Texans All AccessAn Insider joins to preview the Draft | Texans All Access
Hello Texans, and welcome to the program. Mark Vandermain and John Harris with you. A little bit later on Jonathan Alexander from the Houston Chronicle will join us. Busy week, of course, with the NFL Draft happening this week, and yesterday we had Henry Too Too on and that interview.
I believe it is up on.
YouTube already, but certainly available in podcast form on Spotify or the Texans app or wherever you get your podcast, So check out Henry, who was wonderful yesterday. We'll talk about the thread running through all these players that we've been hearing speak this week because offseason conditioning has begun and the draft, Johnny, it's getting ready. Forty eight hours from now, will be in the on deck circle of the draft, and seven o'clock Thursday it begins.
You me Andre, We will be.
On the air Thursday night bringing you all the picks, and back Friday with Robert Hensley and Saturday Sean Pendergast joins the flow, and it's going to be fun to cover everything. It's Woodstock was called three days of peace, love and music, days of picks, trades and craziness and emotions, and it's wonderful, and it's also all dressed up in no place to go. That's how I feel about the draft. Some sense you can all hyper and labber it up and all of a sudden it's like, Okay, we'll see in four months.
Yeah, we're just calling a bunch of names.
Yeah, it's a it's calling a buds and names, and it's.
Gonna be like this guy hasn't earned anything. Has he earned anything? Now he knows that it's got a name called. Whoever he picks, he has high hopes for, no question about that. They've done all their research and we'll get into a bunch of stuff with Jonathan, but I want to get your before we talk about draft. We heard from CJ. Gardner Johnson. We'll ask Jonathan about that later. But this was a very entertaining press conference today, and I thought, Oh, this is gonna be a lot of fun having CJ. Gardner Johnson around. And all the guys were talking about him yesterday already. Can you imagine if he's like that at the podium, what's he like in the locker room.
He's a ball of fire, a ball of energy.
And Will said something to the effect of, oh, it's great to have more route.
He lightens it up. You know we're so serious.
Yes, and I didn't get that impression of the Texans that they're too serious. But man, you can't help up be light and energetic with a guy like CJ.
Gardner Johnson in the room. One of the.
Things that stood out to me, and I've thought about this, you know, my first year and here was twenty fourteen, and so you get a look at just the entire thing and every single week and how stressful every single.
Week is in the NFL. I mean, it is that stressful.
You weren't rolling out the balls and playing you know, Holy Sprite University Tech.
You know, you're playing another.
Team that's got the same number of scholarships you do, and it's stressful.
I don't care if you're.
Playing a team that's two and fifteen in week seventeen or whatever the case might be, or you're playing the Ravens or Bills or Chiefs. I mean, it's that stressful. So for anything that stressful, if you don't have a release, and for a lot of people, me I know myself, I know, happiness, laughter, joy, that's my release. Even though I look serious all the time, it's like I need even when I was coaching many many years ago, like I had to have humor. I had at some point, somebody had to break the tent the U what is it? You cut the tension with a knife? Yeah, you know that's that was kind of the way. I felt like, somebody's got to do it. If I didn't do it, I needed somebody to do it. And the leaders of my team, thankfully, and they were senior's a high schooler, so it's a little different, but they were able to do that. And I think if you have that around, you need to have that, you have some joy. You can't just well, we won a game sixteen thirteen. We didn't do this, We didn't do that. We need blah blah Blah'm gonna go eat fi hetaes and go home and that's all you do. No, I mean that you won an NFL football game. There should be some even small level of joy in doing that. And if you don't have that, then you're done. You're toasting. And Dimiko talked about this on that very thing, like you need like you see him, that's why he has that energy, that spirit because it lifts everybody. But I promise you are the times where he needs a lift too. Yeah, and having a guy like CJ. Gardner Johnson in here will give you a little bit of that. He'll also give you a nice little swift kick in the backside if you need it too. He's honest, and he talked about what that Super Bowl kind of that super win last year kind of did for him and how he looked at football and his mindset and all that kind of stuff. So I think he's gonna be really fun to have him. I think it's gonna be necessary to have him. But man, that defense has some bite. These dogs don't just bark. There's gonna be some bite with the way they play that entire unit.
We'll think about what Henry said about his ease yesterday, and the difference is he's made yep, because he wasn't around for Henry's rookie year, certainly around for Henry's second year where Henry leads a team and tackles.
