- 5 hours ago
Seth and Sean talk about the Texans signing free agent offensive lineman Wyatt Teller yesterday, where he may play on the line, and what he adds to the team.
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00:00And thank you. Thank you, Nick Casario, for making a move and signing Wyatt Teller,
00:04because it gave me a new sense of focus and purpose and direction in my life.
00:08It'll be 12-shot in the transaction department.
00:10Yeah, it is, but it's amazing. We go through this every year, every single year.
00:17You experience free agency in dog years. The first week feels like seven weeks,
00:25to the point where this week it feels like we've been in free agency forever,
00:29and the Texans haven't adequately addressed the offensive line.
00:32And, Sean, I'll say, like I did yesterday during the show,
00:36hey, there's a bunch of guards still available in free agency.
00:40It's been very, very slow.
00:42There are a bunch of veteran, solid guys that you could bring in on one- or two-year deals
00:46that would make a lot of sense.
00:48Wyatt Teller was one of those guys.
00:50Lo and behold, they went out and they got him.
00:52Yeah, that was my feeling yesterday.
00:57I found out I was at a client meeting, and I get out of the client meeting,
01:01and I look and I get one of those texts from one of my sons that just has the name
01:04of a player in it.
01:05It just says, Wyatt Teller.
01:07And I'm like, ooh, that's the breaking news for me.
01:10They're like Rapoport or whatever.
01:12And I said, oh, my God.
01:13And I can't wait to see the terms of this deal and see what it was.
01:16And I think it's a good deal for the Texans, two years, $16 million, up to $23 million.
01:21I do look at the up-to number for these guys, particularly along the offensive line,
01:27because the fact of the matter is the up-to number is the number, the up-to salary number.
01:33That includes all the playing time incentives and things like that.
01:36For these signings to work and be viewed as good signings,
01:41almost inherently these players are going to have to have earned whatever the max is on the deal.
01:45You know what I mean?
01:46Yeah, well, yeah, it depends, because some of the play time incentives are, yeah, yeah.
01:49I'm talking in generalities.
01:51In general, right.
01:52You don't want it to, if it ends up being two years and he only makes $16 million.
01:56Something went wrong.
01:57Or maybe they drafted a rookie that turns out being rookie of the year or something, and he displaces him.
02:02So, yeah, that, I think everything that we've been clamoring for,
02:07everything that Texans fans have wanted is for Corsario to, you know, aggressively address the offensive line.
02:14And the interior offensive line is the one thing where it hadn't felt like they'd necessarily made any improvements over
02:20last year.
02:21Great, you re-signed Ed Ingram.
02:22That still doesn't take you beyond what you were last year.
02:26And I'm excited about Wyatt Teller for a couple reasons.
02:29One, because he is a solid veteran.
02:31Two, I think that, I think a lot of people are sleeping on just how good he still is based
02:36on,
02:37because they base it on pro football focus grades.
02:39So I went back and I specifically watched a couple of his worst graded pro football focus grades.
02:45And, like, so he still graded out well as a run blocker this year.
02:50In pass protection, he wasn't as good.
02:52And it's very clear and obvious that one of the reasons the PFF grades don't keep up is because it
02:59was just such a mess on offense.
03:01And that the offensive tackle, like in the Lions game, he was playing next to some backup who's just god
03:07-awful.
03:08And they're getting blitzed constantly.
03:10And I still, I thought Wyatt Teller actually played a pretty good game.
03:14Good.
03:14It's just that that, when people use those grading systems as the reason to power rank their players or what
03:21have you,
03:22I'm not concerned about it at all.
03:24Like, Wyatt Teller still plays really good football.
03:26He's an excellent run blocker.
03:29He's incredibly technically skilled and strong, and he's very physical.
03:33Yeah.
03:33And I was telling you, I was trying to figure out before the show how to frame this,
03:38because I think as soon as people hear this name as a comp, they're going to have a negative connotation
03:42to it.
03:43If you can imagine almost the mirror opposite of Laramie Tunsil in how a guy distinguishes himself,
03:53but one in the pass game, one in the run game.
03:56So Laramie Tunsil is an incredible technician.
03:58He's almost, it's like watching an artist in pass protection.
04:01Wyatt Teller, likewise, is an incredible technician and really, really fun to watch as a run blocker.
04:08And he's also very, very physical.
04:11But that part, like the technical expertise almost looks like you're looking at a martial artist.
04:15It's really fun to watch.
04:17And Wyatt Teller still very much has all of that.
04:20So I'm really excited about this.
04:22I think he's going to be a great example to whichever other young guys they have on the team right
04:28now or that they end up drafting.
04:30Yeah.
