- 13 hours ago
Seth and Sean dive into Sean's early 53-man roster prediction for the Texans, their concerns with RB depth and more.
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00:00I sat down yesterday, Seth, at a booth over at my favorite breakfast eatery
00:04with a piece of paper and a pen, and I said,
00:07all right, we've drafted all these guys.
00:10What does the 53-man roster look like for the Texans right now?
00:13You said a cocktail napkin.
00:15Now I've got a whole different visual now that I know it's a breakfast napkin.
00:18It's a breakfast napkin, yeah, so there's no alcohol involved.
00:20But there's more credibility with it.
00:22Thank you, yes, less emotion.
00:23You're not going to have any exotic trades worked into this.
00:25No, no, no, no.
00:28Yeah, that may come later.
00:31We're going to put the system on trial.
00:34Yes.
00:37So I'm not going to go through the whole thing, like, player by player.
00:41I just, like, the pain points for me, you know, like,
00:46the touch points that give me a little bit of stress,
00:49or these were the last guys I had making it.
00:51These are the guys I think are maybe unnoticed, that kind of thing.
00:55I am still nervous about this running back room.
00:58I had trouble filling the running back room with guys that I'm even confident in
01:02can be good NFL players right now.
01:04Yeah, the two undrafted rookie free agents are interesting,
01:09Noah Whittington and Josh Pitsenberger.
01:12Is the second guy the Yale guy?
01:14The Yale guy, yeah.
01:15Okay, gotcha.
01:16Noah Whittington's fun to watch.
01:17He's got some good highlights out there.
01:19Yeah, he's a tiny bowling ball.
01:21Yep.
01:21There's some things about Noah Whittington.
01:23I don't want to get too far down this rabbit hole.
01:24But there is, he's old, you know, and that's one of the things he didn't get,
01:29one of the reasons he probably didn't get drafted.
01:30I mean, he's going to be a 25-year-old running back as a rookie.
01:32But he's very patient.
01:34And for what the Texans wanted to do last year when they were running a lot of duo
01:38in this style of run, there's a lot of room for a guy who's patient in there.
01:42So I think for a 25-year-old rookie,
01:44they're probably going to be watching very closely during camp to see if,
01:47maybe he's just got a knack for this the way we want to do it.
01:50There's spots, man.
01:52Like, if there's a spot for an undrafted guy to make the team,
01:54I think running back might be it right now.
01:56David Montgomery's obviously going to be your starter.
01:59Woody Marks is on this team, and he was your leading rusher last year.
02:04And he absolutely is, you know, he's still going to get touches in the run game.
02:09I think Montgomery probably frees the Texans up to use Woody Marks a little bit more
02:14for what he was drafted for last year, which is catching balls out of the backfield.
02:18Oh, yeah.
02:18I mean, yeah, you saw it last year.
02:20As soon as he became the feature back, Woody Marks was,
02:22is they couldn't really work him into the passing game nearly as much
02:26as I think they would like.
02:28Yep.
02:28And then the next two guys are Jawar Jordan and British Brooks.
02:31And, you know, Jawar Jordan's got 43 carries, and British Brooks has 18 carries.
02:35He's 60 carries between the two of them in their careers.
02:38Well, Brooks, I think if Brooks makes the team,
02:40it's going to be because they feel good about his versatility.
02:43Yeah.
02:44Fullback slash tailback slash tight end.
02:46Yes.
02:46For a team that looks like, I think the Texans are buying into this trend
02:49of going with three tight end formations.
02:50So if Brooks is one of those versatile guys, I think that's his avenue.
02:54Yep.
02:55Here was, and we'll get to some of the other positions,
02:57but as long as we're talking about this, I am excited about Montgomery,
03:00so I want to be clear about that.
03:01It's just the depth in the room that scares me a little bit
03:04in going through this exercise.
03:06And those are the four backs I have making the team.
03:08I don't have a fullback on this team.
03:10I think Brooks is, I think you're at, that was my mindset, Seth,
03:13was the fullback position will probably be filled by some combination
03:17of British Brooks and maybe the tight ends, you know,
03:20using them in that sort of hybrid fashion.
03:22So you do have British Brooks on the team?
03:23I have British Brooks making the team.
03:24Yes, I definitely do.
03:25Yep.
03:25My four running backs are Montgomery, Marks, Jordan, and Brooks.
03:29And that's the scary thing is there aren't,
03:31other than the undrafted guys, there aren't any on the roster.
03:34Well, yeah, and I guess that's where with the undrafted guys
03:37or anybody else, you add the expanded practice squad helps out a lot.
03:40That's why Dwarf Jordan was available last year.
03:42Yes.
03:42Because you're able to kind of sequester them for a while.
03:44That's right.
03:45And then bring them in when you need them.
03:46Mm-hmm.
03:47So there's that.
