- 2 days ago
Seth and Sean assess where in the Texans' depth chart a 1st round pick or a wily veteran could make the biggest impact.
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00:00If the Texans, Seth, if they're of mind, first of all, let's assume, which is a huge assumption,
00:07but let's assume they stay at 28 and they stay in the first round.
00:11I think the feeling most people have is, okay, you get a first rounder.
00:15They're an improved team, the Texans, but they're not a perfect team by any means.
00:18You'd like to get a guy that's coming in and taking that collegiate impact that he had
00:24and trying to make a similar impact here.
00:26Where are the biggest spots on the Texans' depth chart where, when they go shopping on draft night,
00:33they can get a guy and say, okay, well, we can plug this guy in because we plug this guy
00:37in and he can play.
00:38Because you brought this up yesterday, and I thought it was a really good point that Nick Casario,
00:42on this show many times and in press conferences, when he's been asked what exactly,
00:47when you're shopping in the draft, when you're going to the combine, you're doing these pro days,
00:51you're bringing guys in for top 30 visits, all these things, you're putting the evaluation together.
00:56What exactly are you looking for?
00:57And he says, we're looking at the role they're going to play on our team.
01:01Yeah.
01:01And so where are the spots on the team right now where the Texans could pick a guy at 28
01:07or maybe even 38
01:09and they can come in and there's availability there, there's snap availability?
01:14Okay, so first off, I think the first position that I think of immediately in terms of, okay,
01:20regardless of where you take them in the draft or anything, is at center.
01:23But I don't think you have to draft the center with the 28th pick overall.
01:27But it is a really good year for some centers if you want to find one in the first three
01:31or four rounds.
01:32So I think that's something you would address in the second round.
01:35Yeah.
01:35I then, that's where it gets tough right now with the way the team is composed because my other instinct
01:42would be,
01:42all right, because when you're drafting, you're not just trying to, you're not trying to get better this season.
01:48You're trying to get better over the course of the next three years.
01:50Yeah.
01:50I would want to say interior offensive line, but I also, I don't want to get into this world where
01:56all of a sudden
01:57you're drafting a guy in the first round and he's definitely going to be a backup until somebody gets injured.
02:02Yeah.
02:02At guard.
02:03At guard.
02:03You know, if he's not a center and doesn't project to be a center and you don't want to try
02:07to work at him.
02:07Yep.
02:09So beyond that, I think it's, as far as really, really improving the overall team and how much bang for
02:17the buck are you going to get?
02:18I think it's a tight end.
02:20I think if you can get a rookie, right.
02:22Because look, look, look, people, I want a defensive tackle, right?
02:25I've got a bias.
02:26I love defensive tackles.
02:28I want a defensive tackle.
02:29It's already a top two defense in the league.
02:32Yep.
02:32So in terms of making the team that much better, this is a side of the ball thing going on.
02:37Yeah, yeah.
02:38Like there's only so much that, like, there's only so much that improvement you can make out of that defense
02:45where it substantially improves the team.
02:49Right.
02:49The area where you really need to, it's like if you have a nice chair and one of the legs
02:54is broken, but you decide to refinish the whole thing.
02:57Yeah.
02:57And that's going to, well, okay, we still got a broken leg on the chair.
03:00So, like, I'm going to withhold the varnish, which in the form of a defensive tackle for a while, and
03:07help prop up the chair by drafting on offense.
03:09And I think a tight end might be the guy that ends up making the biggest impact.
03:14That's interesting.
03:14I think the mock draft that we did yesterday had, I know it had Kenyon Sadiq drop into, like, 27.
03:21He's the tight end out of Oregon.
03:23He is, without sending you guys to YouTube to watch him if you want to, great.
03:29He is, by far, the most well-thought-of tight end in this draft.
03:33By far.
03:33Yeah.
03:34In a good draft of tight ends, by the way.
03:36So, this is where I was going with this, Seth.
