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John Harris gives insight on the Texans draft strategy, key prospects, and what to expect.
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00:00But a dude who loves him some NFL draft joins us right now, as he did last week,
00:03and I am forcing him to jump back in because I'm going to talk about some tight ends, damn it.
00:07His name is John Harris of Football Takeover, and you hear him on Texas All Access.
00:12He is the sideline reporter for the Texas.
00:14John, what's happening, man?
00:15What's happening, boys?
00:16Yes, you can put a plate of crawfish in front of me, and I will be very, very happy.
00:20In fact, one of the first things that I ever learned how to cook was crawfish etouffee.
00:26And that's one of my favorite meals of all time.
00:29So, yeah, I can get down with some crawfish for sure.
00:32How do you start learning with crawfish etouffee?
00:34Like, don't you start with, like, learning how to scramble some eggs first, like make a pancake?
00:39You were like, no, let's jump in on the deep end.
00:41Well, it's funny because I used to love going to Papadou when I was in high school,
00:45and I would get crawfish etouffee.
00:46And so I had a buddy of mine in college.
00:48Now, keep in mind, I went to school in Rhode Island.
00:50But we had our football team was from all over the place.
00:52And so I had a buddy of mine from Louisiana.
00:55And he's like, yeah, I got this recipe from my grandmother for crawfish etouffee.
00:58And I was like, oh, let's go.
01:01And so we, Super Bowl Sunday, Bills Cowboys, first Super Bowl, which would have been my junior year,
01:08we had a Super Bowl party.
01:10And we did shrimp creole.
01:12We did crawfish etouffee.
01:13And nobody ate it except the two of us.
01:16Nobody from the Northeast knew what the hell it was.
01:19So I was like, all right, it's good enough for me.
01:21So, yeah.
01:22So we ended up doing that all day.
01:23And we had a blast doing it.
01:24And so those are a couple of the first things I cooked.
01:26And it's one thing I cooked for my wife our very first date was shrimp creole.
01:29So I like to get down on some Cajun food for sure.
01:33That's a white boy with a little motion.
01:34I see you.
01:34I see you.
01:35But speaking of, like, recipes, what's the recipe for a modern tight end in the NFL?
01:40Because that's a question I've been asking myself a lot.
01:42There's definitely this year in the NFL draft some tight ends,
01:45especially guys that are kind of not in line guys that maybe you might even consider
01:49as de facto wide receivers.
01:50And it feels like in the NFL we've seen a lot of teams go to big personnels
01:54with dudes that can block.
01:56What feels like the right tight end for this modern moment in the NFL?
01:59Well, to me the tight end is, you know, it's a lot like a charcuterie board in some sense.
02:05You know, you go to a charcuterie board and there's some salami over there.
02:08There's some gabagool over here.
02:10There might be some triscuits.
02:11You might have some apricots.
02:13It literally is what you kind of want in some sense.
02:16You know, we can't all be built like Kenyon Sadiq, who is 6'3", 240, but built, I mean,
02:25with, like, 2% body fat.
02:26He runs a 4'3", 9'40".
02:28Like, he can play any of the tight end positions because he blocks his ass off.
02:32So he can play anywhere.
02:33But then you've got some like Sam Rauch from out of Stanford, who's 270 pounds
02:39and looks like, completely looks like, an inline Y from the 80s.
02:46You know, he blocks his guts out.
02:48But pretty good in the receiving game, in the intermediate receiving game.
02:52Very, very good.
02:53I mean, he looks like an old school kind of tight end.
02:55But what it feels like the majority, and it's funny you ask me this, Reggie.
03:00I had already been working on it last week before we got interrupted by Wyatt Teller signing.
03:04I had already been working on my updated tight end rankings.
03:06In fact, those will go, I just finished it.
03:08I've had it finished for a few days, but I had to read it all.
03:11It's like 10 pages, so I was like delaying it.
03:13But I finally finished this morning.
03:15So I'll go up at footballtakerware.com, my tight end rankings.
03:18And what I found was that as I went through 6'4", 6'5", 247, to 249, run 4'6",
03:282 into 40,
03:29was kind of the middle point for all of these tight ends.
03:34Like, almost all of them were right there.
03:36You had Sadiq and Stowers stand out.
03:40Then you have the rest of them that are kind of in this glut of 6'4", 6'5", 248,
03:46247, move guys,
03:49guys that can go out and catch passes, do things after the catch.
03:52There's not a lot of kind of separation amongst them.
03:55But they're all really good athletes.
03:58They've all played different sports.
04:00Some played lacrosse.
