Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns, and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

The Texans had one of the NFL’s best defenses in 2015. It should be even better this year.

That is, assuming J.J. Watt returns from his back injury and resembles the amazing player he has been throughout his career. Without Watt, all bets are off, but the group should still be average to above average if Watt isn’t a factor. With Watt, it could be the league’s best. Yes, that includes Denver’s defense as well.

After making some changes in defensive personnel - namely getting Rahim Moore out of the starting lineup - over their final seven games of the regular season, Houston allowed just 80 points. Before Week 7, Houston’s defense was a train wreck, and underperforming at an astonishing level. But since then, it rivaled Kansas City and Denver as the best defense in football, allowing a paltry 12.7 points per game over that stretch. They were a dominant unit.

Watt, of course, was a huge reason for that, but Houston also got great production from their outstanding trio of cornerbacks, Benardrick McKinney kept improving as his rookie season went along, and Whitney Mercilus had his best season as a pro in racking up a dozen sacks. There isn’t a tandem in the league that finished with more sacks than Watt and Mercilus. McKinney was a second-round selection, but Mercilus, Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and Kevin Johnson are all former first-round picks. That collective talent is very impressive and unlikely to take a step backwards in 2016.

Obviously Watt, the best player in football, stirs the drink in Houston. There really is no one like him in the NFL. But it is another former first-round pick in Jadeveon Clowney that is going to take this defense to yet another level.

Injuries have held Clowney back. There is just no way around that. But he has certainly flashed at times since entering the league and doesn’t get the credit he deserves as already being an exceptional player against the run. A very powerful player, few set the edge as well as Clowney. But he wasn’t picked first overall to set the edge in the run game, although that obviously factors in.

Clowney can be an elite pass-rusher. And by elite, think a 20-sack-a-year type of player. He absolutely has it all…including health, as this has been the first healthy offseason Clowney has been able to experience since being drafted.

And wow, was he impressive this past weekend. He is the prototype, with outstanding length, fluidity, power, change of direction, get off, hand usage, and the ability to turn speed into power. Clowney manhandled the Saints' blockers in Week 2. He can run around a setting tackle or through him. He abused double teams and showed a relentless desire to get to the quarterback. There might not be a player at any position more primed to break into superstardom than Clowney in 2016.

So Romeo Crennel, who is a proven and excellent defensive mind, now has Mercilus and Clowney coming off the edge. Wow. But Crennel has also shown a penchant of late for using Watt as more of an edge player. In reality, when all three are healthy, the options are limitless as to where each player can line up, and Crennel has a history of employing multiple fronts and defensive alignments in his schemes. Again, this is assuming Watt gets right sooner than later.

Crennel was very blitz happy in 2014, but much less so in 2015 - even though the cornerback play could have handled a lot of blitzing. Surely the reasoning behind that is Houston’s pass-rush not needing the extra help. The Texans might have to blitz even less this season, which obviously gives them the ability to flood the field with coverage players and potentially cause more turnovers while allowing fewer big plays.

Crennel also varies and disguises coverages extremely well, but with his stable of cornerbacks, he can also play it straight with a lot of man coverage. Joseph is coming off a great year, is Houston’s top cornerback, and spent quite a bit of time lined up with the opponent’s best wide receiver last year.

Even before Watt’s injury, the depth of Houston’s defensive line was extremely concerning. Vince Wilfork remains a space-eater in the middle, but obviously age is a concern here, and he does very little in the passing game. But the preseason has been encouraging overall with this unit. Houston drafted D.J. Reader in the fifth round to be Wilfork’s eventual successor on the nose and the results have been positive thus far.

Christian Covington certainly won’t ever be confused with Watt, but he has played very well and all the reports on him have also been favorable. So the concern with the defensive line has been minimalized thus far, but it is something to keep an eye on for sure, especially with Watt’s current condition.

The Texans defense was simply outstanding to finish up the 2015 season. If Clowney takes the huge step forward that looks inevitable, Houston’s defense could very well be the best in football. That is, assuming one thing…