- 2 days ago
ITL debates which upgrade would have the biggest impact on Houston’s ceiling.
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00:00The clearest thing that I think that you can be excited about in this time period is the NFL draft.
00:06You know what to do, Figgy. You know what to do.
00:08The NFL draft is Thursday. This week, 70, what? How many hours?
00:15We're in 79 hours and probably about...
00:18But who's counting?
00:1932 minutes.
00:20ESPN is apparently counting.
00:2379-33. So you asked a question.
00:27Oh, yeah. We've been doing our countdown to the draft, so I should make mention of the question.
00:32Three days, mind you. Three days. As you mentioned, 79 hours at this point.
00:35Which position gives the Texans the best chance to take the next step in the AFC landscape?
00:40So the next step is you win that playoff game, you get to the AFC Championship, and maybe the Super
00:45Bowl.
00:45Right.
00:46You've got to think about this.
00:48Right. I guess it is about making your team a better team, but in a very particular way, I view
00:53this question as,
00:54is there a position that speaks very highly to winning those games that you're talking about?
01:00Whether it's... I just think... I don't know.
01:02I'm still not sure about where Kansas City will be, because I know that you're starting the season probably with
01:07another quarterback
01:08and then getting a Patrick Mahomes in as soon as possible off of an injury.
01:13Yeah.
01:13What does that do for their capabilities, and they still need to find the cornerbacks that will help them play
01:18the level of defense
01:19that a Spagnuolo typically wants.
01:20So I wonder, is it against the Kansas City's of the world, or is it against the Baltimore's of the
01:24world,
01:25or is it really that the Denver Broncos really have taken hold of this division to some respect?
01:31That's the thing that I also feel like we've got to nail down before we get to, what's the right
01:35position to help you get to those teams?
01:36So I started thinking this earlier today.
01:38I said, you know, at this point, because the Texans are kind of set, you know, across the board,
01:44defensively for sure, and have made some big moves offensively,
01:47that there really isn't like a pick that they could make at 28 where, you know, I would say it's
01:54a bad pick.
01:54You're going to get improved.
01:56You're going to improve.
01:57There's going to be depth, maybe some significant, you know, snaps, et cetera.
02:02So I'm looking at this like, what's the position where you would go, whoa, you know, like, whoa,
02:08they are absolutely, you know, going for it.
02:11Because there's been a lot of teams in the AFC this offseason that have made kind of whoa moves.
02:17The Patriots, we're talking about it a little bit during the break, seems like they're going to get A.J.
02:21Brown.
02:21It'll sound like that's a probability.
02:24A.J. Brown's reportedly not going to go to Eagles workouts and such.
02:28So you kind of go, whoa, you know, as an AFC team.
02:31I mean, the Bengals we just talked about, Dexter Lawrence.
02:34Sexy Dexy.
02:34You know, you kind of go.
02:35Have you done the Sexy Dexy dance before?
02:37I don't know the Sexy Dexy dance.
02:39You ain't seen people do the, dude, I love the.
02:40Oh, yeah, that's, yeah, yeah, I've seen that.
02:42I haven't done that.
02:43I haven't done that.
02:43We're going to get you to do it here, so don't worry about it.
02:45Don't you got to rub the belly a little bit, too?
02:46Oh, I don't know.
02:47I'll do some research.
02:48I'll get back to you on that.
02:50So that's kind of a whoa move, especially, you know, in the AFC.
02:53Broncos have made some moves.
02:54Oh, so you're going even outside of the draft itself?
02:56No, no, I'm going to the draft pick, but what would be, like I said, I don't think there's
03:00going to be a bad draft pick.
03:02You know, they can find a player, but the move, and I said all that to say this, the
03:06move that would make me go, whoa, is a trade-up and a running back.
03:11Okay, I was going to say.
03:12Running back.
03:12It would have to be a trade-up, right?
03:14A trade-up.
03:14It would have to be a whoa.
03:15Yeah, a trade-up.
03:16Maybe.
03:17Who is somebody at 28 where you'd be like, whoa?
03:19Right.
03:20No, no.
03:20To me, it would almost have to be a trade-up, and then we like our guys.
03:24You know, we got David Montgomery.
03:27We like Woody Marks.
