Houston made a splash at the NFL Draft on April 27 by choosing Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 and swinging a trade to select Alabama pass-rusher Will Anderson at No. 3.

Stroud has thrown for 1,212 yards and six touchdowns without an interception, and Anderson leads the Texans with five quarterback hits.

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But two days after picking those two players, Houston found another impact rookie in the fifth round when the Texans added a Crimson Tide teammate of Anderson’s, linebacker Henry To’oTo’o.

To’oTo’o joined the lineup at strongside linebacker and leads the Texans in tackles with 27.

Houston’s No. 2 tackler is Christian Harris, another linebacker from Alabama who joined the Texans in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Houston’s first-year coach, DeMeco Ryans, also is a former Alabama linebacker. During an appearance on “Coffee with the Coach” on Monday, Ryans said To’oTo’o’s addition had accelerated Harris’ improvement.

“For those two guys, you can see a true connection,” Ryans said. “They’re truly, like, best friends when it comes to being off the field, so I think having that tandem out there together, I’ve actually seen a lot of growth in Christian since Henry’s been out there. They work well with one another.

“Seeing both of the young guys grow at the linebacker position, it’s fun to watch. They’re making plays all over the field, starting to get more consistent. It’s going to be a rocky road to climb, but they’re headed in right direction. Henry’s doing a great job with communicating. Christian’s doing a much better job of just flying around, playing physical. He had a couple of physical tackles yesterday. That’s what I’ve been asking him to bring to the defense more – just more physicality – and it’s showing up. So I’m excited about their improvement.”

The Texans defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on Sunday for their second straight win and their first home victory since Dec. 26, 2021, when Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers 41-29 at NRG Stadium.

Through four games, the Texans rank 11th in points allowed and 13th in yards allowed among the NFL’s 32 teams. Last season, Houston finished 27th in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed while fielding the worst rushing defense in the league.

The Texans visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium to play the Atlanta Falcons at noon CDT Sunday. A victory in that game would put Houston above .500 more than one game into the season for the first time since 2019.

The Texans have a 2-2 record – the same mark as the other three teams in the AFC South. But that’s not where Ryans wants his rookie-led team to put its focus.

“With the standings, we really don’t care,” Ryans said during his Monday press conference. “It doesn’t come to mind to me when you talk about the standings. It’s just literally one game at a time, one week at a time. How are we improving throughout the week? That’s our main focus, and the outcomes of the season, where we’ll end up, it’ll take care of itself if we continue to focus on our preparation.”

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The Alabama Games of the Week are the New York Giants-Miami Dolphins and New York Jets-Denver Broncos contests on Sunday. Thirteen players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the teams’ active rosters.

The first open dates arrive on NFL schedules in Week 5 with the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on byes.

The complete Week 5 schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from Catena):

Thursday

· Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders (-5.5), 7:15 p.m. (Prime Video)

Sunday

· Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills (-5.5) in London, 8:30 a.m. (NFL Network)

· Houston Texans at Atlanta Falcons (-2), noon (WBRC, WZDX, WALA, WCOV, WDFX)

· Carolina Panthers at Detroit Lions (-9.5), noon

· Tennessee Titans (-1) at Indianapolis Colts, noon (WHNT)

· New York Giants at Miami Dolphins (-11), noon

· New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots (-1), noon (WIAT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)

· Baltimore Ravens (-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers, noon

· Cincinnati Bengals (-3) at Arizona Cardinals, 3:05 p.m.

· Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) at Los Angeles Rams, 3:05 p.m.

· New York Jets at Denver Broncos (-1.5), 3:25 p.m.

· Kansas City Chiefs (-4) at Minnesota Vikings, 3:25 p.m. (WIAT, WHNT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)

· Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers (-3.5), 7:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday

· Green Bay Packers (-1) at Las Vegas Raiders, 7:15 p.m. (ABC, ESPN)

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.