And it just you felt it. You felt what a.
These meant to him. I talked to as last week. I ran into him. We ended up talking for like ten minutes, just talking about the offseason, and it was really a lot of non football type stuff. But it further reinforced why I never want him leaving the Houston Texans organization for anything. He needs to retire a Texan work here forever. I want him doing anything in this building possible, because I love is. He's al Shire and I think a lot of people feel that way about him.
Can I tell you a story too?
Okay, So I wouldn't normally tell the story, but it kind of goes right along with what you were just saying. So a pp beyond a curtain. A lot of times offensive defense don't live together. I've known players like I met Carnell Lake a long long time ago, and he's great dude.
He was in Jacksonville.
He had moved to Jaguars, but he's working on Episcopal and I asked him about Alan Fanicat.
Alan Fanicat had played for my dad.
My dad was a coach of the market Solid Allen had played the and so I was asking Carnell Lake about Alan Fanica and he had no idea. So offensive defensive players don't a lot of times cohabitate. Now I think here in Houston it's a little bit better. So I'm kind of walking behind him and I see asease. He's in front of me by about five ten yards. He's walking with somebody and he literally stops. He sees a guy walking and it was an offensive lineman. I think I'm pretty sure it was just I can tell my size, body type, etc.
And I thought it was an offensive lineman.
And as I went by, I can hear them not talking about ball, but just talking about how you're doing family. Okay, Like he stopped an offensive lineman in the hallway to talk to him. I said, to literally talk to him, make sure he's okay. Taking that a responsibility as a leader of the team to check on everybody's well being. So anybody that wants to move that guy out of Houston, get him out of Houston. Or the contract is this The contract is that you can miss me with that noise, because championship teams have guys like that on the team. And we missed him for three games badly. Yeah, even though we talked about Henry taking the green dot, we still miss disease. And when he was hurt a little bit earlier in the year. Yes, Neville did a great job. Neville Hugh in his place, and Jake did a good job on the field. Against Green Bay. But we missed him. We missed him. We have to have that kind of feel for seventeen games. He is for all the guys that are in his build, that guy is the one that stands up in front of everybody and look, Will gets everybody excited and hyped. But Disease is the one that is. I mean, it feels like he's the caretaker of the group. And I'll I'll take that all day every day, to be honest.
But I saw that. I was like, man, that dude's different. Dude, he is just different.
And when he missed the three games, you know, everyone talked about, oh, he's losing this much money whatever. I'll bet he obviously you're gonna think about the money a little bit. But it's the responsibility he feels to be here for the team.
Right because he knows we're not playing great against Kansas City or Baltimore.
Yeah, he knows.
That's a huge reason why he's here is to be a leader. It's not just for playmaking ability. It's to lead the others, especially some of these young guys. So many young players on this team who are maturing because a lot of these guys starting to get paid right now. We heard from Gellen Petrie today getting paid, darn Stingley Junior getting paid. You know, all these guys who are getting their contracts done. That's fantastic. That means Nick Cassio has drafted well. And you have to get into a situation where you reward these guys. You can't keep everybody. We said that from the get go, but they're doing a remarkable job hanging on to these players. And wait till next year. It's gonna get really interested. Speaking of next year, one of those guys will be Will Anderson Junior. Yes, and he spoke this week and I thought I was listening to him. I thought, Johnny A right now, he's in his third year. These guys in their third year are salty veterans now, and I thought this could not have gotten off to a much better start for Will Anderson Junior. And I think about Mario Williams. I think about Jodevian Clowney. These guys were number one overall picks. Will's the number three overall pick. If Will had put up, if those guys said put up the numbers that Will is putting up, can you imagine how elated the fan base would have been. Now, Mario had a great second year, and Cloudy certainly made plays in his second year, but Will Anderson Junior is off to a rip roaring start here, and I would have been shouting Hall of Fame for Cloudy because there's something about being.
The number one overall pick.
And when you back it up with double digit sacks and defensive Rookie of the Year and all that stuff, you're thinking, Okay, we're on our way to Canton. It's early, but we're on the right road, the right road, the correct path. That's a great way of putting it.
