00:00Let's continue our countdown to the draft just two days until the first round of the NFL draft gets going
00:05on Thursday.
00:06And so we continue asking our questions that will lead us up to the draft.
00:09And I give you this one.
00:11If the Texans only make one impact pick, what should it be?
00:14And I think this is valuable if for no other reason than it does feel like there's a possibility that
00:19there's maybe just one guy, you know, and that's probably unfair to just limit.
00:24But there's a possibility that there's probably one guy that you can easily see immediately making, like, impact in a
00:29large way in the way that we typically think about the draft.
00:31This very well could be a draft where you're stashing succession plans more than you're stashing guys that are immediately
00:37coming in and making impact because of the way you've handled offseason and because of the way that this draft
00:41lays out.
00:42So if one of those is an impact pick, who should it be?
00:45I think you need to think about this a little more because the easy one for me is center.
00:50You know, impact pick, you draft a center, that, you know, second round, whatever it may be, that, you know,
00:57is highly regarded.
00:59That almost, I was going to say by definition, but just it realistically is an impact pick because you have
01:06some competition and some questions at the center position.
01:09But if you think about it a little more, an impact pick to me might be, which we've talked about
01:15in this segment, you know, over the course of the last 14, 15 days, whatever it's been.
01:19That takes you to that next level.
01:21Like an impact on the field immediately type deal.
01:24And I've said receiver multiple times.
01:27I'm not necessarily going to say receiver here.
01:29In fact, I'm not here.
01:30I'm going to say defensive tackle.
01:33I thought the same, especially a run stopper.
01:36Yeah.
01:36It's just, hey, can we add that final gem in Thanos' gauntlet?
01:42Yeah.
01:42And having a big body dude, nose tackle, that'll eat up some of these, eat up some of these blocks.
01:48But impact.
01:49Yes.
01:49No, but I think that that's a huge impact, right?
01:51We're freeing up those linebackers to continue to be fast and free and come up and hit.
01:55We're making it so that, you know, some of these teams can't have as much success running the football.
02:00I think we're going from, man, this team is really grueling to, buddy, what are you even supposed to do?
02:05Like stonewalling teams.
02:07I think that that would be a huge impact here.
02:10So, yeah, no, that was one of the things I absolutely thought of earlier.
02:13Yeah, I was kind of thinking defensive tackle.
02:15Other ones I was kind of thinking of, maybe linebacker.
02:20Just, you know, I don't think it's a thing you need, per se.
02:25But if somebody you can add to that room, somebody that's special, you can add to that room, I think
02:32that could be good.
02:33I was thinking of elevating.
02:34Go ahead.
02:34Yeah, I was like, I don't think any of the linebackers that you add are the same impact.
02:38How much room do you have to elevate?
02:40I also don't, I don't know, because, look, we're talking about two linebackers that, if we're talking about the high
02:45end of this, right,
02:46is C.J. Allen out of Georgia and Anthony Hill Jr. out of Texas.
02:51Both of those guys are, you know, need a little bit of refining.
02:55They're smart guys, but I don't think that they're guys that I say, hey, they're going to take the job
03:00from Henry Toa Toa and they end up starting.
03:02Right.
03:03I'm not even sure if those are guys that you'd save definitively, they're going to take that kind of third
03:08linebacker role from EJ Speed.
03:10Those feel more succession plan oriented.
03:13Yeah, I'm not certain.
03:14I can't say that for sure.
03:15EJ Speed.
03:15Yes.
03:16Okay.
03:17They like EJ Speed.
03:19I got you, but all right.
03:21That might be one.
03:23Yeah, I thought somebody could compete with EJ Speed and possibly take his job.
03:28Yeah, no, that might be one.
03:29You know, a player that has had his ups and downs, but, you know, largely performed well when he was
03:35here.
03:36It might be one.
03:36I was thinking more, and it sounds like I'm being critical of Woody Marks every time I say this, but
03:41running back, if you want to really elevate, you know,
03:43if you really want to elevate, like impact, you know, get that guy and see what you can do.
03:49Especially if we're talking about a Janarian Price, right, that's the conversation that's been had.
03:53Right.
03:55Yeah, he feels like, though, he'd be a little bit of a second David Montgomery of sorts for Janarian Price,
04:01like very physical.
04:02I don't think they would mind that.
04:03Not as much of a pass catcher.
04:04No, I don't think they would either.
04:06Yeah.
04:06But, yeah, immediately somebody that you could throw in that running back room and go, all right, we're just going
04:10to be able to run it down your throat.