03:38So, if Sadiq, let's say Sadiq were to fall, like, into the mid-20s, and Caden McDonald is falling also.
03:43The Ohio, I'm just picking him, you know, he's the Ohio State defensive tackle.
03:47Would you rather trade up for Kenyon Sadiq if you had to to get him at, say, 22, or wait
03:53for, if you knew Caden McDonald was going to drop to you, let's say, at 28?
03:56I like both of those guys a lot.
03:58There's some questions about whether, you know, he's a complete fit for what D'Amico Ryans wants.
04:03There's reasons I believe that he is more so than some people believe.
04:06Which one is he, Sadiq or McDonald?
04:08Sorry, Caden.
04:09Gotcha.
04:11So, Sadiq is the one that, again, if we're, because, look, in the draft, in the draft you're thinking about
04:16the next three years, really.
04:18You're thinking about a guy and how he's going to be in his career.
04:20But if what you're looking for is bang for your buck immediately, I'd like Sadiq.
04:24I'd want to go after Sadiq.
04:25And you'd give up, like, say, you'd duke, like, a fourth-round pick to move up seven spots to get
04:29him or something.
04:29I would, yeah.
04:30Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:31I think that would be a move that nobody's anticipating.
04:33That would make it intriguing, yes.
04:35People would be excited about that.
04:36Yeah, like, I'm here.
04:38Look, I'm here for anything on day one because they haven't picked.
04:41They haven't made a first-round pick since they drafted Will Anderson, since they moved up to get Will Anderson.
04:46So I'm here for coming in on Friday, and instead of looking at the best available, I'm here for breaking
04:56down a move that feels like it comes out of nowhere a little bit.
04:58So now, since, though, so everything I said about wanting to approve immediately, I would go with Sadiq.
05:05Yeah.
05:05I think, though, you have to look at it from a GM's perspective where you're trying to make the best
05:09overall team over the course of several years.
05:12I think Caden McDonald makes more sense.
05:14I think that you're, because it's also, just like with the centers, it looks like there's going to be a
05:21lot of value there in the second rounds and laters for both centers and tight ends.
05:25Yeah.
05:26That, in looking at it, you think, okay, a defensive tackle like Peter Woods or Caden McDonald or Caleb Banks
05:33or somebody like that, those guys are harder to come by in general and have a bigger impact on your
05:39team over time.
05:40So I think the Texans would choose a defensive tackle in that moment.
05:43Yeah.
05:43But I'd be excited about this year if they chose Sadiq.
05:46Oh, I would, too.
05:47I would, too.
05:48He's a really, really good player, man.
05:51And people weighing in, base power text line, still saying, oh, well, oh, I'm assuming this, oh, well, means, oh,
05:57line, oh, line, oh, line, someone says.
05:58Yeah, well, yeah, and that's the other thing.
06:00Again, if I'm talking about three years, then, yeah, you're not talking, if it's a top ten pick that you'd
06:06expect to play immediately and be an impact player immediately, that's different.
06:10You're at the back end of the first round.
06:13And Wyatt Teller is in his 30s.
06:16You know, Braden Smith is getting older.
06:18He's got injuries.
06:19Trent Brown has a boatload of injuries over the course of his career, and he's older.
06:24Then we get back at, okay, offensive line and interior defensive line make the most sense.
06:31I'm going to flip this on its head a little bit, because the original question was, what are the spots
06:35on the depth chart where a first-round pick can come in and make an impact in 2026?
06:41And I think inherently, if you pick somebody that fits that bill, people are going to be excited about it.
06:46Now, they may question, like, oh, it's a tight end.
06:48You already got Dalton Schultz.
06:49But I think people, if it's somebody that can come in at a position where they can make an impact,
06:53I think people will be at various levels of excitement.
06:56Is there a position, other than quarterback, obviously, that if they drafted a quarterback, boy, hell, that'd be a topic
07:03on Friday.