04:01You know, one's a German national, Marlon Klein from Michigan.
04:05Some of them are basketball players.
04:07Some of them I don't want to block anybody.
04:08Tanner Kozio, as much as I love him from the University of Houston.
04:12And let's go fly, slam, a jam.
04:13You can see my shirt.
04:14So I'm repping the age.
04:15So he can't play in line.
04:18Like, he's just a big wide receiver.
04:20So there are a few of those throughout this tight end class.
04:25But it's funny, Reggie, because I think about the number of times that I had to talk to kids when
04:31I was coaching many, many years ago.
04:33Why are you playing basketball?
04:34You're 6'3", you're 200 pounds.
04:37You're getting dunked on in basketball.
04:40You come out and play football.
04:42I can take you from 6'3", 200.
04:44I can put 10 pounds on you.
04:45I can put you as a high school tight end.
04:47You can go off to college, put on another 15 pounds, be 6'3", 225, and have your school paid
04:53for it for the next four years.
04:54And I feel like that light has finally gone on for a lot of kids.
04:58Like, I can't go play basketball at 6'4".
05:00I'm not going to go get a scally.
05:01But you know what?
05:02I can go play tight end.
05:03I can play for anybody.
05:04And that, I think, is really what's kind of happening.
05:06It's made this tight end position, as we go through the draft, really, really interesting and deep.
05:13I've got at least 20 guys at tight end that I think will get drafted.
05:18And they kind of run the gamut of in-line-wise.
05:21And there aren't as many in-line-wise, I'll be brutally honest.
05:23I think Sam Rauch from Stanford is probably there.
05:26Kitzelman from Tennessee.
05:28And there's not many others.
05:30The rest of them are going to be off the ball, move guys, but can catch the ball.
05:35And then there are, of course, the two freaks in Sadiq and Stowers.
05:39And I'll be brutally honest.
05:40I wouldn't be totally upset, dismayed, surprised if 28 or 38 ends up being one of those two guys if
05:46they were to fall into the Texans' lap.
05:47Well, it's funny you say that, because you mentioned Wyatt Teller, and that news broke while we were talking to
05:54you.
05:55So I'm kind of curious to see if anything happens, if your luck keeps up.
05:58But beyond that, one thing we talked about, John, was would you be surprised if they drafted multiple, they being
06:06the Texans,
06:06drafted multiple offensive linemen in this draft?
06:09And you said absolutely not.
06:10I'm wondering if that still holds and where you think they might go.
06:13I wouldn't be surprised at that at all, to be honest.
06:17I still think that as much as we would like to say, okay, pencil everybody in, let's go, I don't
06:25think it's perfect.
06:26I mean, I still think that Jake probably needs competition in the center spot, whether it's Evan Brown or a
06:30rookie.
06:30And I also feel like in a draft, I wouldn't say rule out anything, but I think early in the
06:40draft, quarterback and wide receiver, I'd probably set to the side quarterback for sure.
06:46Wide receiver, day three, I think you could still get a guy.
06:49But anybody else I think is fair game, including offensive linemen.
06:53And I do think to maximize the value in a draft, finding where that value is.
06:58And I think there's a lot of value in center, and I think there's a lot of value in guard,
07:02and I think there's a lot of value in tackles in college that are going to move or be forced
07:07to move to guard.
07:09I said, and I can't remember if I was on with you guys or talking with Mark, I don't like
07:12the tackles in this draft.
07:14I'll be brutally honest.
07:15All these drafts that have Blake Miller going to the Texans, I watch the Texans draft him.
07:22And look, he's a decent player, but I just can't do it in the first round.
07:26I don't want a fifth-year option on a guy that I think has got a long way to go,
07:30and I feel like you kind of short up tackle.
07:33But it doesn't mean that it's perfect.
07:36I mean, what happens on the first day of camp?
07:38I mean, we've seen this in camp.
07:39Was it 23?
07:41First day, you know, Laramie was doing Laramie things, so he wasn't in camp.
07:44And then all of a sudden, Titus gets a little owie, and so he's out for four or five days.
07:50And now you're looking at it going, holy crap, we don't have anybody to get through practice.
07:53They go and get George Fant, and George ends up being a revelation for them in 2023.
07:58Well, you can get ahead of that and look at some offensive linemen.
08:03And I still think there are some quality offensive linemen.
08:05I mean, if you leave me Emmanuel Pregnon at 38, and look, I know Wyatt Teller's there, and I know
08:10Ed Ingram's there,
08:11but you leave me Pregnon, I want to jump all over that because I think Pregnon's going to have a
08:14spot on this roster at some point,
08:16and he's a really good football player, and he fits the ethos of what this team wants to do.