So I don't know why this is, but on my computer, whenever I want to get to Google Docs, I just type into the little bar at the top of this type dcsah, and it says when I hit return, just I do docs and I hit return, and that gets me. For some reason, it always pulls up my twenty twenty three, the first version of my Harris one hundred out and so the very first version that year.
All right, So what was that was Will number one? Will was number one? Let me see how close I got here? So this is two years ago, two years This is original verse.
So this is the summer of twenty three, No, twenty two, number twenty two.
All right, So this is before they played the twenty twenty three season NFL, I mean college.
No, this is before they played the twenty two season, the last one in college.
Yeah.
Yeah, before CJ had that five season the spring of twenty twenty two.
Okay, go ahead.
I had Will Anderson number one, all right, And I said a little bit at the beginning, and then I said.
His twitch and hands are top notch.
His explosive to his explosiveness to and through run blockers is extraordinary. His quickness on loops and stunts inside is the match. He's violent in all the best ways in the field. He has a knack for playing his best in big games. He can control blockers with a strength and power. He has burst off the edge for days. His first step is blazing fast off the snap, bend power hands. He beats guards with power, He beats light, quid tackles with speeds. He is the alpha in a program with dozens of them.
He's number one.
He's number one all day long, and barring some unforeseen disastroby number one in April two. Okay, Well, there are quarterbacks that went in front of him. Yeah, you get the point. That was my That was my Who's number two? Bry Shung?
Okay?
You want to you want to? Okay, now that we're going down the street. Yeah, number three was one.
Coleridge Stroud the fourth.
All right, So you had the first three picks correct. This is prior to the twenty twenty two college prior to the twenty twenty first three picks correct?
Not in the right order? Yeah, not not in the right order.
I had Will first, Bryce, second in CJ. So I think I finished with I think I finished it with Bryce Will CJ.
Who's fourth? Jalen Carter? Nice?
Yeah, those are the four that I had. Those are the four that I ended up having. Now, then I went to the couple of Clemson guys, which I missed a little bit.
I had Jackson Smith and Jay but eight, Michael Mayer ninth.
Yeah, but you're also evaluated without their final college season, right, That's a little difficult. So flying blind right there.
So we had a little fun after we were done with our interview with Henry. I had Henry number fifty two to start with, and he ended up going to the fifth round. He fell a little bit and I don't know that he had ultimately the greatest season in twenty twenty three, But as he was kind of looking over my shoulder, I was like, check it out, Henry the cop I had for you and I was like Lavata David the Bucks.
And he loved it.
He loved it. But I looked at it and I'm like, whoa this is? This is pretty close on Henry.
Okay.
He's long and rangy, with gap feeling, runs, stopping skills, feet are constantly hot, and that keeps him under control seemingly at all times. It's a factor in coverage. He transitioned into Nick Saban's defense in twenty twenty one. He didn't appear then. That didn't appear difficult at all. In fact, the story I told him here was in training camp at twenty not trying, yeah, twenty camp at twenty twenty one. I had been watching practice and I actually had a couple of our scouts. One of them had been I think just recently in Alabama, and they're like, TOATOA is already running the defense and they knew they knew I knew who that was. And I was like, really already, it was like he's been there four days, agoes, No, he's running the defense already, and that came to fruition because what did we ask him to do against the Dolphins run the defense?
He didn't run a defense, and he did. He did a great job.
And then I pointed out in there there was a play against Cincinnati, kind of point out as intelligence where they're playing against Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl and he sees a play, he sees something, he knows something that's coming in so he signals Christian Harris. He gives Christian a signal to let him know what's coming, and the play just develops exactly the way you could.
You could tell he knew what was coming. He's kind of pointing in that direction.
Kind of getting Christian's attention, and they ended up making a stop out of it. And I was like, this, this dude's on a different, you know, mentality. I think if he has a little better year in twenty twenty two in college, I think we don't have a chance to get him at a fifth round at all. But I've been a big fan of Henry for a long time, so it's like going back and looking at at these The other one that I had in here I think that all at number ninety two, ninety two Dylan Horton defensive end TCU. Before the twenty twenty two season even started, I had Dylan Horton there, and Dylan Horton ended up taking him.
And the Texans ended up taking him.