07:03My God, they draft Ty Simpson with the 28th pick.
07:07But put quarterback aside, is there a position that right now the Texans, as constructed, could draft where you're in
07:15the first round at 28, where you say to yourself, what the hell are they doing?
07:21Well, yeah, aside from quarterback.
07:26Because the answer to this might speak to the depth that they've built.
07:29I guess a wide receiver might be one of them, just because there's only so much room and there's only
07:35so many reps for development.
07:37And I feel like they do like Jalen Noel still and think that he's going to take a step forward
07:42this year.
07:43So if they drafted a receiver in the first round, I would feel like you're drafting a guy that might
07:51not really viably find his way onto the field.
07:54Or you're going to be minimizing the opportunities for somebody else to get on the field.
07:58And you're in this competition mode instead of trying to just refine what you already have.
08:03So wide receiver might be the most curious one.
08:05At the back end of the first round on defense, I'm cool with drafting at any position because those guys
08:14will get on the field even if they're not starters.
08:16Even a guy behind Will Anderson and Daniil Hunter is going to get on the field.
08:20A hundred percent.
08:21Because they rotate and they can provide something and make an impact.
08:24And it still makes sense.
08:27At wide receiver, that's a lot harder to even get them the experience.
08:31And in doing so, you might hamper the development of Jaden Higgins and Jalen Noel.
08:36Yeah, I want to bring up Higgins too.
08:38Yeah, if they were to draft a wide receiver.
08:40Because we did a mock draft, you and I, in the mock draft injection a couple weeks ago.
08:45Which got a fun text from John Harris afterwards, by the way.
08:48But whoever it was had them drafting Omar Cooper, the wide receiver out of Indiana who had a really good
08:54year this year.
08:55And who's a really good player.
08:57He's an excellent football player.
08:58If they were to draft a wide receiver at 28, that to me, Seth, would be a big red flag
09:04on one of two, if not both things.
09:07One, how they feel about Jalen Noel.
09:09And two, how they feel Tank Dell is either progressing or is going to look when he comes back.
09:15Right.
09:15Oh, yeah.
09:15You know what?
09:16You're a hundred percent too.
09:17Yeah.
09:17I feel bad because I exclude Tank Dell from the conversation sometimes.
09:22Just because I get in this mode with Tank Dell where I don't want to put the cart before the
09:26horse and act or assume that, oh, yeah, because he's doing agility drills and everything, that he's going to be
09:32fine.
09:33It's a big question mark right now.
09:35Yeah.
09:35But obviously, if Tank Dell is healthy completely, then that's one more reason that it's going to be hard to
09:41get your first-round pick on the field.
09:42No doubt.
09:43Wide receiver is...
09:45Was John down on it generally?
09:47He didn't like that pick by whoever that guy was.
09:49Yeah.
09:50Like, really didn't like...
09:51Like, if John's texting us about it, assume that he really didn't like it.
09:55So, and I may be putting Johnny's business out there.
09:58Sorry, Johnny, if you're listening.
09:59He didn't like the Omar Cooper pick.
10:03But wide receiver is interesting.
10:05There was...
10:05It might have been Texans...
10:06No, it was Talking Texans posted yesterday some of the veteran names that you and I were talking about that
10:13are still out there in free agency and just got talking and tweeting about the wide receiver position in general.
10:19And the wide receiver position is an interesting one because I definitely feel like they need more in that room.
10:25There's no question about it.
10:27But I just feel like they don't need any more youth in that room, at least not highly drafted youth
10:31in that room.
10:32They spent a lot of draft capital.
10:34And so I posted that and actually got a lot of Texan fans weighing in.
10:38The two names that they were weighing in that they would like to see on a reasonable deal, I'm assuming,
10:43like not, you know, four years, $100 million, were Debo Samuel and Keenan Allen.
10:49Those were the two veteran names that Texan fans...
10:52They were getting a lot of support on my timeline.
