien said of Mercilus. “He does a lot of different things for us. When you talk about being on a defense with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney and (Benardrick) McKinney and things like that, everybody’s got to find their role. Whitney knows his role, he knows what we ask him to do, and we ask Whitney to do a lot. We ask him to rush the passer, we ask him to play at the second level, we ask him to do a lot of different things relative to coverage and rush. So, I think he’s doing a good job. He’s battled through some bumps and bruises. He’s out there every day. He’s just a great guy.”

Mercilus said this of his role in November.

Knowing that role did not help the Texans as the season wore on. In fact it hurt the team. In coverage, Mercilus gave up an average 10.8 yards per completion and quarterbacks completed 80% of their passes when targeting his direction.

To expand further, Mercilus played as a traditional off the line of scrimmage linebacker, 27.9% of his defensive snaps. That number jumped to 32.3% when he was asked to cover skills players in the slot or out wide. 266 snaps on defense saw Mercilus in a position that he was not in his position of strength, on the edge.

Despite what his numbers said in the box score, Mercilus was easily just as solid of a pass rusher as in years past when he got the opportunity to rush the passer. The Texans primary three rushers were Watt, Clowney, and Mercilus. Pass rush snaps during the 2018 season went accordingly: Watt had 640, Clowney had 581, and Mercilus had 367. A closer look showed that of the total pressures (total pressures = sacks + hurries + quarterback hits) that the three put up, Mercilus was producing much like his counterparts. He was posting a total pressure every 8.2 pass rushing snaps while Watt was doing it every 7.7 snaps and Clowney at 7.9 snaps.

The proof is all here regarding Mercilus. The Texans sabotaged their own personnel by misusing him throughout the season. A more optimal way to utilize Mercilus' talents would have been as a edge player, filling in for Clowney and Watt when needed to give them a rest and maximize each player's strengths throughout the game.

The Texans have two choices regarding Mercilus. They can use him to his strengths for the 2019 season, which is the final season of his contract with the Texans which includes a minimal cap hit for $7.3 million, or the Texans can find a team that needs a pass rusher and try to trade him. That move would clear over $6 million in cap space, giving the Texans more money to address needs for the 2019 season while moving to Duke Ejiofor to take the role of Mercilus at a discounted rate.

Either way, the demise of Mercilus is a premature thought. The Texans coaching staff wanted their best eleven defenders on the field but that resulted in Mercilus playing out of position for a good portion of his snaps. There was frustration mounting for Mercilus as the season went on but he did what was best for the team. Now, the Texans need to do what is best for the veteran outside linebacker: either play him in a position that benefits the team on game day or find a team that needs his strengths and allow Mercilus to flourish elsewhere.

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