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00:00The Reaction Monday here, Texans draft, NFL draft, it's a lock, it's a wrap, y'all, it's in the books,
00:07and I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the draft weekend probably more than most, but I enjoyed it, and the Texans,
00:16depending on how you want to look at this, look, I think there's a lot of wait and see with
00:23this particular Texans draft, there was not much sizzle,
00:27there was not a big splash, I would say, there's not a bunch of film that we could go out
00:34there and watch and get real excited about, really, any of the top three draft picks that they're bringing to
00:41Houston, there's some good, I'm not saying there's not any good out there, but there's not just, I think that's
00:48fair, it lacks sizzle, alright, but here's the Texans draft overall, first round, Keelan Rutledge, offensive guard,
00:56really plays guard and center, can play all three inside positions, Caden McDonald, defensive tackle out of Ohio State, many
01:05people had him slated as the best defensive tackle in this draft, most had him slated in the first round,
01:10he drops into the top of the second round, the Texans grab him, he's actually one player that was at
01:16the draft,
01:16that's how highly touted he was, he was at the draft, he returned for day two after sliding and the
01:22Texans drafted him and got pretty emotional, that was a pretty cool moment for the D tackle out of Ohio
01:29State, I think, Houston, I think we're going to like that kid, I think that one's going to be a
01:35fan favorite right there, second round, the third overall draft pick,
01:40the second round, late in the second, Marlon Klein, tight end out of Michigan, probably a little bit, would you
01:47say a little bit of a developmental player there as it pertains to the league, and really not, I don't
01:50know that he's touched his ceiling yet as a player?
01:52I would say so, and I would say especially in terms of being a more well-rounded type, like he's
01:59got some physical attributes, I mean the big story is that kid comes over from Germany, never started playing football
02:04until he was 15 years old, so he hadn't even really been playing football his whole life like most guys
02:09who make it to the NFL, so just from that state, just from a time element, he would be a
02:13developmental project.
02:14But that tight end is a second round, late second round draft pick, I ain't got the guard out of
02:22Oklahoma, fourth round pick, Fabecci Nwewu, come on now, Nwewu, Nwewu, I got it, Wade Woodaz from Clemson in the
02:30fourth round as well, linebacker, Kamari Ramsey, safety in the fifth round out of USC, Lewis Bond, wide receiver out
02:36of Boston College in the sixth round, Aiden Fisher, linebacker, Indiana in the seventh round.
02:41That is the Texans draft, but the thing is, this is a solid draft, I think they attacked this draft
02:48and accomplished in this draft kind of what they, pretty similar to what they did in free agency, it was
02:53solid, right?
02:54But I want to lay out, I want to lay out how this draft becomes a grand slam because I
03:00think there's two things here, I like the draft because of what the floor is for these players,
03:10both as players and as they fit with the Texans.
03:14I love this draft if we get best case scenario out of one or more of these players.
03:20So let me give you best case scenario for the top three draft picks this year for the Texans, right?
03:25Keelan Rutledge, floor, I'll tell you, I'll time all together here, B. Scott, how about that?
03:32Floor, good player, can play any interior position, immediately is a backup with starter qualities, and you wouldn't check up
03:43at all if you get a guard hurt and he has to step in and play guard.
03:46That's the floor.
03:47A guy that immediately gives you depth, a guy that definitely brings the get down that you want your offensive
03:56line room to have, the physicality, the violence, the approach, definitely that.
04:02The floor is high.
04:03The best case scenario with the first round draft pick, Keelan Rutledge, is he is a Kamari Lasseter-like plug
04:13-and-play center for this football team.
04:17If he is a plug-and-play center that can do all the things that he and Nick Casario and
04:23D'Amico Ryans think he can do, the physicality, the violence, the finish, the strain, all that kind of stuff,
04:28if he can do it at the pro level, and he's smart enough, sharp enough, processes at a high enough
04:33level to be the starting center for this offense from day one, that is the ceiling.
04:40And I don't know that it's likely, but I think it's possible, right?
04:43Yeah, no, it's certainly possible.
04:44I mean, so there's your best case scenario with Keelan Rutledge, all right?
04:48Would you agree with those two, B. Scott?
04:50Yeah.
04:51No, I would agree with that wholeheartedly.
04:53All right, and now when we get to Caden McDonald, all right?
04:56I think the floor is he is a solid rotational piece in a system that likes to rotate four or
05:07five, maybe even six defensive linemen through in a system that's had some injuries, so you end up finding guys
05:12like Tommy Togiai and things of that nature, right?
05:17He is an important rotational piece, right?