04:30This is, I want to, I want to go back now because it, I think even before the Wyatt Teller
04:35signing,
04:35I felt like things were moving in the right direction, at least with the offensive line,
04:38with bringing back Ed Ingram, signing Braden Smith, there was definitely a heightened sense of urgency just based on those
04:46two signings.
04:46But like you said, still some gaps.
04:48You know, if they had stopped here, and they brought in Evan Brown, who I think probably now definitely forecasts
04:54as either a backup at guard
04:55or competing with Jake Andrews to be the center on this team, one of those two things.
05:00I think if they had stopped there, I would have said, okay, well, those are good moves.
05:04Now the draft is really, really important for the offensive line.
05:07It's still important for the offensive line.
05:09But this Wyatt Teller signing, man, it does, it does give me the feeling.
05:14Well, let's go back.
05:15This was D'Amico Ryans at the Combine being asked about where he wants to see improvement.
05:21Where are the areas that you're focused on in terms of maybe improving the roster?
05:25Yeah, for us, it's for the offensive side of the ball, we're looking to improve at the offensive line position.
05:31To start there, we're looking to improve our running back.
05:34Okay.
05:35They have walked the walk.
05:36Yeah.
05:37They have walked the walk.
05:38You know, they could pay lip service to it.
05:41It felt more like lip service last year just based on the tier of moves that they were making along
05:45the offensive line.
05:47They've spent good money.
05:50They've spent good money on the offensive line.
05:52And yet, and I saw this a lot yesterday, but I'll point it out for people who didn't see it
05:57on Twitter,
05:57they're spending combined about the same amount on Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller.
06:02They're two marquee signings from outside the building.
06:06You know, Ed Ingram's more expensive per year than both of those guys.
06:11But combined, Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller, just as simplified, are making about what Titus Howard is making.
06:17Yeah.
06:18That is really, really smart shopping as long as they stay healthy.
06:23We should point out both guys.
06:25Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller's missed four games in each of the last two seasons.
06:28So we need to point that out as well.
06:30But that probably factors into why you were able to get them at a price that combined equals out to
06:35Titus Howard.
06:35No, for Braden, for Wyatt Teller especially, he's 31 years old, to have given him anything longer than a two
06:43-year contract would have been really dicey.
06:45I think it sets you up now where you have some versatility.
06:48It was reported a couple weeks ago that he'd be open to playing left guard.
06:52I can't remember who reported that, so I apologize to him.
06:56But he did play left guard his rookie year.
06:59Okay.
06:59And that was the last time.
07:00I went through it.
07:01I think I counted a total of, let me do the math, one snap at left guard since then.
07:07Okay.
07:07So he's played.
07:09He started as a guard multiple games his rookie year.
07:12He's been a right guard since then.
07:14Ed Ingram or Wyatt Teller going to left guard, who knows at this point.
07:18But that's the most likely scenario.
07:20And then, of course, we know Braden Smith can go down there theoretically if they need him.
07:24So there's, I have injury concerns with every veteran guy other than Ed Ingram that they signed on the offensive
07:32line.
07:32I mean, but that's where having numbers matters.
07:36The really interesting thing becomes, okay, what do they do now in the draft?
07:41Are they still, do we think that they might still lean or have a bias towards taking offensive linemen in
07:48the draft?
07:48Do you think now, because they've addressed pretty much every area of concern so far in the offseason, are they
07:54in a more of a genuine best player available scenario?
07:57I think they're in more of a genuine best player available scenario.
07:59And we, you and I workshopped this yesterday during the mock draft injection because Mel Kuyper had them taking, well,
08:07he had them taking Yana Chor.
08:08I forget the, we, we got talking about them doing, if they took a defensive lineman with the 28th pick
08:15and that if they took, say, Caden McDonald from Ohio State with the 28th pick.
08:19As the roster stood yesterday morning before the Wyatt Teller signing, we kind of forecasted what the Friday morning show
08:27would sound like if they hadn't drafted an offensive lineman with some, some, I won't say glaring, but still noticeable
08:33holes on the offensive line.
08:34And if they hadn't also done something like the Wyatt Teller signing.
08:38Yeah, yeah, like if they had stayed, if they had stood pat with what they were, with what they had
08:41before Wyatt Teller yesterday, that, and I agree with you, I think there would have been some anxiety in the
08:46fan base.
08:46I think now, if Caden McDonald's there at 28, then you wake up Friday morning going, hey, they're still picking
08:5238th and 59th, and these are the guys still on the board, and let's go.
08:57So, I definitely think it opens up that 28th pick, and I would submit, too, Seth, that now that they've
09:04kind of shored that up, the offensive line, I'm not so sure that getting an interior defensive lineman isn't the
09:12bigger need at 28 right now.
09:13You're right.
09:13I think that that's very possible, and I don't know.
