DJ Reader

Houston Texans 166th pick

DE · Clemson · 2016–2025

Draft Details

Year

2016

Round

Round 5

Pick

166th overall

Team

Houston Texans

Position

College

Clemson

DJ Reader Career Stats

Primary starter for 7 seasons.
Active in the 2026 season — stats update weekly.

Defense

Season	Team	G	Solo	Ast	TFL	Sacks	QB Hits	PD	FF
2016	HOU	15	6	15	1	1	2	1	0
2017	HOU	14	21	24	2	1	6	0	0
2018	HOU	14	16	10	4	2	3	0	0
2019	HOU	15	23	24	6	2.5	13	0	0
2020	CIN	5	8	11	1	0	1	2	0
2021	CIN	15	18	21	3	2	7	0	0
2022	CIN	9	10	9	0	0	5	4	1
2023	CIN	13	16	14	2	1	7	1	0
2024	DET	13	10	12	4	3	8	1	0
2025	DET	13	11	17	0	0	4	0	0
2026	NYG	3	5	1	0	0	0	0	0
Career		129	144	158	23	12.5	56	9	1

G = games with at least one recorded statistic; the career games total in the summary above includes every game played.

Source: nflverse · Updated Sep 28, 2026

DJ Reader is a defensive end out of Clemson, selected by the Houston Texans with the 166th overall pick (round 5) in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has played 139 regular-season games since 2016, with the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and New York Giants.

More from the 2016 Draft

Rd	Pick	Team	Player	Pos	College
1	1	LA	Jared Goff	QB	California
1	2	PHI	Carson Wentz	QB	North Dakota State
1	3	LAC	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State
1	4	DAL	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State
1	5	JAX	Jalen Ramsey	CB	Florida State
1	6	BAL	Ronnie Stanley	OT	Notre Dame
1	7	SF	DeForest Buckner	DT	Oregon
1	8	TEN	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State
1	9	CHI	Leonard Floyd	DE	Georgia
1	10	NYG	Eli Apple	CB	Ohio State

Shop Related Gear

As an Amazon Associate, NFL Records earns from qualifying purchases. Links open Amazon in a new tab.