The other one that I had in my others receiving votes was a diminutive wide receiver from the University Houston, Tank Dell. Tank Dell in my last two cents is he's just tiny, and some teams won't like tiny. That's the only thing that holds me back from putting Tank in my Harris one hundred dot dot dot right now, right now, I got I got a pretty good but that this pops up every time. And so going back to the Will Anderson thing, I see Will's scouting report in front of me, and I'm like, that's a guy. And there were people that were dogging in for this or that. People didn't think that he did have that twitch.
I did.
I thought he had that, But I also thought that Will was going to be that guy that worked at it and worked at it and worked at it, and he has and at the time he was two hundred and forty one pounds now you see him now, I think he's probably two fifty ish and so that ten pounds has made a lot of difference. I think he was heavier last year, but I think he's everything. And that's the thing. We knew he's now from the locker room. We knew he'd been productive in college. We'ren't exactly sure because Alabama used him in a lot of different ways, like how exactly he's an NFL team going.
To use him, But that guy is. That guy has come to.
Play every single time and been that guy. And I just I love the fact that two of the three guys I have in this Harris one hundred from beginning that spring have turned out to be the rock star leaders on both sides of the ball.
For this team. It's just incredible.
Think about absolutely top three and that became the top three in the draft, and we all know how history played out so far for the Houston Texans through two seasons of the Demico CJ.
Stroud era. Okay, Draft coming up Thursday.
I don't need to remind you of this, but Johnny, I'm gonna ask Jonathan Alexander of this in a few minutes. So I'm gonna ask you right now, Okay, we're gonna be at the draft party on Thursday night, and the Texans picked twenty fifth, what are the chances here of Nick Casserio trading down ruining the draft party. I joke about that because part of me wants to see it almost I just want to see people's reaction, Like, do they know that this is probably the best thing for the football team? If Nick's doing it, you know he's got a pretty good track record.
I would think that you should buy in.
But I get it people are gonna be all beveraged up by pick number twenty five and wanted to see a selection. Why did it share somebody on you? At that point, you could pick almost anybody. They're gonna cheer it, especially if it's a big name like Hecker or a Mecha Abuca or something like that. But if Nick trades down, I want to see this reaction, and I want to see obviously.
What the hall is and we all will.
But what do you think the chances are of something like that happening on Thursday?
Yeah, I think there's a decent chance. Decent chance. I think there's a decent chance.
I don't know that I would put trade up, trade down, stick and pick. I don't know that they're really I think everybody would say, oh the chalk is you stay at pick number twenty five, and just because maybe you don't have to rely on another you know, you have to rely on another partner to be a trade up or a trade down scenario. But there are teams above the Texans that Nick's dealt with and dealt with successfully. There are teams below them he's dealt with and dealt with successfully. So I think there's probably I feel like like there's a fifty percent chance I take it back, there's gonna be a sixty percent chance stick and pick, and twenty percent either way oo okay of a trade.
So I just it's gonna get interesting to me.
I think it's more what I'm thinking, what I think is happening right now now is teams are calling saying, look, let's get the parameters of a deal, because look, ten minutes in a lot of time, let's get the parameters of a deal, and if our guy is there, we'll do it. Then we'll trigger this and then you guys call and let us know. They may know who your guy is, they may not, right, but you get the parameters of a deal. So maybe they're sitting there with a couple teams saying, hey, we got this deal ready to go. We got into holest That was what happened. That was how Rick Smith got the deal done for number twelve overall in twenty seventeen. It's pretty much how they got the deal done, how Nick got the deal done with Manteasa Fort and the Cardinals. A lot of that was agreed to ahead of time and then they just hammered out the fine tune details at that point. And really it was kind of the Cardinals holding out because they wanted to get a little bit more.
So they want to drum up a little.
Bit more, kind of see if they get anybody involved, and when they really couldn't, I was like, okay, let's let's make that deal. So I think the trade up I think they're both equal possibilities. I don't think trade down absolutely means they're trading out, because I think the Chiefs could go up and want to get alignment.
They might are in particular a tackle.
They might want to go up and get a tackle the Texans don't really want to get. Maybe the Texans want to tear your offensive line. So maybe the Chiefs are a team that moves up. Maybe the Eagles want to move up. Shoot, how he's made deals in the past. Then you move down to number thirty two, and now you got the last pick of the round, and away you go. So I don't think it's absolutely trade down meets trade out. But even if they trade out, I think Nick will get pretty good return in the past, because you know he's gonna be on the phone going, look, Mark, John and Andre are at the draft party, and I can't disappoint them.