03:28Whoa.
03:29They went up and got Jadarian Price, or whatever it may be.
03:32You know what I mean?
03:32Yeah, I don't even know if you'd need to go up for Jadarian Price.
03:34That's what I'm saying.
03:34Yeah, whatever it might be.
03:35Acquiring a running back like that where you really lean into the identity.
03:38That's where I am.
03:39I was thinking along the same lines.
03:41I don't agree with this that came in on the YouTube page.
03:44Quarterback.
03:45And I'm not even saying this for C.J. Stroud's benefit.
03:47That would be a whoa.
03:48It would be a whoa, but I don't think that this actually changed your...
03:51That would be a whoa if it was like the third or fourth round.
03:53Yes, it would.
03:54Right.
03:55Yes, it would.
03:55But I don't think that that actually answers the question of giving you an opportunity in
03:59the AFC, at least in this...
04:00Well, not even at all, because I don't think that any of these quarterbacks that you can
04:03actually viably get would do that for you, right?
04:06Even if you're talking about a Fernando Mendoza, that's a big old maybe, right?
04:10I don't think that any of these quarterbacks actually do it for you.
04:12So I understand we might be trying to needle C.J. or whatever with that response.
04:16I actually don't think it happens.
04:18This is...
04:19I don't know how spicy this is, but I think that this is me trying to maybe work outside
04:22the box.
04:23If you get one of these centers...
04:26And when I say one of these centers, actually, let me just...
04:28Keely Rutledge.
04:29Yeah.
04:29I do think...
04:30Because if he is a guy that you can actually play center, or maybe even a Chase Besantis,
04:33if this is a guy that they could see possibly making that jump.
04:37Because if there's a guy that has the physicality at the center position and can absolutely do
04:44the mental part of this, because that's part of it, right?
04:46Like, we've seen guys that maybe have more physicality than Jake Andrews, but haven't
04:49been able to do the mental portion of the center position, which honestly is the more important
04:53part.
04:53But if someone that is described as nasty consistently and has the size to play guard actually,
04:59but then can't come in and handle the center position, that feels like that's the only
05:03way that you can level up the line right now, at least that I can see.
05:06And it would fit, because suddenly, I mean, you draft a player like that, let's say 28,
05:12that's going to be a starter.
05:14And that's what I'm saying, or at least has a chance to, right?
05:16If they can get the way that setting this offense up is, they've clearly built this for
05:23being able to get forward and move people off the ball.
05:25If that middle point of your offensive line at center is a dude that is big, burly, and
05:30physical, and can do the center things, now I'm talking about a David Montgomery in the
05:34red zone, I'm guaranteeing touchdowns, right?
05:36Now I'm talking about that, which for me, as I'm thinking about this, we talk about
05:40the playoffs, and what did they need?
05:41They needed to be significantly better in the red zone.
05:43I'm talking about front line, can I move that nose tackle a little bit to allow David
05:47Montgomery to barrel through and score touchdowns?
05:49That's immediately what I was thinking, and I think that could be the big difference for
05:53them if we're talking about AFC.
05:54Figgy, what would make you go, whoa?
05:56Just a couple things.
05:57I'm kind of with you on if they trade up.
06:00To me, if they trade up for somebody, to me, that's a woe.
06:03But if they trade up, then this probably ain't gonna happen, but Jeremiah Love, to me, that's
06:09a woe.
06:11They could trade a lot.
06:12Yeah, they ain't playing around.
06:14To me, if they trade up for Sadiq, I feel like that's a woe moment.
06:19That's a good one.
06:20Yeah, if they trade up for a receiver like a Jordan Tyson or something like that, I don't
06:25know how far he's gonna go or how early he's gonna go.
06:28But to me, if you're trading up for playmakers like that, to me, that's a woe moment for
06:34me.
06:35What about, well, two positions.
06:37One came from the text board, and I almost literally said, whoa, when I read the text.
06:43What if they just go out and get a badass, another defensive player?
06:48He said Rodriguez, the linebacker that I like from Texas Tech.
06:52Jacob Rodriguez.
06:52Yeah, Jacob Rodriguez.
06:54That would be like, okay, now they're really just, now they're just showing off.
06:57You know, a really big-time defensive player.
