00:00Rutledge is a Texan.
00:03I just text Brent Key to see if he'll get back to me.
00:08He's their head coach at Georgia Tech.
00:10He is a heck of a football coach, an offensive line extraordinaire.
00:14So this kid will come to Houston ready to play and compete.
00:18No doubt.
00:18So quick recap of that trade.
00:20The Texans moved up from 28 to 26.
00:23They give up their one third rounder, 69, but they get back a late third rounder.
00:29So they moved back 22 spots in the third round,
00:32and they threw in a late fifth round pick as well.
00:35So they moved back a little in the third round.
00:37They give up a fifth, and they move up two spots to make sure they get an offensive line.
00:42So basically a pick swap and a fifth.
00:44Yeah.
00:45I like the work he's doing downfield.
00:48Those people that have talked about this offensive line, they don't mash people.
00:51They don't move people.
00:53Business just got started.
00:56Business just got started.
00:57My comp for him, like I said, is why I tell him.
00:59Tell me that he doesn't look like Wyatt Teller.
01:01Yeah.
01:02Tell me that he doesn't look like Wyatt Teller.
01:03Doing the extra work.
01:04Doing the extra work, guys, in this clip.
01:05Looking for work downfield, which is what they like to see.
01:08Demiko has talked about it from day one.
01:11Swarm mentality.
01:12And we have seen it on the defensive side of the ball ad nauseum.
01:17This is where it had to happen.
01:18You know, what's interesting here is who was trying to move up to take him?
01:24That's what I want to know.
01:25Who was trying to move up to take Rutledge?
01:27That's why Nick did it.
01:28I think Nick felt like we got to go get him right now.
01:31Maybe San Francisco.
01:32Got to go get him right now.
01:33So let's just do it.
01:34Pull the trigger.
01:35Get Rutledge.
01:36Move on.
01:36And look, whether he plays right away or not, he'll get his chance, man.
01:40Good enough to win a job.
01:42He'll win a job.
01:43You talked about center being a possible spot.
01:45Okay, fine.
01:46But like we've discussed, even though they've added a lot on the offensive line in the interior, injuries happen, situations
01:53occur.
01:54Maybe he wins a job.
01:56Maybe he's needed.
01:57Maybe somebody gets hurt midway through the season.
01:59Who knows how this whole thing plays out?
02:01We didn't know how Ursary was going to play out last year at this time in the second round when
02:06he was drafted.
02:06But guess what?
02:07He turned into a starter at left tackle.
02:09And now you're continuing to build the offensive line.
02:12I think you've thrown so much at it now.
02:14And what did I say earlier?
02:16I felt like the prediction was two picks in the first four rounds or the first four picks.
02:21Two out of the first four picks, no matter when they fall, are going to be O-linemen.
02:24So I got one right now.
02:25And I think they're going to add another one in the next three picks.
02:27And we'll take it from there.
02:29Just throw enough at it where you can just let it all work out in the competition that they foster.
02:34What was it Nick said the other day?
02:36The players should figure it out.
02:38Let the competition work its way.
02:40Let them figure it out.
02:41Yeah, and look, I started envisioning an offensive line with Ursary, Teller, Rutledge, Ingram, and Braden Smith.
02:50Yeah.
02:50You will run the ball.
02:52Everybody healthy like that, they'll run the ball.
02:54You will run the ball.
02:56Dane Brugler over at The Athletic had this quote from an NFL scout.
03:00If the ACC had a Royal Rumble, I'd bet on Rutledge to be last man standing.
03:07Absolutely.
03:08No doubt.
03:09Love it.
03:10Absolutely.
03:11That's really good stuff.
03:12I forgot.
03:12You know, we were sitting here talking about wide receivers and I wouldn't be against the Texans.
03:16Yeah.
03:17I forget.
03:17They got one coming back.
03:19Tankdale.
03:20Tankdale.
03:21That's a bonus.
03:22Who's house?
03:22Dang right, who's house.
03:23Yeah.
03:24But, yeah, I totally blanked on that one.
03:27But that's another one.
03:28He comes back.
03:30Who's he going to be?
03:31How soon will it take to find out?
03:33How long can he stay healthy?
03:37How fast is he?
03:39You know, football fast.
03:40I know he didn't run a great 40 or whatever, but my gosh, he's so fast on a football field.
03:44He's football fast.
03:46And elusive.
03:48Just the kind of guy everybody loves, too.
03:50Can't wait to see him back in action.
03:52Root for him to get back.
03:52I wouldn't be surprised if they take a receiver somewhere.
03:55Again, we'll throw a lot of talent out there and see how it goes.
03:58All right.
03:58We've got the Rutledge pick.
04:00Texans have made their selection tonight.
04:02I would presume that's it for tonight.
04:04As they moved up a couple of spots to 26 to take Keelan Rutledge, the offensive lineman.
04:09We're going to hear from him on this show in a little bit here.
04:13It's Texans Radio.
04:15Back to the draft in a moment on Texans Radio.
04:20Empower girls, provide opportunities, sanction the game.
04:24She's next.
04:25Join the movement to support girls.
08:55That's nice.
08:56So, let's get to some other stuff.
08:58This is a massive crowd coming in front of our-
09:00Does Lomu go to left tackle in New England and they move the other kid to LSU?