03:48Here was Nick Casario and Pat McAfee yesterday talking about the David
03:52Montgomery trade.
03:53Yeah, the running game is an important part of any offense.
03:55So hopefully it will be a big part of our offense as well.
03:58That was a position that we had identified.
04:00We were probably going to add a player or two at some point along the way.
04:03So we just looked at our opportunities.
04:05And, you know, David was a player that was very highly thought of in our
04:08building, highly thought of in the Lions building as well.
04:11Like, we have a lot of respect for the program that Coach Campbell and Brad
04:14are running in Detroit.
04:15And we practiced with them.
04:17We played against them a few years back.
04:20David's been a very consistent, a very productive player who's tough,
04:24kind of going back to what we were talking about a little bit earlier, Pat.
04:26I mean, the toughness and his physicality kind of stands out in his place.
04:29So we felt that this was a player, if we had a chance to add him to the team,
04:32would be a good fit for some of the reasons that, you know, we articulated.
04:35The interesting part of that cut right there, Seth,
04:37and we'll get to more of the roster stuff here in a second.
04:39The interesting part about that to me was Nick citing the program that David
04:45Montgomery is coming from in Detroit, that they've got a lot of respect for
04:49Detroit.
04:49I think Detroit, I think Dan Campbell probably does a lot of things similar
04:52to D'Amico Ryan's.
04:54Yeah.
04:54Well, that's what David Montgomery had mentioned,
04:56how impressed he was with the way the Texans practice.
04:58Yeah.
04:58Yeah.
04:58When they practice with each other.
05:00Yeah.
05:00Yeah.
05:00In the joint practices.
05:01And so if you're acquiring a player as a GM and a head coach,
05:06it, it probably makes it a little clear.
05:09Like if they're coming from a team that sort of has the same culture as you do,
05:13you probably Dan Campbell is like the, the pro version of the, of Matt Campbell.
05:18Yeah.
05:18Yeah.
05:18Yeah.
05:19Right.
05:19A little bit, a little bit like that's yes.
05:21I think there's something to your list of, uh,
05:23if you want to be a Houston Texans player, play for a Campbell.
05:27Yeah.
05:28Yes.
05:28I think there's something to that.
05:30Like that, the, the, you bring a guy in from a team that operates similar to your team
05:33and it's going to be an easier transition.
05:35No, that's a really good point because one of that's one of the biggest variables in free
05:38agency is just, is he a culture fit or does he, yeah, is he, is he like a Houston Texan?
05:45Yeah.
05:45This guy knows what it's like to practice hard, that kind of thing, you know?
05:48Um, so I'm nervous about running back.
05:50Um, I have Kate Stover making the team, you know, among the bubble guys we've talked about,
05:55I got four tight ends on this team right now.
05:57Dalton Schultz, Foster Moreau, Kate Stover, and Marlon Klein.
06:00And let me tell you something, Seth, there was a new type of fan coming out of the woodwork
06:06yesterday.
06:07Oh yeah?
06:08Yeah.
06:08They, I saw some, somebody tweeted about, they listed a, I forget who it was, listed reasons
06:14why CJ is going to have a better season next year.
06:17Yeah.
06:17And I don't disagree.
06:18He's, I think he'll have a better season next year, but one of the things was he's getting
06:21Tank Dell and Brevin Jordan back and Tank, I think is going to make the team.
06:25I've got him making the team.
06:27I don't think Brevin Jordan is going to make this football team.
06:29And I don't think that's a slap in the face.
06:31He's had two ACL tears in the last two years.
06:33Boy, I had people coming out of the woodwork.
06:35It's telling me I was disrespecting Brevin Jordan.
06:37What problem do you have with Brevin Jordan?
06:40Why are you disrespecting Brevin Jordan?
06:42And I, my thought was if he doesn't have that 76 yard catch and run in that Browns playoff
06:46game, are people coming at me about Brevin Jordan?
06:49Do they?
06:49I wonder, I wonder if you asked anybody of those people that were coming after you, just
06:54ask, without looking it up, what do you think his career high in receiving yards is?
06:59I wonder what they would say on average.
07:01Do you have the stats?
07:02Yeah, it's 219.
07:03You know, like, so to say, hey, he's got to get this 219 yard receiver back.
07:09And we're off to the races after this.
07:11Yeah, a little perspective.
07:12Christian Kirk had, he was 70 yards away from that in the playoff game last year.
07:17Christian Kirk.
07:18Yeah, no, and I see the, they see the upside in Brevin Jordan.
07:21That's why they keep extending his deal.
07:23But that's the part, I would say, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the team because obviously
07:28they like him.
07:29He's had really bad injury luck, or maybe he's just injury prone.
07:34But I can't look at him and say, yeah, this guy with his career high 219 receiving yards
07:40in 2023 is going to be one of the keys to unlocking CJ Stroud.