05:21That's the floor in a defense that rotates a lot of defensive linemen.
05:27That needs, by the way, needs depth.
05:29Yeah, and again, coached by D'Amico Ryans, Rod Wright, and Matt Burt, who know a thing or two about
05:34front sevens.
05:36Every interior defensive lineman, not every, that may be a little bit strong, the majority of the defensive linemen that
05:42they signed in Houston came into Houston, and I was like, eh, I don't know.
05:47They exceeded expectations.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Now, maybe not D'Amico's expectations, but mine for damn sure.
05:53That's the floor for him as a rotational piece at a position that needs depth, all right?
05:57The ceiling is, Caden McDonald is an absolute force inside.
06:03This guy was an All-American.
06:04This guy was an All-American at Ohio State, all right?
06:07This guy was slated by damn near everything.
06:10They invited him to the draft, obviously.
06:12Would they have 18 guys at the draft?
06:13Yeah.
06:13So clearly this guy was one of the best players in college football.
06:16This isn't an accident.
06:20But the ceiling for this guy, if he lights it up, you could potentially, one, you'd have a starter,
06:26but, number two, you could potentially have a guy that, in the future,
06:31when Will Anderson is making $50 million a year and you can't afford to pay Daniil Hunter,
06:36you've got an inside presence that gives you the one-two punch that you need.
06:40It may not be end-to-end, edge-to-edge, the way that Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson are right
06:44now,
06:44but it definitely gives you a two-man presence that an offensive line has to work to protect.
06:50So he very well could be a plug-and-play starter as well as a guy in the future
06:54that allows you, on a rookie salary, by the way, to play games with Will Anderson at that end position.
07:02He is the one that I feel the most surest about.
07:06I agree.
07:07He is the one that I feel the most surest about.
07:09And it's not a knock on Rutledge.
07:11It's just the simple fact that they're going to ask him to do something different from what he was asked
07:17to do in college.
07:18And Nick Casario talked about this going into the draft,
07:20how offensive line can be a nuanced position group because the things that you're going to ask him to do
07:25in the pros
07:26might not necessarily be what they were asked to do in college.
07:29You might ask him to change positions and that sort of thing.
07:32Defensive tackle coming out of Ohio State, they're drafting him to be exactly who he is
07:37and exactly what they've seen.
07:38Now, there's going to be some adjustments.
07:40He's playing with Will Anderson, playing the NFL game, playing against NFL offensive linemen.
07:45Just a natural adjustment of going up a level.
07:48But he talked about this when he did the Zoom interview with the media.
07:53They don't want me to think.
07:55They want me to just go.
07:56Not react, but to just go and attack.
07:59And that's going to be his approach and that's his strong suit, and I can't wait to watch it.
08:04Well, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't notice or say or acknowledge like Rutledge is a guy that's
08:10playing uphill.
08:11I mean, Rutledge got drafted because his willingness and desire to punch people in the face
08:19and be violent and be physical and finish and strain, right?
08:24He didn't get drafted because he is the best offensive lineman, the most athletic, the biggest, the strongest, the fastest.
08:30He got drafted for his mentality, right?
08:32We'll see how well that transitions to the league, all right?
08:36McDonald, on the other hand, is a guy that – now, I'm not taking anything away from his intangibles by
08:42no means.
08:43But McDonald is a guy that, again, this dude was an All-American.
08:47He's bigger, stronger, better at his job than most guys his age.
08:52And it has a real advantage from a tangible perspective.
08:57So, I think I probably agree with you that McDonald is the one that is more likely the one that's
09:01going to really stand out.
09:03And to be real about it, I'll say this.
09:05McDonald is the one that I knew most about before the draft as opposed to with Rutledge.
09:12You start hearing about the offensive linemen that are going to go and then you read –
09:15but I'm not going to lie and say I've been studying Georgia Tech offensive linemen or anything like that.
09:19I learned about him in the pre-draft process.
09:22McDonald, we watched him play on Saturdays for Ohio State and know the impact that he can have.
09:27Best case scenario for the Houston Texans draft to be a grand slam.
09:31Keelan Rutledge is a Lasseter-like plug-and-play starter at the center position.
09:38Right?
09:38McDonald is a Lasseter-like plug-and-play starter inside the defensive line
09:44and ends up being viewed as the steal of this draft.
09:47And the third piece to this puzzle here is the tight end we mentioned, Marlon Klein.
09:52Now, I'm not going to sit here and try to tell you he's a powerhouse.
09:54But where he fits on this offense or where he would best fit, assuming he has the ability,
10:00is hand in the dirt, attach to the tackle, and do what the evaluators say you already naturally do.