10:54Well, I'll tell you what, with Debo Samuel, the one thing that he theoretically provides that the Texans love is
11:00versatility.
11:01But it does seem like Debo Samuel...
11:03And I haven't kept up with him as of late, but Debo Samuel was kind of...
11:08It sounded like he was growing tired of being the versatile guy in San Francisco.
11:12Just to remind people...
11:13When he was in San Francisco.
11:14Yeah, just to remind people, I mean, you're like, there's no exaggeration here.
11:20They basically turned him into a running back for big chunks of the season a few years ago.
11:25And so...
11:27And Rodgers, they used him both ways, running back and running back.
11:29At this stage in his career, though, too, like, would he be more amenable to being in that role?
11:35Because then you can get him on the field in multiple different ways.
11:39Because he's still good at that role.
11:40You know, that was a long time ago when they were using him that way, too.
11:43So...
11:43But that's a good point.
11:44I had totally forgotten about the Debo Samuel as a wide receiver.
11:48I'm looking at the rushing stats.
11:49Yeah.
11:49Yeah, here it was.
11:50Back in...
11:51Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little that they, quote, turned him into a running back.
11:54But for a wide receiver to...
11:57Back in 2021, have...
12:00For a wide receiver to have 59 carries for 365 yards...
12:05How about this, Seth?
12:05He had eight touchdowns rushing that year.
12:08Debo Samuel.
12:10Eight rushing touchdowns for a wide receiver.
12:13Yeah.
12:13That's crazy.
12:14But that was...
12:15So that was the question, though, was that he wanted to be more of a pure wide receiver.
12:20And that was, like, the source of some of the strife.
12:22Yep.
12:22So I don't know where he is on that now.
12:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:25Washington...
12:25Washington still had him carry the ball 17 times last year, for what it's worth.
12:29That's still a lot for a wide receiver.
12:31So he got a lot of love.
12:34And, yeah, so I think that's a position.
12:36I think wide receiver and corner are two positions.
12:40Like, if they drafted a wide receiver, to your point, I would be really scratching my head.
12:43And I wouldn't be over-the-top angry about it, but I'd really be questioning doing that.
12:47Yeah.
12:48Cornerback is in that neighborhood, but a little less so, because you can get a corner on the field
12:53in dime packages and things like that.
12:55And I think corner, more so than wide receiver, has that drop-off after your top guys that you feel
13:01really skittish
13:02about what's behind Lasseter and Stingley.
13:05Yeah, that's the part of me where...
13:07And I guess I'm kind of speaking out of both sides of my mouth, because on the one hand,
13:10I'm talking about how, hey, you want your first-rounder to get in there and contribute and play
13:14and all of that immediately.
13:15But then there's a good chance of you...
13:17On the defensive line, it's different, because they're going to get snaps.
13:21They're going to make a big impact, even if they're not starting.
13:24In the linebacking and the defensive back core, it's not as many reps.
13:30And they'll find their way on the field, but not necessarily as consistently.
13:34So I guess linebacker would be another one where, all right, Henry Toto and Aziz Elshire
13:39only have a year remaining on their contracts.
13:42Do you start planning for the future there?
13:44I think they like some of the younger guys, and they're intrigued, at least, by some of the
13:49younger guys in the room.
13:50But I certainly wouldn't want to spend a first-rounder right this moment on that.
13:54On a linebacker, I don't think so.
13:56You know who gets a lot of love from people, and it's probably there's a local angle to it,
13:59is Jacob Rodriguez out of Texas Tech, who was a Heisman candidate this year as a defensive player.
14:07Not viewed as a high-draft pick, viewed more as like a third or fourth-rounder,
14:11but has a lot of the qualities that D'Amico Ryans probably likes and Nick Casario probably
14:16likes, Jacob Rodriguez out of Texas Tech.
14:19I know a lot of you Red Raiders have been weighing in on that.
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