Azeez Al-Shaair just got paid like a star, and now he’s getting compared to one of the most unhinged personalities in sports history. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler ranked the Houston Texans linebacker No. 6 among the NFL’s best off-ball linebackers, and the scouting report that came with it is something else.
An NFL personnel evaluator told Fowler: “He’s the Dennis Rodman of linebackers. He gets in everyone’s head. He can run all day and can play every down.” That’s high praise and kind of a warning at the same time. Rodman was a Hall of Famer and a walking chaos agent. Al-Shaair seems to lean into the comparison.
The 27-year-old linebacker signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Texans this offseason. It was a reward for a breakout season where he earned his first Pro Bowl nod, racked up 103 tackles and defended nine passes. But the money isn’t what made people take notice. It’s the way he plays.
From Afterthought to Anchor
Before last season, Al-Shaair wasn’t on anyone’s radar outside of Houston. He bounced around. Started his career in San Francisco, spent time in Tennessee. Nothing special on paper. But when the Texans defense turned into one of the league’s most physical units, Al-Shaair became its pulse.
Fowler noted that Al-Shaair appeared on all but one ballot for his ranking. That’s a huge shift from previous years when he wasn’t even in the conversation. “The veteran linebacker wasn’t a factor in previous rankings,” Fowler wrote. “But after embodying Houston’s ultra-physical defense and landing a three-year, $54 million deal, league-wide recognition followed.”
His nine passes defended were the most for a Texans player with 100 tackles since Brian Cushing had 10 back in 2009. That stat alone shows he’s not just a thumper. He can cover, too. And because Houston’s pass rush is so good, they don’t have to blitz much. That lets Al-Shaair sit in the middle of the field, read plays and clean up messes in the run game.
One NFL coordinator described him as “specialized by scheme a bit” but added: “He’s explosive and good in coverage.”
The Superpower That Gets Him in Trouble
According to The Athletic, part of what makes Al-Shaair effective is his ability to generate force in tight spaces. Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke explained it simply: “He has a real ability to uncoil in a short space. He does it at a high speed of approach, and that’s where you see a lot of those big collisions. That’s part of his superpower.”
That Rodman comparison probably comes from the edge he plays with. The guy doesn’t just tackle. He hits with intent. And sometimes that crosses a line. He’s drawn criticism for plays that border on reckless. But the Texans have his back.
GM Nick Caserio put it this way: “When he’s on the field, he plays the way DeMeco wants the team to play. And when he’s off the field, he represents the organization the way the McNair family wants to be represented. I would say that’s kind of rare.”
So yeah, the Texans have a $54 million linebacker who gets compared to Dennis Rodman, and they’re fine with it. The rest of the league might want to buckle up.
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