09:16I mean, I would hesitate to call it a huge need just because they're pretty much still set up close
09:23to what they were like last year anyway.
09:26You know, Mario Edwards was a starter at the beginning of the season, but Tommy Togiai would be the starter
09:32now, presumably, but he's just way higher in our estimation than he used to be, obviously, playing him next to
09:38Sheldon Rankins.
09:39I'd be cool with that.
09:41I think that D'Amico would sign a defensive lineman every single day of the week if Nick let him.
09:48Yes.
09:48He loves getting as many good defensive linemen as possible, so I think there's a real good chance that, yeah,
09:54they wouldn't hesitate to draft a guy that they might think is a stud interior defensive lineman,
09:59a guy that could transition into being a genuine three-down impact player.
10:04You're much more likely now because the dream is or the goal is for most GMs, when you go into
10:10the draft, you don't want to have glaring needs on your roster because that's when you're tempted to start drafting
10:15for need instead of best player available.
10:17I think they're very much more in that position now.
10:19I think they are, too.
10:20Having the 38th pick from that Tunsil trade is such a difference maker in terms of how you can act
10:28picking 28th.
10:29You don't have to act desperately for any sort of position.
10:32There's not that long wait of 31 picks between 28 and 59.
10:39That 38th pick is a real game-changer, and you can really – I mean, Nick and his staff on
10:45draft night can really kind of step back and take a look and see which positions are starting to fall
10:52in that 28 to 38 range.
10:54Because the fact of the matter is you can turn 38 into 34 pretty easily if you're willing to give
11:01up a day three pick.
11:02You can move – if you like a guy that's there at the beginning of day two that maybe didn't
11:07get picked in round one, it's pretty easy to maneuver and go get him.
11:10So they're in a great position.
11:12I mean, these signings, at the very least – you know, we'll see how it plays out.
11:16At the very least, it's put them in a really, really good position come draft time to not have to
11:23go reaching for anything.
11:24I'm just – I've got to figure out how I can make it with my mental health intact through the
11:29first two weeks of free agency next year.
11:32Because I just – I –
11:33What's wrong?
11:34Well, people just kept trying to draw me into conversations or debates about, well, do you think they're going to
11:40play Braden Smith at left guard or not?
11:42And I'd be like, I don't know until I see exactly what they do.
11:46And people would say, nope, he's going to be a guard.
11:48Nope, he's going to be a tackle.
11:49And I don't get it until I get debates about whether – well, apparently, after two days of not even
11:56official free agency beginning,
11:58looks like they're going to roll with Jarrett Patterson at left guard.
12:01What do you think of that?
12:02I'm like, I don't think that's what it's going to be.
12:04I think they're going to add offensive linemen at some point.
12:07Okay, I'm going to help you out since you said this was affecting your mental health.
12:10Yes.
12:10Where were you seeing these people the most?
12:13In my DMs.
12:14Okay.
12:15On Twitter in general.
12:16Yep, yep, yep.
12:17Just the various people asking the question on my YouTube – or people that I like or respect.
12:24I saw Brett Coleman, who's super smart and a Texans fan, has a very successful YouTube channel.
12:30But he did – he used to come to it a couple days in a free agency.
12:32Okay.
12:32Said it looks like it's going to be Ursary at left tackle, Jacob Patterson at left guard, Ingram at right
12:37guard,
12:37and then I did Trent Brown at right tackle.
12:40And that's how they're going to roll into it, I guess.
12:42And I'm like, no, no, it's not going to be close.
12:45Okay.
12:45What are you talking about?
12:46Okay, so my advice to you – I'm not going to tell you to stop following Brett Coleman,
12:49because he does a good job, and I know you won't do that.
12:51By and large, I think you like his stuff.
12:53Yeah.
12:53So I'm not going to tell you to do that.
12:55No, no, no, I'm only bringing him up.
12:56I mean, there's multiple other guys that – at this station and elsewhere.
12:59Yeah.
13:00They're just – yeah.
13:00Well, I was going to say, DMs are easy.
13:02You turn those off if you don't want to – you know, if you don't want people DMing you weird
13:06stuff or stupid stuff.
13:07No, no, no, or text.
13:08Text from people, too.
13:09I am saying, because I don't want to call anybody out by name necessarily, it's people that are otherwise intelligent
13:15people that somehow they get into this time warp where after three days of free agency,
13:21they're acting like this is what the Texans are rolling into with the regular season.
13:25Yeah.
13:25And I don't –
13:26There's a whole draft still to go.
13:27And this is the – well, this is the hard part that's hard.
13:29It would be easy to ignore except that it's – I've got – our listeners will text in and be
13:35like,
13:35how come Seth isn't more angry that they haven't addressed the interior offensive line?
13:39Right, right.
