Azeez Al-Shaair

Houston Texans

Pos LB

Updated October 8, 2026

Compare Azeez Al-Shaair LB rankings →

Model Score

81.9 MODEL

2020

73.9

2021

81.9

2022

70.7

2023

96.0

2024

77.1

2025

82.6

2026

81.9

How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →

STM Take

Back-to-back tier 1 finishes (#8, #3) in 2023-2024 plus the Florida Atlantic UDFA origin puts Al-Shaair in the rarest outlier-positive class at the LB position. The 41-spot regression from tier 1 (#3) in 2024 to tier 6 (#44) in 2025 flags either injury, scheme shift, or one-year context spike. The 2026 question is whether Al-Shaair returns to tier 2-3 territory or whether the structural mid-career instability returns.

Al-Shaair came out of Florida Atlantic as a 2019 undrafted free agent signed by the San Francisco 49ers and played in Super Bowl LIV. He has bounced through the 49ers, Titans, and now Texans across seven NFL seasons, delivering back-to-back tier 1 finishes (#8, #3) in 2023-2024. His STTM career runs tier 1 (#8) in 2023, tier 1 (#3) peak in 2024, and tier 6 (#44) collapse in 2025.

Strengths

Back-to-back tier 1 finishes (#8, #3) in 2023-2024 as a 2019 UDFA puts him in the rarest outlier-positive class at the LB position.
Florida Atlantic Group of Five UDFA origin plus the Super Bowl LIV appearance gives him real outlier-positive career résumé.

Concerns

41-spot regression from tier 1 (#3) in 2024 to tier 6 (#44) in 2025 flags either injury, scheme shift, or one-year context spike.
Houston's broader defensive identity around the C.J. Stroud offensive priority compresses the structural support around Al-Shaair.

What to watch: Whether Al-Shaair returns to tier 3 (top 25) in 2026 with Houston, the threshold for confirming the 2023-2024 ceiling can be recaptured.