10:10Right?
10:10Punch, push, drive, move your feet, position your body well in the run game.
10:17Right?
10:17At 6'6", 250 pounds, there's obviously a frame there.
10:22But if he could be, and this guy's off the radar, he could be a great pick
10:26and we not ever really pay much mind to him.
10:28Hand in the dirt.
10:30Can he be the second tight end in 12 personnel?
10:33One back, two tight ends, two wide receivers.
10:36Can he be the tight end that does all the dirty work underneath Dalton Schultz?
10:42Right?
10:42Yeah.
10:43Again, the run blocking stuff.
10:45Not necessarily the – we just need a guy, B. Scott, to come in here
10:49and put us in a position where we don't have to go with a 6th offensive lineman
10:54to get that extra surface down here.
10:56Yeah.
10:57You know what I mean?
10:57Yeah, no, 100%, man.
10:58It's kind of discouraging.
11:02After a while, you're like, man, this is like a cool little novelty.
11:06They like to do the 6th offensive lineman thing.
11:08But in the back of your mind, you know it's because they don't have that hand in the dirt
11:12tight end.
11:13Now, Kline does project to be more of a backup wide tight end, like more of a pass catching.
11:20And that could be because of the, you know, lack of experience and more natural athleticism.
11:25He's going to have to kind of build his body up in the pro game and just continue to learn
11:30the game, being new to the game.
11:32But it did make me think, too, Clint, when you start talking about, like, best possibilities,
11:37like, man, when you talk about weapons and them not having that, what if, like, he turns
11:41out to be some kind of diamond in the rough?
11:43Oh, man.
11:44Not that he's like, you know, George Kittle or anything like that or Trey McBride, the
11:49guy that they faced against Arizona.
11:51But, like, just a reliable pass catching option, somebody that you just didn't think of or know
11:56of before, I would take that.
11:58A long-term play.
11:59I think it's going to take time for that to happen.
12:01But I agree with you.
12:03Long-term, if this guy becomes a true Y tight end that can do both, boy, that'd be good.
12:08But right now, if he can just do the second tight end stuff outside of Dalton Schultz and
12:13we never hear his name, it could be a huge plus for this offense.
12:18Don't forget, too, by the way, Keelan Rutledge, I said this a couple of weeks ago, T, but this
12:23could be, he actually fits this.
12:24I didn't think about it until we started the show today.
12:27Ron talked about, like, the first-round draft pick being an athletic, developmental type
12:34of offensive lineman.
12:35I think at the time we were talking about the kid out of Arizona State when we were linked
12:38to him, the tackle.
12:38All right, yeah.
12:40I said, look, I'd be okay if that guy was a better sixth offensive lineman than Blake
12:45Fisher.
12:46If it was just a guy that moved a little bit better, a guy that was a little bit more
12:48physical, a little bit more agile.
12:50Kyle, I'm not sure that Keelan Rutledge don't absolutely fit that.
12:54Now, I'd rather him be a starter, right?
12:56I mean, we obviously would rather him be a starter, but if that's the way the young kid
12:59has to get on the field, I think, and we're going to use it as much as we used it
13:03last
13:03year, which, by the way, we did more than anybody else in the NFL, any other offense,
13:07we were number one in the sense of how often we use the sixth offensive lineman, so it's
13:10a big part of the offense.
13:12If he brings that and he's nasty in that mode until he becomes an absolute starter, I wouldn't
13:18be highly disappointed.
13:18I get the sense that they drafted him with the sneaky suspicion that he fits perfectly
13:24for what they want to do at center.
13:26Even though that's not the position that he played, like I was saying earlier, they're
13:29trying to project what can a guy do versus what he was asked to do.
13:34Just because he wasn't asked to do it doesn't mean that he can't do it, right?
13:39And just because he did it in college doesn't mean he's going to be able to do it well in
13:43the pros.
13:43That's kind of the nuance of the offensive line position.
13:45It does seem like this guy, they got particular plans in mind.
13:49And how cool would it be, Clint, if we go into this or come out of this offseason, I should
13:54say, from left to right?
13:56We already got Barry Antti Urseri in tow.
14:00Go for Wyatt Teller, rookie center that you got some confidence in, and Rutledge, who,
14:05again, I said looks like a radicalized Wyatt Teller.
14:07And then at right guard, you're bringing back Ed Ingram, and you sign Brayden Smith.
14:12If you can remake your offensive line to be nasty the way it seems like they have, that'll
14:17be the ultimate feather in the cap.
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