Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has established himself as one of the premier edge rushers in the league. Now, it seems he could be paid as such this offseason.

Although Clowney still has a year left on his rookie deal, the Texans may be looking to make him the highest-paid player outside of the quarterback position, according to ESPN's Sarah Barshop:

“Clowney still has one year remaining on his rookie contract and is scheduled to make $13.846 million in 2018. Although Clowney spent nearly half of his first two NFL seasons dealing with injuries, the 2014 No. 1 overall pick has become a dominant pass-rusher, spending time at outside linebacker and defensive end. If Clowney signs a deal making more than $114.5 million, he would pass Von Miller and Ndamukong Suh for the two biggest non-quarterback contracts.”

The league has deemed quarterback the most important and lucrative position in the NFL. That said, the value of those who rush the passers has skyrocketed in recent years and it does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. As a result, Clowney could be the next main benefactor after registering 20.0 sacks over the past three seasons.

The Texans are no strangers to signing its star players to lucrative deals after making defensive end J.J. Watt the highest-paid non-QB several years ago. However, Houston would be investing a lot of money in their defensive line should they go ahead and pull the trigger this offseason. Such is the case when a team happens to draft not one, but two generational talents in the same position group.