08:20So I wouldn't be surprised if it's two offensive linemen.
08:24There's nothing they could do, really, that would surprise me in any way, shape, or form other than drafting Ty
08:29Simpson.
08:30I don't want the Texans to draft a quarterback in this draft unless they draft Taylon Green late in the
08:35draft
08:35because he's just unique and different, and he would be really fun to watch.
08:39And seeing that I call the games for TV for preseason, I'd love to see Taylon Green in the fourth
08:44quarter of a preseason game
08:45because he's going to make it fun.
08:46Other than that, I wouldn't touch a quarterback with a 10-foot pole in this draft.
08:49But anything else, hey, Jordan Tyson's there at number 28.
08:53Okay, take him.
08:54I mean, he's one of the best receivers.
08:56Hey, take him.
08:57He can't hurt, right?
08:59He's the best available player.
09:01Okay, take him.
09:01So I think that's what they've done with that Teller signing, the Braden Smith signing,
09:04but I still think there's going to be competition at center,
09:07and I still think that there will be another offensive lineman brought in
09:11just because there's going to be a really good one that falls into their lap that they really like.
09:15We're talking to our guy, John Harris, footballtakeover.com, obviously,
09:19sideline reporter for your Houston Texans.
09:22John, looking at this roster, I've almost found it hard, as I can be a pessimist at times,
09:28to look at this roster and really poke big holes in it.
09:31But when you look at the roster as currently situated, where are the problem areas in your mind?
09:35The problem area is probably not the right way to say it,
09:37but where are the areas of concern that still exist for you?
09:41Well, I think if we start offensively, I mean, do you have enough players
09:48that when they get the ball in their hands, they put pressure on defenses?
09:52Do you have enough there?
09:54And although I like the receivers, I like that group of receivers,
09:58the Cyclones and Nico and hopefully a healthy Tank.
10:00And that's, you said last week, you know, if Tank's 100% healthy,
10:03I'm going to feel really good about the wide receivers.
10:05You know, tight end we talked about.
10:07I feel like, you know, Cade's got to take a big step, but you can't guarantee that.
10:13And, you know, it's a lot like to me in 2010 when the Texans went and drafted Ben Tate
10:18in the second round.
10:19And you're like, well, you don't really know we have an Arian Foster.
10:21He played those last two games.
10:22He looked good in 09, but you're like, ah, you know, we need to get another running back,
10:26so let's draft Ben Tate in the second round.
10:28And then Arian Foster turns into Arian Foster.
10:30But then when Ben Tate got healthy, all of a sudden you got Arian Foster and Ben Tate,
10:34and you're like, whoa, this looks nice, we did the right thing with that second round
10:38pick with Ben Tate.
10:39So I do think that there's a possibility for a ball carrier that's got some receiving skills
10:44out of the backfield.
10:45I don't love all the running backs, but I do think there are some that would fit really
10:50well in this offense.
10:51I still think interior offensive line.
10:53I think Jake needs competition at center, so I think there's there.
10:57And then I think defensively, to me, it's depth.
11:00You know, defensive end gets kind of thin.
11:02You know, man, if something happens to Will, and I said this the other day to Mark, I was
11:06quoting Tom Moore.
11:07He was asked if the Colts, when Tom Moore was coaching with the Colts, if he worried
11:12about the right backup behind Peyton Manning, and he looked at the reporter, asked him the
11:16question, he said, if Peyton Manning goes down, we're all screwed.
11:19So I was like, yeah, so if Will Anderson and or Daniel Hunter go down, we're all screwed.
11:23But I feel like Dylan Horton came a long way.
11:25I really would like to bring back Derek Barnett, but I like the edges in this draft.
11:29And so I really wouldn't be surprised if they took an edge that's maybe a little different.
11:34The guy I keep looking at is Arbace and Thomas from out of Oklahoma.
11:36He's just different.
11:37He's a stand-up guy.
11:38He's not the biggest guy in the world.
11:40But if you brought him on in a pass rush situation and just let him loose, man, he's explosive.
11:45He's bouncy off the snap.
11:47I could see depth at a defensive end.
11:50That I could see.
11:51And then the secondary, who's your number three corner?
11:52I mean, look, it's hard to argue with Sting and Kamari being the best duo in the league.
11:58But we saw, when we went to L.A., we saw what happens when one of those guys went out
12:03of the game.
