Best case scenario for Texans' running game in 2025

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00:00Clint, you got the best scenario, you believe, for the Texans

00:05in their running back situation

00:06because it is going to be one of the interesting things

00:10to see how Nick Caley and company handled this thing

00:13after they brought in Nick Chubb

00:15and obviously already having Pro Bowler from last year, Joe Mixon.

00:19How do you see this as the best-case scenario?

00:23I think the best-case scenario is obviously you get Chubb of old.

00:27You get something even remotely close to the Chubb of old.

00:32And he is a – what we'd call here you got 1A and 1B.

00:37You don't have 1 and 2. You got 1A and 1B.

00:39You got two backs that you can interchange, right?

00:41To me, the best-case scenario is the running back Nick Chubb

00:47that has ran in a ball-control, run-heavy offense

00:51really his entire career downhill between the tackles.

00:54The best-case scenario is if that guy is the battering ram early on

00:59and gets the bulk of the carries early on

01:01and Joe Mixon is a guy that is available in the obvious passing situations.

01:08Now, he's obviously still a running back,

01:09but he is available and healthy and fresh in obvious passing situations,

01:17which is where he spent the bulk of his career

01:19in a pass-first offense in Cincinnati.

01:22And if you look at the two backs, they're both capable of doing it all.

01:26But I think the best way to use these guys, if you get –

01:31that could legitimately be an RB1,

01:34is you use him to be the battering ram,

01:36you use Joe Mixon as your more of a third down,

01:40more of a relief back early,

01:43and both of them excel in those two roles.

01:46Yep.

01:46Wow.

01:49Really?

01:49Joe Mixon, in this case, I know you're not trying to slight him,

01:55but I mean it would be –

01:56Not one bit.

01:57But he –

01:58I don't know that he fancies himself as the two here.

02:01I wouldn't call it a two.

02:02I wouldn't call it a two.

02:03I mean, I wouldn't –

02:04Are you saying the touches would be similar?

02:06The mentality –

02:08Yeah, possibly.

02:09I just would make the priority –

02:11The priority for Joe Mixon is he is in the ballgame

02:14in obvious passing situations.

02:16Right?

02:16He is a guy that on third down is going to be in the backfield.

02:20He's going to carry it.

02:21He's going to catch it.

02:22He's going to be used in exotic ways.

02:23The way he was used last year was fine and dandy,

02:26but his ass staped.

02:27He got banged up a couple times.

02:29And he wasn't on the field in critical situations in third down

02:32when I believe he is the best third down back on his team right now.

02:35Now, we'll see what Woody Marks is.

02:38Yeah.

02:38But he –

02:38I mean, he can run circles around Daria Gumbawale

02:41and pass protection and catching the ball out of the backfield

02:44and the ability to make people miss and punish guys at the end of runs

02:48and at the end of catches.

02:50And so I just –

02:51If you get a Nick Chubb that is anywhere remotely close to the Nick Chubb of old,

02:55which is a long shot.

02:56And that's –

02:57I was going to say, that's the big part to make sure you're hearing

03:01is if Nick Chubb is the Nick Chubb before the injury.

03:06Yeah, yeah.

03:07I mean, this is not –

03:08This is best case Chubb and Joe Mixon in the same backfield, right?

03:14I would imagine they're going to go about it interchangeable, whatever.

03:18Whoever's in there gets whatever carries, gets whatever catches.

03:21I just think that the best case –

03:23You look at where guys spent their career.

03:25You look at where guys made their name

03:27and one of them was in a run-first, run-heavy, downhill, road-grading offense

03:33and the other one was in a pass-happy offense.

03:36And I think you've got –

03:38And I've said this a million times.

03:40I think if you're going to be a team –

03:43I'll put it to you this way.

03:44Houston is a 10-win team, second-round-the-playoff team.

03:47They ain't even scared in AFC.

03:48Let's be honest.

03:49Nobody's even thought that they'd make a run to an AFC.

03:51Nobody thought that they'd make a run to a Super Bowl.

03:52If you want to put yourself in position to do that thing,

03:57you've got to have more than one weapon in the backfield.

04:00You've got to have guys that can make plays on third down.

04:03You've got to have big-bodied players that can pass protect.

04:06You've got to have guys that threaten defenses, right?

04:08I think the best-case scenario, assuming everybody's healthy

04:11and everybody's the best version of themselves,

04:13would be Chubb, downhill, early.

04:17Again, getting the bulk of the carries

04:18and then mixing is your third down critical situation,

04:22spread offense, anytime you want to go tempo,

04:25anytime you want to speed things up.

04:27And down the stretch, he's a guy that you've got fresh when you need him.

04:31So I think that's – I mean, I think that would be ideal, perfect case scenario.

04:36And I don't mean – again, this is a 1A, 1B.

04:39I don't think Mixon would not like it.

04:41Oh, I think he – I don't know how much he would love it.

04:45I still look at this even the best case.

04:51I get what you're saying.

04:52If you're getting the best of Nick Chubb and the best of Mixon.

04:56Yep.

04:56I'm with you.

04:57I think Joe, third down to me, yes, he needs to be in the passing game much more.

05:02I think they need to explore that part of the game for him.

05:07But I still think Joe right now – now evidence, we get new evidence is different.

05:14I would still say Joe Mixon should, without a shadow of a doubt right now,

05:20be the one to get more touches.

05:22Like that – when I look at these two, I think obviously Nick Chubb needs to be involved

05:28so Joe Mixon's not the only person getting touches like he was last year.

05:33I don't mean just the – like, no, I mean these guys are both kind of getting up there

05:36and you want to save them.

05:38But I still think, like, in the running game, game in, game out,

05:42Joe Mixon should be the guy that's more featured.

05:46Yeah, look, I just – I don't think you can – the problem is you can't dictate that, right?

05:49You can't – you don't know in the first and second quarter if in the fourth quarter

05:52you're going to need to be, you know, just air raid.

05:55You're going to need to be slinging the leather off the ball.

05:57You don't know if in the fourth quarter you're going to need a four-minute offense.

06:01All I'm saying is I think the best role for both of these guys,

06:04the best role for the team is, sure, if you have them both healthy the entire game,

06:09that's great, or both fresh the entire game, that's great.

06:11But if you're going to go beyond just, hey, we're going to split carries,

06:15I think Joe Mixon – I would rather have Joe Mixon in the game in the fourth quarter

06:19in two-minute situations when we've got to spread this thing out and throw it.

06:22And I would rather have – like, you can't – you don't know when that's going to happen, right?

06:26And so you've got to prepare for those kind of scenarios.

06:31And a four-minute offense, I've got Joe in.

06:33I've got Joe in, Nick.

06:34We can bang him downhill and chew the clock.

06:38If I get into a situation where I've got to throw it, yeah, both of them will be fine.

06:41Both of them can pass protect, but I think Joe is the better pass catcher of the football

06:46and a bigger weapon out of the backfield in those obvious passing situations.

06:49And he's obviously comfortable doing it because that's the way he cut his teeth in the NFL

06:53and built his name in the NFL.

06:55So, yeah, I don't – I mean, I would like to think that you'd go into a game in a season

06:58and go, hey, we've got 17 games, and we're going to split these carries down the middle.

07:02But unfortunately, like, I don't think the Texans planned on having Daria Gumbawale

07:06as third down back in critical situations last year.

07:08Yeah, touches, which include catches and everything,

07:11I still think that Joe should be the cut ahead.

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