So you got to give me something on.
A really good trade down deal, and he'll get extra land yap for that.
So yeah, because what did we say last week? Friday night is the night. That's the night. And if I'm a GM Johnny, look, I want a great player in the first round. Well what if I don't think there's a real great player right there, exactly specially at twenty five. Yeah, so you drop down, you get more picks in the second and third round. Look at it like this, The more picks I have in the top one hundred, the happier. That's exactly right. I got exactly one hundred players here. I got three teams of players basically, and I get to pick these guys and not awesome.
And there's not much difference between twenty five and thirty five other than the fact that one the cutoff between thirty two and thirty three sins everybody overnight back home to sleep and come back on Friday.
He's saying pick number forty is almost as good as a first rounder.
Is that what you're telling me?
It could have been. It could have been if you drafted the guy that went in forty.
One, Jonathan Taylor, it could have been. Oh man, all the gift that keeps on giving. Oh god, I mean seriously, Uh, there's there.
Oh.
I don't know if you and Drew did this on in the lab, but man, there are a lot every team can do this. So this is not a textile exclusive swings and misses. Not just swings and misses, but you know, waiting for the next pitch or two where it could have really been a hit out of the park, you know, like Benny joppru ahead of Jason Witten. Witten one of the greatest receivers. I know he's a tight end, but he's one of the greatest receivers. The numerically in the history of this league. You know, he's incredible.
I think the thing about those mark there are some that you see in real time and you go, oh god. There are some that take a little while for it to develop. Yeah, that one with Taylor going to forty one. Immediately we were in trouble. You you were not. We were immediately in trup.
Thinking, Man, Ross Blacklock, they better be right on this one. They better have hit the nail on the head with Ross.
Not only not only do we not get Taylor, we not to face him twice a year.
That really sucks. That's really the worst part of all this. Whoever ended up with him happened to wear a horseshoe on that rot.
I think this. There is no way I'm going to predict this right now. There's no way Nick is going seven seven picks without a selection, which is currently the situation right between the eighty ninth pick and the third round and one sixty six.
In the fifth round. There's no chance that that happens.
Nick is not gonna let two and a half round roll off the board, sits there and does nothing.
We don't need any of these guys. We're fine. It's not no way.
I just can't believe that would be his internal belief. And Cal's gonna be sitting there in the draft room like, well, Nick, how's the h how are these seventy seven picks going?
You know exactly?
No, no pro bowlers in here and any of these I'm not gonna go out for lunch on Saturday.
Like that's you know, that's not gonna have it stands now. I mean Cal doesn't have to.
I mean like he wants to be in and witness everything, So DOA's Hannah. I'm sure they want to witness all their conversations. And look, I would just want to hear what Nick is talking about with everybody else and with Lip and Demico and you know what's on his mind as these picks are going. Yeah, you want to talk reality show? I mean, how much would you.
Pay for that? Oh, there's there's an immeasurable amount. You know.
I would absolutely just record it all and then decide, okay, we can release of all the hours of the draft of the sixteen hours. Let's say we can release thirteen hours of it? Oh charge your fans? Are you kidding me?
I know you you'd be watching an hour a night. Are you kidding? Mene watch that whole thing stay up all night?
Oh I would, I would you guys, Hey, is John coming in today for work?
Nope?
What's he doing? Oh he's watching He's watching the draft room. Yeah, absolutely, I mean I've I've always I've always wanted to be in a draft room just to kind of listen what's happening.
When you love that movie Draft Just listen. You love that movie Draft Day. That's so realistic. It's so very realistic. That's why I'd like you leaving the room all the time.
I'm leaving the room again.
I'd like to see it in reality. I'd like to see what it looks like.
So, hey, I would hang out in that draft room just to hear what Dennis Leary has to say, because he's so entertaining.
You know, I love Dennis Lear would rather listening to Miko Ryans or Dennis Leary's character.
You know, I used to go to a comedy club in Boston before Dennis Leary was famous, and he used to do a show.
It was a basement.
Comedy club called played against Sam's, and he used to do open It wasn't open mic night, he just hosted Thursday nights and he was just blissed, I mean, bloodshot eyes, just had he hit it big at that point, No, we knew he was. We thought it was you know, we had pictures of Beard. It was cheap and he brought Stephen right up once to try the material.
