Player
Denico Autry
DL · Texans
Denico Autry: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
71 career sacks across 12 seasons and four teams — a UDFA who outlasted his draft class.
TrendAutry by season
| Season | Team | Sacks | QB Hits | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | LV | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2015 | LV | 3.0 | 7 | 6 |
| 2016 | LV | 2.5 | 4 | 8 |
| 2017 | LV | 5.0 | 9 | 9 |
| 2018 | IND | 10.0 | 14 | 15 |
| 2019 | IND | 3.5 | 11 | 4 |
| 2020 | IND | 9.0 | 12 | 10 |
| 2021 | TEN | 10.5 | 20 | 11 |
| 2022 | TEN | 8.0 | 19 | 8 |
| 2023 | TEN | 11.5 | 17 | 12 |
| 2024 | HOU | 4.0 | 8 | 4 |
| 2025 | HOU | 4.0 | 6 | 3 |
Autry signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2014. Twelve seasons later, he's playing his second year in Houston — having stacked 71 career sacks through stops in Indy, Tennessee, and now the Texans.
He's the kind of career-arc that doesn't exist anymore: rotational DL who outlasted his entire 2014 draft class because he kept producing pressure into his thirties.
Sacks per season
| Season | Sacks |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 |
| 2016 | 2.5 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 10 |
| 2019 | 3.5 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 10.5 |
| 2022 | 8 |
| 2023 | 11.5 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2025 | 4 |
Among 2014-entry DL, Autry's 71 sacks rank 2nd — behind only Aaron Donald.
Comparison2014-entry NFL DL by career sacks
| Player | Sacks |
|---|---|
| Aaron Donald | 117.0 |
| Denico Autry | 71.0 |
| Jadeveon Clowney | 69.0 |
| Dee Ford | 42.5 |
| Stephon Tuitt | 34.5 |
| Shelby Harris | 28.5 |
| Trent Murphy | 28.0 |
| Kerry Hyder | 22.0 |
Donald is in a different sport. After that, the 2014 NFL entry class of interior/edge defenders is led by Autry's 71 sacks, ahead of #1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney (69) and behind only the GOAT. Autry was undrafted.
The gap to Clowney is meaningful: Clowney was the consensus top-of-draft talent, Autry was a Mississippi State DT no one wanted. They sit two sacks apart in 2026.
Five career seasons with 8+ sacks — and he's never been an every-down starter.
RareAutry 8-sack seasons
| Season | Team | Sacks |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | IND | 10.0 |
| 2020 | IND | 9.0 |
| 2021 | TEN | 10.5 |
| 2022 | TEN | 8.0 |
| 2023 | TEN | 11.5 |
From 2018 through 2023, Autry had five 8+ sack seasons in a six-year span — a stretch most teams would happily get from a true defensive end, let alone a rotational interior rusher in his 30s.
The 2023 line (11.5 sacks, 17 QB hits, 12 TFL at age 33) was his career year, and it earned him a 2-year, $20M deal from Houston that summer.
39 career pass defenses from a defensive lineman — he tips passes at the snap at an elite rate.
SplitIn addition to the 71 sacks and 128 QB hits, Autry has 39 career pass defenses — almost all of them tipped passes at the line of scrimmage. For context, the average DL career produces fewer than 10 pass defenses; Autry is essentially a 6-foot-5 wall in the rushing lane.
He's also forced 9 fumbles across his career, including 2 forced fumbles in three separate seasons (2018, 2022, 2023). The 'event play' rate from a rotational DL is what's kept him employed into his age-35 season.
Career year came at age 33 — 11.5 sacks with the 2023 Titans, his only double-digit non-Colts year.
AnomalyAutry age 31-33 (TEN years)
| Season | Age | Sacks | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | 10.5 | 20 |
| 2022 | 32 | 8.0 | 19 |
| 2023 | 33 | 11.5 | 17 |
Most interior rushers fall off by their early 30s. Autry's three Titans years produced 30.0 sacks and 56 QB hits combined between his age-31 and age-33 seasons — peak production starting well after the typical career arc has crested.
The Houston decline in 2024-25 (4 sacks each year) suggests the cliff finally arrived, but the cumulative production through age 33 is what makes his career the longest UDFA pass-rusher arc of the modern era.
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