07:46We're just, we're past that point now.
07:47He's been in the league a long time.
07:49I wouldn't be stunned if he made the team.
07:50I just don't think he's making the team.
07:52That's all.
07:52It's a super competitive room now.
07:55Yes, yeah.
07:55And they might keep four tight ends, but he might just end up being the odd man out.
07:59Well, in his, unless you're trying to vary the room a little bit, they are clearly looking
08:03at a type, you know, Dalton Schultz is Dalton Schultz.
08:06Like he's, they know what he is.
08:08Like he's blocking's not his deal.
08:10But the rest of these guys, you know, like Kate Stover, I think they, he's, he better block
08:14if he's going to make the team.
08:15And he's got more potential to be a quality blocking tight end than Brevin Jordan does.
08:22Yes.
08:22Brevin Jordan's a smaller guy.
08:23Yes.
08:24And is a kind of quasi Jack of all trades slot, you know, huge slot receiver type more so than
08:29he is an inline tight end.
08:31And they brought in like Foster Moreau right now is the only guy you can look at in the
08:34tight end room to say, okay, he's a quality NFL blocker by tight end standards.
08:38I've got Blake Fisher making the team.
08:41Oh, wow.
08:42I don't have Jake Andrews making the team.
08:44Oh, wow.
08:45Here are my nine.
08:46So I have nine offensive linemen.
08:47Here are my nine.
08:49Ariante Urshory, Wyatt Teller, Ed Ingram, Braden Smith.
08:53Those are four starters right there.
08:55The two rookies are going to make the team.
08:57Keelan Rutledge and Fabecchi Weewoo, I think are both going to make the team.
09:00And then Trent Brown, Evan Brown, and Blake Fisher as a fourth tackle.
09:07I've got him making the team over Jake Andrews.
09:09I think there's a better chance of Jake Matthews making the team than Evan Brown.
09:13Jake Andrews.
09:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:14Did I say Jake Matthews?
09:15Yes.
09:16He would definitely make the team.
09:17He would for sure make the team.
09:18But Jake Andrews, that's been a rough one.
09:21That is my new San Diego Chargers.
09:23I've been calling Jake Matthews, Jake Andrews a lot.
09:25That's, yeah, well, I still do the San Diego Chargers thing.
09:29You think, does Jake Andrews have position versatility, or is he just a center, do you think?
09:34Yeah, he does.
09:34I mean, he has played guard in the NFL.
09:37He's played guard, okay, yeah.
09:37Yeah, and I don't know, I wonder, you know, I know he's not their ideal solution,
09:43but if it comes down to swing interior offensive linemen, they brought him in,
09:49they made him a starter, and he, I think the big, like Evan Brown's,
09:55on five or six different NFL teams.
09:57So, I don't know, that's a real competition for backup there.
10:00Yeah, the competition.
10:02And or starter, like Jake Andrews, he's in the competition for starter
10:04until one of those other guys proves that they can be better than him.
10:07Yeah, yeah, it is a little hot take-ish, but that's what I have right now on here.
10:12As far as the rookies go, I've got six rookies making the team.
10:16Do I have six?
10:17I've got, I've got, I've got, I've got, I've got Nuit Weewoo and Rutledge both making the team at O
10:24-line.
10:24I've got Marlon Klein making it at tight end.
10:27I've got Caden McDonald making it on the defensive line.
10:29I've got Wade Wood as making it in a linebacker room that's kind of interesting.
10:34And then I've got Kamari Ramsey making it as one of the safeties on the team.
10:37I've got 11 defensive backs on the team.
10:40Some of this stuff, I mean, this is such a, this roster, this is so different than three years ago
10:44where the position battles in training camp were largely for starting positions
10:49when this team was really, really bad.
10:51Yeah.
10:51The biggest, the biggest battles for this team, that, that was my big takeaway from this, Seth,
10:56is the biggest battles on this team are for spots 49 through 53 on the roster.
11:01This roster is pretty damn solidified right now.
11:03Yeah, it's hard, it's a hard team to make as a, it's a hard team to make as a rookie.
11:08I think there's a lot of guys where you can look at almost like the, the seventh round pick,
11:13the, um, the, the, uh, the linebacker.
11:16Oh, oh, uh, Aiden Miller.
11:18Aiden Miller.
11:19Um, Aiden Miller, like, I, I feel like he's probably a slam dunk for the practice squad
11:23because his physical, you know, his physical traits aren't all that great,
11:27but did he just gush and gush and gush about what, uh, how great his instincts are,
11:32how great his football IQ is.
11:33And they probably want to see, okay, is this the guy that can overcome some of his,
11:37of his physical limitations by anticipation and all of that.
11:41And, uh, but that, that tends to be a long-term project.
11:43Yeah.