It was awesome.
Anyway, Dennis Lear is the best one, and he played the head coach and draft day. But in order for Nick to make this happen to have a pick or two among the seventy seven that are going to go by between rounds three and five when the Texans pick, he's gonna have to, you know, part with some of that you know, loose change, like you say in the seventh round, he's got two picks there. That fifth, I don't know how he's gonna do it. Where he's gonna slide one of those thirds back. I mean, he's you get to pick up some more cakes one of those thirds. Those one of those thirds gonna have pretty good value.
I think seventy nine could be the one, and you'll have room between fifty eight and eighty nine. But you take seventy nine and you move that down to get into the top part of the fourth round and you pick up some land yapp and maybe you pick up another fifth rounder, so you get a fourth and a fifth in there because you got cooking now you've got kind of the distance between. But again, it all as Nick said, it comes down to you know, those trades are player driven. You know, somebody's got to be interested in what's sitting there at seventy nine, and they've got to have the additional draft capital to be able to go up and get it. So I would mind sticking and staying at seventy nine and eighty nine. But if seventy nine could turn into one twelve and one forty five, yeah, I take that before you got to go to one sixty six.
But it's it's a great point because it's a trade off.
I mean, you have two third rounders right there, right, but you have two second rounders next year.
Correct, two second rounders next year.
Yep.
So because you have Washington's and you have hours, it'll be interesting.
And one of the things those we're gonna burn a hole in his pocket and exactly exactly, I got twenty dollars, I gotta spend it.
Uh, it's just a matter of do you want to be twenty dollars this year? Do you want to be twenty five dollars next year? So either way, but that that to me is how you use next year's picks. And Nick's always got a pretty good handle on how you how you do that. Now he had a lot of stuff to work with after the Watson trade. Now that's that's gone. So now you're just dealing with your picks. But you got somewhat that Laramie trade, et cetera. So how do you use all that? What do you turn that into? So I think it's gonna be interesting to from from my perspective, like what they do. I don't think I'm gonna be upset either way, because I'm only upset if I'll be upset with one pick. If one thing were to happen, and that be that they don't trade up, they sit at twenty five and the Vikings draft Tyler Booker, that'll be upsetting. That will I will cry and you will miss me for the Texans pick.
And having said that, it's the old you gotta let it play out because you'd never know that Titus Howard, not that you felt that way, but a lot of people felt that way.
That I missed the boat on Andre Dillard. I've read I think it was Albert I can't remember.
I read this somewhere where somebody somebody decided not to play in the bowl game for Alabama and they had to go explain it to Tyler Booker before they could do it. I'm like, oh my god, I want this guy so badly. Oh my god, come on, please let him beat at twenty five.
He could have all the X factor of leadership stuff. He's got to be able to play. He's got a fly level.
All that falls on deaf years if you can't play, and you definitely could do it in college, and so he's got to prove it. He's got to prove it. But I think you would have every opportunity to do it here for sure.
Okay, coming up, we're gonna check it with Jonathan Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, his thoughts on everything he's been seeing this week around the building with the Houston Texans reporting for off season conditioning voluntary off season condition and we'll get to some other stuff at the podium here on Texans Radio. As promised here on Texans Radio, Mark Vandermin and John Harris with you. We catch up every week with Jonathan Alexander, your Texans beat writer from the Houston Chronicle.
One day, will he have the status of John McLean. We'll see.
He's got a long way to go as far as years are concerned. Let's get to our weekly visit with Jonathan. Okay, Jonathan, before we go anywhere else. Your review of CJ. Gardner Johnson at the podium today. That was a pretty entertaining debut for him as a Texan.
Definitely entertaining. I mean, you know, he was wearing the Fedora, the Cam Newton staff for Dora. You can tell he's a character. You know, he mentioned about finally being the elder statesman having to grow up. But I can tell I'm going to enjoy press conferences with him and talking to him in the locker room.
Well, the question is do they bring him to the podium every week or is it going to be locker room only? Yeah?
Yeah, what's exactly?
Because I got a feeling that CJ speaks his or is he like to say C or eight, which right now John Metchi has eight.
So we'll see that goes.
But I did see a tweet from CJ that he was going to bring back his college number, which is twenty three, a through versy of Florida.
So that's gonna be kind of interest. Is that available?