07:01At that point, I'm like, man, D'Amico, give up the controller, man.
07:06D'Amico apparently is controlling the draft at this point.
07:10I mean, if you were talking about a defensive player, one that is most likely to make some
07:14level of impact immediately for you, is it linebacker?
07:17Oh, well, defensive tackle for sure.
07:19Yeah, I think it's defensive tackle, especially if it's somebody that can stop the run.
07:22But you see what I'm saying?
07:23Like, they go out and just get a true BPA, as Nick Casario likes to say, that can be
07:28a big-time player.
07:30The other one for me was wide receiver.
07:32You know how I feel about that.
07:34They move up, and they get, like Figge was saying, one of those guys, all of a sudden,
07:38they're not playing anymore.
07:39That's definitely a woe move.
07:40They're not playing anymore.
07:41Yeah, and that's not a bad move to throw up here, because if we're specifically talking
07:46about, right, making that next, or taking, rather, that next step in the AFC, what are
07:50some of the things that we saw them struggle with was, especially when you lose Don Schultz
07:53in that Patriots game.
07:55It just felt like there was nothing happening passing the ball, at least not in the way that
07:58you needed to.
07:59Another weapon, and again, I still kind of go back and forth on the level of import or the
08:05level of necessity for the Texans.
08:07But you can't argue that having another guy, especially if it's one that you feel very
08:10confident has the capability of separating and creating, at least within the context
08:15of a system, for themselves, that would be something that was cool, and that's one of
08:18the reasons why Akenyon Sadiq is obviously very, very intriguing to me, somebody that you
08:21can put on the field and that can be a problem for a defense coordinator, somebody that obviously
08:27can block at least passively, but then really, you have match-up conversations about how
08:33do we handle this dude, adding another one of those to threaten the defense would be
08:37huge, so if you could do that, that'd be cool, for sure.
08:41Some other people, right, talking about Eli Stowers, tight end-wise, that's in the same
08:46way.
08:47Yeah, there's some guys being mentioned.
08:48Somebody mentioned a cornerback.
08:50They mentioned Pons, who, I guess, where's Pons from again?
08:54I'm having a hard time remembering, but again, I ask this about defense.
08:58Would a secondary player be someone that makes you go to that place?
09:02A cornerback, for sure.
09:03A cornerback, for sure.
09:05In a good way, or kind of, whoa?
09:06In a good way.
09:07See, what I'm getting at, as we talk about this question, gives you the best chance to
09:12take the next step.
09:13I'm talking about, okay, there is no question.
09:16They are moving up again.
09:17It could really be any position that moves like that, where you trade up, you make a
09:22big splash, something along those lines.
09:24That's why I only name those playmaker type of positions, where you can come in and actually
09:29change a game.
09:30And keep in mind, I mean, Nick Cacero not only has done this before, I mean, I think
09:34it's in his DNA to make that big splash like that.
09:38Well, the question that I was going to have is, you know, you're kind of throwing out positions
09:41in some ways.
09:42Do you feel like the ones that you've come with are necessary to be had in the first
09:46round?
09:46Because there's been a lot of kind of scuttlebutt.
09:49I know that Daniel Jeremiah almost did the, you know, kind of thing of trading back.
09:54Seems like this is quite a probability for the Texans here.
09:57And we've talked about that as possibility.
09:59Do these feel like things that you could address in the second round or like specifically in
10:04your mind of taking that step forward in the AFC with one particular?
10:06Well, you can address them in the second round, but does it, does it cause as many, you know,
10:11eyebrows to raise as many ripples in the, in the league?
10:14And we're like, Oh boy, you know, the Texans are not, they're not playing around anymore.
10:17I think it's, it's absolutely trade up is what would be the care and, and cornerback
10:21fits the profile and bring another, you know, big time cornerback in all of a sudden it's
10:26like, boy, they're just fortifying that defense.
10:29Like I said, they're, they're not even, they're just showing off now, you know?
10:32Yeah.
10:33Okay.
10:33All right.
10:33So three days, three days to the, to the NFL draft before we see what Nick Cicero does
10:40with that 28, whether it's traded, whether it's select and who are the Texans that you will
10:45eventually add to hopefully make that or get to that goal of taking the next step.
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