11:43The one guy I had making the team where I'm like, I cannot believe I have him making the
11:46team for like the six straight years, Jake Hanson, that guy won't die.
11:50I've got him making the team just based on special teams and, and, you know, backup linebacker.
11:54He's been here forever.
11:55Jake Hanson, in, in, uh, in some respects, I think Wade Woodaz is in competition with Jake
11:59Hanson because they, you know, Cacero brought up how excited Frank Ross was to get, to get
12:06Wade Woodaz on the team because of his special team potential.
12:09Throw Jamal Hill in there too with those guys.
12:10I think that's...
12:11Jamal Hill's another one.
12:12Yeah.
12:12Like his athletically really impressive and was really, really raw when they drafted him
12:17out of Oregon.
12:18And, you know, that's Wade Woodaz is in that boat where he's kind of raw as a linebacker
12:23because he started off as a safety.
12:25So the, the upside of those guys is very intriguing, but, um, yeah, that that's, uh, it's a big
12:30bucket.
12:31The other, yeah, the other, the other one real quick, uh, was, uh, the cornerbacks behind
12:37Stingley and Lassiter is still a point of agita for me.
12:42Like you're really banking on Jalen Smith, a, staying healthy and be developing into something
12:47in his second year where he's got very little experience.
12:49He only played, I think in four games last year because after that, Tremont Smith is still
12:54in our lives.
12:55You know, Jamarcus Ingram, who I think they like as a special team or I have as a fifth
12:59corner on the team.
13:00I think they, I think they could use one more veteran corner upgrade on this team.
13:05And that guy might still be out there somewhere because I think Kamari, Kamari Ramsey is a
13:10safety slash slot corner, um, but not going to play on the outside.
13:14So that, yeah, there's still lighter, the positions where I was hoping they were going
13:19to get some depth in the draft or in free agency would be at cornerback and at, uh, defense
13:26at the edge rusher at defensive end.
13:28And they didn't do anything in the draft.
13:30All those guys, I think if there were a bunch of edge rushers who are second round caliber
13:35edge rushers in the draft that I, I think if one, if a couple of them had fallen down
13:40to 59, that's probably who the Texans would have taken, or maybe they would have traded
13:43up a little bit to get one of those guys, but they just, they, they were all off the
13:47board.
13:47Well, Nick had said he was trying to trade out of 59, both up or back.
13:51And if I'm guessing he was probably trying to trade up maybe to get one of those guys.
13:55And it's always a big vote of confidence.
13:57You know, when you're, uh, when you're a draft pick, when you get picked, GM says, we're
14:02trying to not draft.
14:03We tried to, we tried not to take him this high, but, uh, it's like being, uh, you know,
14:08that's like being the, uh, being the guy you marry, uh, you marry the girl from high school
14:12that you had a crush on, but only because her, her husband, you know, uh, got killed in a
14:17car accident.
14:19Well, I'm the second choice.
14:22Marlon Klein's got nothing to complain about, man.
14:24There's no way he went into day two thing.
14:26He'd be the, Oh, he flat out.
14:27He said it.
14:28He said, I didn't expect it to get right.
14:30That's a lot of extra money, dude.
14:32He got into the old consensus board discussion.
14:34Yeah.
14:35It was awesome.
14:36In his press conference, he was like, well, you know, uh, I'm a guy that likes my GM to
14:40go more by the consensus board.
14:41But in this one situation, I'm for it.
14:44I got to tell you, I didn't have me this high on my big board.
14:47Well, Mel Kiper.
14:48Yeah.
14:49Yeah.
14:49I don't know what these guys were thinking.
14:51By the way, uh, Aiden Fisher, I said Aiden Miller.
14:54It's Aiden Fisher is the linebacker out of, uh, Alabama.
14:56Aiden Fisher, the seventh round pick, uh, who I think was a good pick for seven for the
15:00seventh round.
15:01I don't have him making the team.
15:02The two, the draft picks I had not making the team were him and Lewis Bond from BC, who I
15:07think will both be on the practice squad for this team.
15:10I think they, they like the makeup of both of those guys.
15:13So yeah, this, my big takeaway is like this roster, this 53 right now is, is really, really
15:19solid.
15:20This, they built a, they built a good roster.
15:22Um, they just got to get better quarterback.
15:24It's, uh, and honestly, yeah, they need better quarterback play in the one biggest variable
15:28and all of that is just, can they actually improve their rushing attack?
15:32Yeah.
15:32And that's, it's just give a vibe.
15:35If you have a viable rushing attack, you got a bunch better feel for how your quarterback
15:39can play.
15:40Um, but teams, teams went into games last year versus the Texans, really not all that
15:45concerned at all about stopping the run.
15:47They were able to focus in on the guys that mattered, which was Nico Collins and Jaden Higgins
15:51and everybody else.
15:52Yep.
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