It’s no secret that the Houston Texans need reinforcements along the interior of their defensive line in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
Fortunately, this group offers a wealth of talent and a good portion is on display in front of Texans evaluators at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
Darius Alexander played for five years at Toledo and plans to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Quinyon Mitchell as the next rising Rocket to make an instant impact at the NFL level.
The senior defensive tackle finished his 2024 campaign with 40 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks while making a difference as an interior pass-rusher.
Texans Wire was able to speak with Alexander and he confirmed that he met with the Texans, plus his college journey and expectations for the pro level.
I am now Darius Alexander’s biggest fan pic.twitter.com/qODBQ4VVxu
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) January 31, 2025
Texans Wire: What brought you to the Senior Bowl?
Darius Alexander: “Really, Jim Nagy brought us to the Senior Bowl, but more than that, my game. My game, to show that I can play at the top level and that I can compete with these guys here. That’s why I’m here.
Everyone’s having a great time, everyone’s bonding, just getting to know each other, getting to feel for each other’s game. We just respect each other and are having fun. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
TW: How have you felt about your experience here so far?
Alexander: “I feel like it’s been going wonderfully, you know, just getting out there with new guys that you’ve never played with before. Understanding how they play and then they understand how you play and also the O-Line, new guys playing with each other. So just going out there to watch them guys compete against us and watch how they try and work together. It’s been great. As far as being here the first day as a proud it’s been wonderful. I got family that’s from here in Alabama, so just to come down here and to put on and just have fun and just walk around and be here. I’m loving it, so enjoying it.”
Darius Alexander is a mutant. This is absolutely silly from a 300 pounder. Standing up as a wide 9 edge rusher, you should not look this fluid.pic.twitter.com/R7pWTeEikc https://t.co/3TS98pawuT
— Nick Martin (@themicknartin) January 30, 2025
TW: What kind of player and person is your future NFL team getting?
Alexander: “I mean, for one, they’re going to have a quiet guy for sure. I talk once I get familiar with guys, things like that. For the most part, I keep things to myself, but they’re going to get a hard worker who keeps his head down. I motivate myself to work hard and I think that’s what my teammates would be getting.”
TW: What kind of role do you see yourself playing on an NFL defense?
Alexander: “I like to play everywhere on the defensive line, but for me, I like to be a three-technique defensive tackle. I just want to be a penetrator and make the defensive coach happy.”
Toledo DL Darius Alexander continues to stack impressive reps during #SeniorBowl week. Looked good during Thursday’s practice.
Stock up player
pic.twitter.com/JsX19MzQTy
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 30, 2025
TW: What was your favorite play from this past season?
Alexander: “I’ll probably say the pick versus Pittsburgh. I’ll say that for. That was a fun interception for me, just to catch that and score. My defensive coordinator believed in me to drop me coverage and make a play. So I think that’s one of the plays for sure.”
TW: Did you talk to Texans and how would it be to play for them?
Alexander: “If I’m not mistaken, I have, I think I have for sure. That went good. That’s a great defense. I love the players. You got Danielle Hunter, got Will Anderson on the other side so I think just me coming in to be a good 3-tech for those guys would be fun for sure.”