04:12Yeah.
04:12Can I interest you in a little bit of, I guess, insider, you know, insight?
04:20Absolutely.
04:20Okay.
04:21Thank you for responding to my question.
04:22Tony Pauline.
04:23I was just trying to process insider insight.
04:24That's right.
04:24I got up in the air, didn't know where to go.
04:27But Tony Pauline of the Essential Sports Draftcast, he, in his latest dispatch, has thrown out there that the Texans
04:35are open to trading out of the round one.
04:38We know that to be the case.
04:41Quote, they want a center who can also play guard, and that will not be an option at pick 28,
04:46which I think we knew.
04:47They also want a defensive tackle, and it's unlikely that Caden McDonald's available when they're on the clock.
04:52Yeah.
04:52No, I like that.
04:54You know, Besantis tends to be one that you sort of lean toward.
04:57Some people have talked about Besantis maybe playing some center.
05:00I think that this really emboldens me personally in the affinity that I've had for Keelan Rutledge, specifically knowing that
05:07he's been asked by teams to take some snaps, even though he played guard at Georgia Tech.
05:12I think that that gets really interesting if you end up with a player like that, a guy who, interior
05:18offensive line, who can, you know, play guard but also has the possibility of going and playing.
05:23Like, it seems like they're very intentional in this way, and to me, when I hear that they want a
05:27guard that can play center, it sounds like they want a big center.
05:30Like, they want somebody who can play center, but it has the physicality to move up front, and that does
05:34feel like that could be a big impact.
05:35I think that's exactly what they're looking toward.
05:37You know, Besantis is a big dude, you know, as well as Rutledge.
05:43Man, Rutledge is a big dude.
05:46Big.
05:46For center?
05:47Nasty.
05:48He would be real big.
05:496'4", 316, and Besantis, 6'5", 315.
05:53Can you imagine lining up and just seeing the offensive line that the Texans have put together?
05:57But if you think about it, that was the big gripe with Andrews.
06:01You know, he would just get bulldozed and thrown into C.J.
06:05Yeah, he was smaller.
06:06He was C.J. Stroud's lap, you know, over and over again.
06:10So, it would track.
06:11It would make sense.
06:12Yeah.
06:13And, I mean, you compare that to the centers that are actually in this draft that are actually centers.
06:18A little bit lighter in the butt with all due respect to them.
06:20You know, there's some good centers in there.
06:22Slaughter is one we've talked about.
06:24Hecht is one of those guys as well.
06:26Connor Liu out of Auburn.
06:27Like, clearly, there's guys that can play the position.
06:29They're all a little bit smaller.
06:30And I think that that same thought process that I was kind of thinking, it's cool to see that there's
06:35somebody out there that is thinking a similar way.
06:37Or at least pointing to the possibility that the Texans in that building are thinking a similar way as a
06:43possibility of finding an answer at center.
06:45Especially because if you want a guy who's a little bit lighter, who runs the situation, you still have Jake
06:49Andrews right there, right?
06:50Like, I do wonder if that is some of the possibility here.
06:54It's like you have an Evan Brown who you could try and see if he could play center as well
06:58for you.
06:59And then maybe you bring in a third option, which is a big boy who's a guard, who gives you
07:04that guard depth.
07:04But also, maybe he could sneak in here and play a little center as well.
07:07No, I agree.
07:08I think, you know, if they're going to draft an interior offensive lineman that can play center, I think it's
07:14going to be the much bigger dude.
07:15They know what they looked at.
07:17They know what they saw with Jake Andrews.
07:19And Cole Popovich loves him.
07:21Smart.
07:21You know, the old cerebral player.
07:23But that only takes you so far against, you know, big dudes in the middle of the defense.
07:28This wasn't an easy answer with this particular question because I think, in part, they're, and D'Amico Ryan's talked
07:35about it.
07:36We played it a little earlier.
07:37They kind of have a mentality where, hey, we're just going to draft dudes and throw them in here.
07:40And I think with the way that they've situated themselves with starters, there's not guys that you go, there's definitely
07:45going to be an impact.
07:45They're going to have to come in and earn that opportunity to make an impact on this team, which, again,
07:50points to how well-situated you are, I think, headed into this.
07:52Someone for the 713 says wide receiver.
07:55Yeah, that's another option.
07:56And I've leaned heavily into that.
07:58But I think in terms of, like, impact, yeah, I mean, wide receiver is definitely on the list.
08:02I guess so.
Comments