McDonald Down Before Week 1

Rookie defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, Houston's second-round pick, was placed on injured reserve Saturday with an ankle injury suffered in practice. He'll miss at least the first four games.

It's a small but pointed problem for a team that built its entire offseason identity around defensive dominance. The Texans locked Will Anderson, Jadeveon Clowney, and Henry To'oTo'o into long-term deals this summer — a clear statement that defense would carry this roster through whatever the offense couldn't finish. McDonald was supposed to be part of that foundation growing underneath the veterans. Instead, he won't play until October at the earliest, and the depth chart at defensive tackle enters the season thin.

Jaden Crumedy and Junior Tafuna are the names behind him now. Neither has meaningful production on file. That's not a crisis — it's Week 1, not January — but it does mean the interior of this defensive line has less margin for error than the front office planned for when it was writing checks in June and July.

The broader pattern is worth noting. This team has absorbed a right tackle on IR, a receiver room rebuilt from scratch, and now a second-round rookie gone before his debut. Houston's plan is sound. Its luck has not been.