Whitney Mercilus

Houston Texans 26th pick

DE ·

Illinois · 2012–2021

138

Games

237

Solo Tackles

Sacks

Interceptions

Whitney Mercilus is a former defensive end out of Illinois, selected by the Houston Texans with the 26th overall pick (round 1) in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played 138 regular-season games from 2012 to 2021, with the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.

Draft Details

Year

2012

Round

Round 1

Pick

26th overall

Team

Houston Texans

Position

College

Illinois

Whitney Mercilus Career Stats

Primary starter for 8 seasons.
Ranks 5th in the 2012 draft class in sacks (58).

Defense

Season	Team	G	Solo	Ast	TFL	Sacks	QB Hits	INT	PD	FF
2012	HOU	14	18	5	5	6	7	0	1	2
2013	HOU	16	28	14	6	7	18	0	0	0
2014	HOU	14	28	19	9	5	11	0	0	2
2015	HOU	16	30	20	13	12	16	0	2	1
2016	HOU	15	33	17	11	7.5	22	0	1	1
2017	HOU	3	6	1	1	1	1	0	0	1
2018	HOU	15	19	17	5	4	14	0	0	2
2019	HOU	14	33	15	9	7.5	16	2	2	4
2020	HOU	11	11	9	5	4	7	0	1	0
2021	GB	9	8	8	4	4	5	0	0	0
Career		127	214	125	68	58	117	2	7	13

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

NFL Combine Results

Height

6-4

Weight

261 lbs

40-Yard Dash

4.68s

Bench Press

27 reps

Vertical Jump

32"

Broad Jump

118"

3-Cone Drill

7.17s

Shuttle

4.53s

People Also Search For

More from the 2012 Draft

Rd	Pick	Team	Player	Pos	College
1	1	IND	Andrew Luck	QB	Stanford
1	2	WSH	Robert Griffin III	QB	Baylor
1	3	CLE	Trent Richardson	RB	Alabama
1	4	MIN	Matt Kalil	OT	USC
1	5	JAX	Justin Blackmon	WR	Oklahoma State
1	6	DAL	Morris Claiborne	CB	LSU
1	7	TB	Mark Barron	ILB	Alabama
1	8	MIA	Ryan Tannehill	QB	Texas A&M
1	9	CAR	Luke Kuechly	ILB	Boston College
2	1	CLE	Josh Gordon	WR	Utah, Baylor