00:00All right, Evan Brown, Seth.
00:01Evan Brown, the newest Houston Texan.
00:05So everybody wanted a left guard.
00:07They wanted a center.
00:09The Texans signed a guy who played both of those positions a lot over the last few years.
00:14He was banged up last year.
00:15He was an Arizona Cardinal last year.
00:17Signs a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million.
00:20Now, I'm not going to sit here and say I've watched all the Evan Brown film in the world,
00:23or even any Evan Brown film.
00:24I'm just going by what aisle they were shopping in.
00:27Yeah.
00:28It feels like a Lakin Tomlinson situation.
00:30Well, Lakin Tomlinson, I think with Lakin Tomlinson.
00:34I'm here for you to talk me out of that.
00:35Right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:36This is where it gets frustrating sometimes because people act like that every signing needs to be a marquee signing.
00:47Even if the Texans had signed Wyatt Teller or Joel Batonio or one of the bigger names available on the
00:54guard market right now,
00:55there's a good chance that they also might have signed an Evan Brown.
00:57It's not an either-or because, look, they've been linked to Wyatt Teller.
01:03I don't know exactly how much substance there is there.
01:05They tried to sign Elton Jenkins, the guard who went to Cleveland.
01:09Those are more solid, okay, we can throw this guy in as a starter.
01:14Evan Brown's a guy that will be competing to make the team or to compete to maybe get a starting
01:20spot.
01:21But he's a journeyman.
01:22You know, sometimes people use that word too liberally.
01:24The guy's been with four or five different teams in his career.
01:27And he's had a few good stretches, but by and large he's kind of been a replacement-level guy.
01:35And he'll compete.
01:37But I don't think that they're done trying to improve the offensive line.
01:41They don't pencil him in at left guard immediately.
01:44I don't think they're done trying to improve the offensive line.
01:46I do wonder if they're done shopping in free agency for offensive linemen.
01:49That I'm not sure of.
01:50You know, you mentioned that.
01:51I think they won't be done.
01:54Okay, that's a good question.
01:55Shopping in free agency or I would say they're never done looking to see if there's guys available for trade.
02:02Yeah.
02:02Yeah, so I think the chance.
02:04Remember, Stephon Diggs was traded for in April.
02:06Yeah.
02:07The moves, you know, Nick will kind of jokingly complain about this.
02:12Everybody looks at it as, oh, there's these two different times you can get players on your team.
02:17The first week of free agency and the draft, and that's it.
02:21And Casario looks at it as much more of a 365-day process.
02:24I went back and I kind of tried to look for some of the better, the games where he graded
02:28out better.
02:29Evan Brown graded out better.
02:30Yeah.
02:31And Seattle, lo and behold, was one of those games.
02:34He's never played against the Texans in his career.
02:36Okay.
02:38He stuck to him this year.
02:39He's been in the NFC.
02:40He's been in the NFC his whole career.
02:42That's why.
02:43For those who don't know his background.
02:45Right, but he was with the Cardinals last year, too.
02:46So I kind of thought maybe.
02:47Oh, yeah.
02:47Maybe he played in that game.
02:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:49He did not.
02:50He missed six games.
02:51So, yeah, just a thumbnail sketch on him before you tell us about this Seattle game.
02:56Undrafted, free agent.
02:57So he's a success story.
02:58I mean, you know, he was undrafted in 2018.
03:01So here he is still getting paid to play football in 2026.
03:04So he's been a success story.
03:06Bounced around his first few years.
03:08He was actually a starter in Detroit, Dan Campbell's first couple years there.
03:12He was the – out of the 85 games since 2021, he's played in 74 of them.
03:19And he started all but – all but 70 – all but six of those 74 games were starts.
03:25So he's been a consistent starter throughout the last few years.
03:30It's not – he's not just not been a consistent performer in the last few years.
03:33The rep on him, Seth, is solid pass protector, not great in the run game.
03:37Yeah.
03:38I think that –
03:39Tell us what you saw.
03:40I would say – he's just not remarkable in any regard.
03:46It's a one-year contract for up to $3.5 million, which is the same – that's probably the same
03:53contract
03:53Naquan Jones got.
03:55And some people might be saying, who?
03:56The guy that they signed at the end of the year to play defensive tackle when everybody else was injured.
04:01They re-signed him to a one-year $2 million deal or something.
04:05So it doesn't – you don't read anything into it other than that he's going to be on the team,
04:09he's going to have a chance to make the team, and depending on whether they sign another free agent
04:14or they draft an interior offensive lineman, he'll have a chance to start potentially.
04:21So, you know, John Crumpler, the doctor – he's now a doctor, by the way, who –
04:28Gabbles in Texas coverage when he's not performing surgery on people.
04:32When he's not saving people's lives.
04:33He kind of laid out a strategy this weekend that I think is pretty accurate,
04:38and it's something you and I have talked about, which was on the defensive side of the ball,
04:42they've got some marquee studs, obviously, on the defensive line.
04:46But they've also done a really good job of getting the best out of guys like Tommy Togiai
04:50or getting the best out of a guy like Sheldon Rankins, guys who aren't huge names
04:54or, you know, incredible talents or what have you.
04:58And I think that that's what they're trying to do on the offensive side of the ball.
05:02And a lot of that just hinges on whether Cole Popovich is really a genuinely good
05:08offensive line coach.
05:09Yes.
05:10And the –
05:11Is he the Rod Wright of the offensive line?
05:13Right.
05:14Rod Wright, the defensive line coach, has done a great job of it.
05:16They're hoping that – they're hoping that Cole Popovich is like his old mentor,
05:20Dante Skarniecki.
05:21That's right.
05:21Which is a tough thing to just hope for because Dante Skarniecki is one of the best
05:25offensive line coaches in the history of football.
05:27What are you hoping for?
05:28This guy's a Hall of Famer?
05:29That's what.
05:30But I think that – and I think that John laid this out as well.
05:34But it's a good strategy.
05:37But also remember that on the defensive line, they do have a couple of guys in
05:40DeNeal Hunter and Will Anderson who are just genuine studs.
05:43Yes.
05:44No matter what scheme they're in.
05:45Yeah.
05:45Or no matter who their position coach is.
05:47So on the offensive side of the ball, that's great.
05:50You can get a credible level of performance.
05:52But if you want to have a genuinely good offensive line,
05:54you've got to get some studs in there at some point.
05:57Yep.
05:57And that's where the draft or in the short-term free agency,
06:01even if it's a 35-year-old Joel Batonio,
06:03at least that ups your talent level somewhat.
06:06And then if you draft well,
06:08and that's the part that everybody gets hung up on, is, oh, okay.
06:11So all we need is for Cole Popovich to be as good as Dante Skarnacchia,
06:14and we need the Texans to draft offensive linemen really well.
06:17That's it.
06:18That's it.
06:18That's it.
06:18It's just a two-game parlay.
06:20That's all that is.
06:21It's very simple but very hard to do.
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