WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – E.J. Speed diagnosed the play immediately, trusting his eyes and instincts about the pass to the fullback developing in front of him.

Speed took off toward the football on dead heat, closing ground fast as his reactions were textbook. Once he arrived, he grabbed C.J. Hamm by the shoulder pads and flung him to the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium.

It was a strong debut performance for the tall and rangy Texans linebacker during a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, serving notice that he deserves a role in an absolutely loaded defense he joined this offseason on a one-year, $5 million maximum value contract. Speed was the Texans’ highest-ranked defender with a 92.0 Pro Football Focus analytics grade.

He delivered another punishing tackle and broke up

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