09:03Coming in front of our broadcast position for a Whataburger promotion.
09:06All right.
09:06All right, let's go with whatever's going to do.
09:08Let's go with whatever's next on the board.
09:08All right, let's go with whatever's next on the board here, Dre.
09:09You gave away Robert Hensley's headline.
09:11Oh, my bad.
09:12What did you-
09:13He said something about Lomu.
09:15Hey, no.
09:15But we need the Dolphins pick first, Robert.
09:17I'll do the color analyst job in the fall if you want.
09:22No, Miami moved up.
09:23They traded with San Francisco to get Chris Johnson, big DB, out of San Diego State.
09:28We had more action.
09:30The Bills had traded down with the Texans and then they traded again within their division,
09:35trading with the Patriots.
09:36New England moving up from 31 to 28 to draft a tackle.
09:41Caleb Lomu out of Utah and that leaves the Chiefs on the board.
09:45Wait, Lomu goes to New England?
09:47Oh, we're going to run around those guys for years when we play them.
09:49Nice.
09:50I mean, people wanted Lomu here and I was like, mm-mm.
09:53You told me before.
09:54You were like, I want to tell Caleb.
09:55I'm like, no, no.
09:57He was on my list, but I crossed him off.
09:59No.
10:01Lomu probably-
10:01I don't know.
10:02It's going to be interesting what they do in New England with he and Will Campbell.
10:04I don't think either one of them are really good.
10:06That's a different story.
10:09I was going to ask you guys something about-
10:11And I can't-
10:11Oh, Mark, you mentioned something that caught my ear.
10:14I want y'all's thoughts on this.
10:17When Keelan Rutledge got to Georgia Tech, that program was not great.
10:23Right.
10:24Haynes King goes there and that really helped.
10:26Keelan Rutledge went there and that program went to a different level.
10:31I got to think that he's a massive part of that.
10:33As a GM, as Nick, as D'Amico, how much does that matter that he was part of kind of
10:39changing
10:40the culture around when you're trying to do-
10:42I mean, they've changed the culture here, but just kind of emphasizing it.
10:46How much do you think that matters that he was part of that at Georgia Tech?
10:48I think it matters, but I think a lot of it has to do with Brent Key, the head coach
10:52there.
10:53And with him being a former offensive lineman at Georgia Tech, his emphasis on running the
11:00football and putting the best five up front and getting production out of that with Rutledge
11:07leading the way.
11:08So I think all of that kind of mixed together, giving you a little gumbo there, but I think
11:14it all kind of contributes to it.
11:16Well, he was at Middle Tennessee, then Georgia Tech, right?
11:19At Georgia Tech for two years.
11:20These days in college football, that's a lifetime of loyalty.
11:24Didn't they go to overtime with Georgia this year?
11:26It was a couple years ago.
11:27They went to like eight overtimes.
11:28They played the crap out of Georgia a couple years.
11:31That was last year, I think.
11:32In Athens.
11:32Yeah.
11:33In 24.
11:34Yeah, 24.
11:35Yeah.
11:36I just love everything about this pick.
11:38Again, what they're trying to do on the offensive side of the ball, mirror what they have on
11:45the defensive side of the ball.
11:48These guys that go out there off the field, they're great dudes on the field.
11:51They want to knock your you-know-what in the dirt.
11:53And that's the way Keelan Rutledge plays.
11:55I mean, you could see it.
11:56I saw it in person at the senior bowl.
11:58That was fun to watch.
11:59Again, we go back to the position.
12:01Is it a guard?
12:02Is it a center?
12:03At this point, don't care.
12:04We got a really good, swarmy football player.
12:08I posted my scouting report for footballtaker.com on Twitter at J. Harris Football so you could
12:11see what I had.
12:13And I realized I wrote that scouting report.
12:16I wrote the scouting report last summer.
12:18Right.
12:19And then when I went back to read it, I was like, yeah, I think it's the same.
12:24Doesn't really change.
12:25Okay.
12:25So it's literally what I wrote in the summer.
12:27And I just left it because there really was no reason to change it because the way he
12:31played in 25 kind of spoke to the scouting report.
12:34So I just, this is my report from last, last summer.
12:37I think this pick goes back to what we said when the show began tonight.
12:42This is a team that doesn't need to reach.
12:44They don't need to draft for extreme starting need right now.
12:49They need to fill out depth and develop new starters of the future.
12:54And maybe this is sooner rather than later, but this is the way to be.
12:58You want to acquire great football players.
13:01What you think are going to be great players.
13:02It's the draft.
13:03Nobody knows for sure.
13:04But for whatever reason, they felt like it was necessary to move up two spots because,
13:09hey, this is our guy.
13:11Here's the thinking.
13:12I said earlier, maybe Nick thinks somebody's trying to move up and get him.
13:16Yeah, maybe.
13:17But it's also Nick saying, look, if he's gone, there's nobody else I like right here.
13:23There's nobody else I like until like another five, six, seven picks down the line.
13:26So why don't just make the little investment?
13:29I mean, dropping down a few picks in the third round, it's more than a few.
13:31But it's dropping down picks in the third round to move up two picks and get the guy you really
13:35want.
13:36This is the last guy in the group of the first round, whatever this, whatever grouping Nick has that he
13:42wanted.
13:43So he wanted to make sure he got him.
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