13:40And it's hard for me because I – people don't like hearing, well, you just got to wait.
13:44You got to be patient.
13:45We'll see.
13:46And I've said all along, if they didn't address the interior offensive line, I would be upset.
13:50But I had to wait and see.
13:52Hey, what am I going to do, flip out on Nick over the course of eight days because he hasn't
13:56made a signing yet?
13:57Well, I'm looking at the free agents that are available, and there's eight of the top 25 available free agents
14:04out there yesterday were guards.
14:05So I'm looking at it and thinking he's probably, I hope, doing what's smart, which is doesn't seem to be
14:11a very robust market for guards.
14:13So thank God they didn't throw a bunch of capital at Wyatt Teller to try to trade for him a
14:17couple weeks ago.
14:18Yeah, that's right.
14:19Or throw a bunch of money at him.
14:21I think he played it really well.
14:22Yep.
14:22Yeah.
14:23If someone had told you before free agency began – because I think they signed Ingram like the Sunday before,
14:28like the day before legal tampering started, before he hit the market.
14:32It was for sure before he hit the market.
14:34I mean, if someone had told you before that, like two weeks ago, like the Texans moves on the offensive
14:38line were going to be bringing Ed Ingram back, bringing Braden Smith in,
14:43and bringing Wyatt Teller in, all on deals that I don't think anybody's looking at these contracts and saying these
14:48are stupid contracts.
14:49Like they're not the Linderbaum contract where the rest of the league is going, oh, my God.
14:54Yeah.
14:54Or they're a good player, but you jump the market by 50%.
14:58None of these deals are that.
14:59I think people would have been thrilled with that, and I think people are really happy about it.
15:02Let me be clear.
15:04I don't know why I'm framing it that way because most of the reaction I saw to the Teller, really
15:10all of it, that I've seen of the sum total of everything that they've done has been really good.
15:14If they had to go play a game tomorrow, if they had to play a game tomorrow, I think their
15:18offensive line from left to right would go Ariante Urseri, left tackle, Wyatt Teller, left guard, Jake Andrews or Evan
15:26Brown at center, Ed Ingram at right guard, and Braden Smith at right tackle.
15:32With Trent Brown as a swing tackle, and Blake Fisher and Jared Patterson are still hanging around right now.
15:38We'll see what the – I mean, that's what gets interesting if you start to think, boy, they end up
15:42still taking a couple guys along the offensive line in the draft.
15:45Blake Fisher and Jared Patterson might be on borrowed time right now.
15:49You know what it is, Sean?
15:51You know what it agitates me is that I don't like things that make me question my own sanity because
15:55I always know in the back of my mind there's a good chance that, yeah, I am.
15:59I have gone crazy.
16:00Obviously, so it's when on Wednesday of last week, so the first day of free agency officially, but third day
16:08of legal tampering slash free agency, and they had signed Braden Smith.
16:13I got, again, from somebody who's intelligent, somebody I respect, somebody who's been around a long time, says, do you
16:20think Braden Smith is going to play guard?
16:22And I said, I don't think they know yet.
16:25And then they said, well, do you think it would be a good idea?
16:28And, again, I have to answer, if they have to, yes, but they're going to add at least three offensive
16:34linemen between now and when this decision actually has to be made.
16:38I think the Texans like that Braden Smith has versatility, but there was a debate about whether or not they're
16:44planning to play him at guard before they were even a full official day into free agency.
16:51That's the part that I, like, I just, I don't know how to get it through people's heads that, like,
16:56why can we not wait a week or two at least to figure out exactly what this is going to
17:00look like?
17:01Well, this signing should squash that sort of chatter now.
17:04I mean, these have been significant moves.
17:07And I do think to that, you know, to the question that was asked way too prematurely about Braden Smith,
17:13I do think the two signings they made, Evan Brown and Wyatt Teller, probably indicate Braden Smith's a tackle on
17:17this team, right?
17:18Well, yeah, unless they need him to play guard.
17:21Yeah, to start out, if everybody's healthy, you know, that kind of thing.
17:24Yeah, yeah, no, I think that the problem was, because Nick's not going to overpay just to get a position
17:30in the building, I think there was still a chance that if the guards that they liked were asking way
17:37too much money, that they probably would have felt like, okay, if at some point we have to, yeah, maybe
17:41we would end up starting Braden Smith at guard for the season, but we're hoping to go out and get
17:45a guard here.
17:45Yep.
17:46You know what it is?
17:47There's studies have been done on this.
17:48Men hate to say, I don't know, to something.
17:51Right.
17:51So when people are asking me for clarity on a question or something that I genuinely say, like I'm saying,
17:56like, I don't know to, it annoys me.
17:58Yeah.
17:59They don't like that.
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