12:04Now, we didn't have J-Rock, and I think Jalen's going to come back and he did some really good
12:07things in training camp the first couple weeks before he got hurt.
12:10But, again, you can't rely on that.
12:12And I watched a few more corners the last few days, and I feel like that might be a position
12:18that you look at and go, hey, you're going to have a drop-off from Sting and Kamari to everybody
12:23else.
12:23But it can't be over-the-edge, precipitous drop like we saw in that Chargers game.
12:29So, one thing that Reggie and I were talking about yesterday, we're starting to get into some specifics on players
12:33that could fall to 28 or beyond if the Texans make a move.
12:37And Caleb Banks came up, and I'm just really curious because both of us were like, ah, you know, first
12:43off the bus kind of guy.
12:44I got a real kind of Shamar Stewart vibe from him in terms of college production versus what you would
12:51expect.
12:51I'm just curious where you stand on that.
12:55Oh, it's like relationships.
12:57It's complicated.
12:59I mean, it really is.
13:00I mean, as I kind of talk through Caleb Banks, I kind of feel myself talking about, you know, about
13:09relationships because at the Senior Bowl, I walk next to Caleb Banks, and he just literally took my breath away.
13:17I just went, damn.
13:18Yeah.
13:18Like, he looks like Jalen Carter.
13:22And, of course, he wears 88, so that's, like, first thing your brain does is, oh, that's Jalen Carter.
13:27And his 2024 film is excellent.
13:30I mean, he was really dominant.
13:33He was a top-five player.
13:35Had he been able to come out, I think he would have gone into the top five.
13:37And he was just incredible.
13:38And then this past year, he got hurt.
13:40And at the Senior Bowl, I could see it.
13:42I could see a guy that wasn't in condition.
13:44He wasn't in shape.
13:46But the first snap of one-on-ones, first snap of team, he was going to embarrass somebody.
13:52I mean, he was going to make somebody pay.
13:55They were going viral, and he did it.
13:57And then the second snap, he'd pop right up out of his stance and get moved five yards.
14:02And it's like that inconsistency is like, ugh.
14:04And, again, we're talking about defensive players, even more so than offensive players.
14:10You better be swarmy.
14:12That I don't know about Caleb Banks.
14:14I don't know.
14:15You know, he broke his foot at the combine, said it was a cleat issue, and then find out later,
14:18oh, he broke his foot.
14:20So there's that also.
14:21Like, where is he in his rehab?
14:23Is he going to be ready to go for training camp?
14:25If he misses all of OTAs in mini camp, how far does that put him behind?
14:29Then how long does it take?
14:30And that's one thing that we really don't know, is how long does it take a young guy on the
14:35interior to adapt to D'Amico's defense and Matt Burke's defense?
14:39We don't know that because they've always been veterans that we've had in there.
14:43Tommy came in, and Tommy adapted because Tommy is brilliant and Tommy's strong as an ox.
14:48But we haven't seen a young dude have to go in there and kind of adapt to playing that defense.
14:52So if Caleb Banks is there at 28, if I feel really, really good about the medicals, and I feel
14:59like he's got some swarm tendencies, I'm all about it.
15:02Because I think that guy's going to get better and better.
15:05He's got to play with lower pad level, like I said, but you just don't find human beings built like
15:10that.
15:11And that's the one thing that's really, I mean, you guys know, you know, you've been out for dinner, and
15:17you see somebody walk by, and your eyes want to keep going.
15:20You guys know.
15:21Are we talking about football players?
15:22Yeah.
15:22Yeah, yeah, yeah, football players.
15:24Yeah, exactly.
15:25That's what you do with Caleb Banks.
15:27You just keep going, damn, holy cow.
15:30So, yeah, I would absolutely think about it for sure.
15:34I just, the injury, I got to feel good about.
15:37When a big guy starts having a foot issue, does that become chronic?
15:41Does that become an issue down the road?
15:43So I'd have to feel really, really good about the medicals.
15:46But if I get comfortable with the medicals, then it's on to how swarmy is he?
15:49Because I know I can turn that guy into a player because of his athletic and physical gifts.
15:53Johnny, it's always a pleasure to get a chance to chop it up with you draft-wise.
15:58John Harris, footballtakeover.com.
16:00Check him out.
16:00Obviously, the work is sterling.
16:02And, of course, you always listen to him right on these airways on Texans All Access with Mark Vanderman.
16:08We always appreciate you, my man.
16:10Appreciate you, boys.
16:10Love you, man.
16:11See y'all.
16:11All right.
16:11Take care.
16:12There he is, Johnny Harris.
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