Is Texans' LB Cunningham The NFL's Most Underrated Defender?

The Houston Texans' record last season has seen many of their stars go under the radar during this past year. The biggest one; Zach Cunningham by far.

Entering his fifth-year since being drafted out of Vanderbilt, Cunningham is a playmaker.  During his rookie season, he recorded 90 total tackles. Every year since, he's tallied over 100, including a league-high 164 in 2020. 

Was he rewarded for his efforts as the leader of a sub-par defense? Those are Pro Bowl or even All-Pro numbers on any regular season. Instead, Cunningham saw neither accolades come his way. 

Maybe the mainstream networks don't view Cunningham as an asset. His new teammates, though, do. 

"Zach, he's a great athlete," New Texans linebacker Christian Kirksey said. "He's one of the better linebackers in this league. I think he's a little underrated, man. You know, people don't talk about him as much as they should. You can see that he flies around, and he goes out there and he makes plays."

If anyone knows a thing or two about tackling, it's Kirksey. He's hit over 100 combined tackles in a single-season twice during his seven years in the league.

As the first week of practice comes to a close, Kirksey and Cunningham could be a 1-2 combination for the new 4-3 look under Lovie Smith. The race to 100 stops could motivate one another to better their play on Sunday afternoons.  

"It's been a great experience working with him and I'm trying to, you know, push him the best that he can be and vice versa," Kirksey said of his new teammate. "He pushed me to become the best that I can be, and we can become a great linebacker core."

It'll take more than the duo to lead a unit that finished 2020 with the 30th ranked unit in total yards. Kirksey seems impressed with the other players general manager Nick Caserio has brought in.

That, plus a new scheme, might benefit Houston with the talent on the roster. 

"Man, we got some guys out there that can run," Kirksey said. "I think that the organization did a great job of putting this team together, putting this defense together and matched it very well with Lovie Smith. Lovie is a guy that he puts his defense in a position to win, puts his defense in a position to make plays at all levels and that's something that I'm learning about this defense is everybody has a chance to make plays and when you have that, it's a lot of fun."

Kirksey knows his role on the defense. He's the Robin to Cunningham's Batman. In time, the pair should learn the ins and outs of their play, helping them improve as a unit.

More importantly, it'll put the limelight back on Cunningham — the potential underrated linebacker in the league today.