Oh?
Eric Murray had.
Murray had it? Yeah, So I don't know if anybody lay claimed to it before that. But he said, you call him c or eight and he looked around. He's like, well, I don't have a match. He's got it. So yeah, he is definitely gonna be a character, no doubt. Okay, Jonathan, I purposely, knowing that we were gonna talk to you today, I purposely did not look at your final mock draft because I want to be uh not surprised.
I want to see what you have to say.
I want to get an organic reaction to it. I don't know if you want to give it, maybe give a hint to it. Your final mock draft. What did you do for the Texans?
Yeah, I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens, particularly with these first two pigs. I do believe that Nick Caserio will be aggressive, and in my final mock draft I had the Texans taking Tyler Booker with the twenty fifth pick, but with a caveat, I believe that top on their draft board is Kelvin Banks Junior, and if he were to fall, then they would take him. Having said that, I went through a ton of scenarios looked. I mocked the first round and I couldnt figure out how he got passed.
Cincinnati at seventeen.
I think Cincinnati could take him the Seahawks, even the Seahawks at eighteen could take him San Francisco at eleven. There are a lot of teams that could take offensive tackles, and I think he'll be gone by the time the Texans pick. But I do know they like him. I've talked to a few people about that. I think Tyler Booker is another guy. I could also see a scenario where Booker and Banks are off the board, and I think in that case it depends on who's left. Is a Mecca eg Buka on the board. I do know they talked to him and he's gotten raver views. Josh Connelly is another guy that they like. But I like taking a Mecca and then trading up to get Connorley with that second round picking. Like I mentioned, and I put in my mock draft, I have Booker going and I have them moving up to get Connorley. They have the extra second round pick that allows them to move up, as well as the extra third round pick this year.
All right, Jonathan Alexander with us from the Houston Chronicle. Jonathan, all Right, you said Nick might be aggressive here, but it takes two to tango. If he can't make a deal and Booker and Banks are off the board, maybe even a Buka's off the board at that point, what do you handicap it as for lack of a better way of putting it. What chance does Nick have to ruin the draft party, Jonathan, and trade out of the first round. Not that the draft party is the number one priority, but it is a factor.
Yeah.
I think that you also have to find somebody willing to move up and who's desperate to move up. In that case, I do think it's a I think they've looked at what they could get in a move back the move if they were to move back, I think Donovan Jackson becomes a target at that point, but I think it is more likely that they'll stay put at twenty five.
Okay, Okay, I'm gonna hate you both.
With Albert Breer's thoughts which came out, Albert had a couple of articles and he said this today. I want both your reactions, Jonathan, you go first, speaking of line. This is Breer speaking speaking of lineman. We have another team that has at least started sniffing around on a trade up, and that's the Houston Texans. It's no secret that Houston needs offensive line help, and I'd expect to target the Texans to target strong character players as they continue to remake that room. With the possibility that Will Campbell, Armamembu and Kevin Banks Junior are all gone inside the top ten, the next group of linemen could get moved up the board a bit. And the Texans have two teams in front of them. I'm saying at least the Green bat Packers and the Minnister of Vikings that could take an offensive lineman. Your thoughts, Jonathan, I mocked, You've done this. You did this with Tampa Bay. You got Kevin Banks Junior.
I mocked a trade up. I believe that the tech I wouldn't be surprised. Like I said, I think Nicko Saire's gonna be aggressive. I just don't think that they would move past a certain point because that would require significant draft conversation. You know, I think moving up six spots sixty seven max is probably where they'd go. But I also think that they think that they can possibly get a good player at twenty five. So it really is going to depend on how the draft board shakes out. What many of these teams who are who are kind of unknowns will do. What are the Carnos going to do? Are they going to take a tackle? Yeah, you know, I think it's possible.
Yeah, or guard?
You know, well, that's too bad because Nick knows his phone number, and that would be a trade candidate. As far as the match between those two guys trust each.
Other, yeah, Yeah, they've don't work together.
Yeah, they've done some They've made beautiful music together. As far as we see it, would he move up with Atlanta? Obviously not the Atlanta.
Is gonna want to move. Atlanta wants picks. He only got five, Okay, so.
I can see Atlanta moving. He knows many. Awesome for it. The Bengals won't move. The Bengals just always sit and pick. They stick a pick every year. What do you think about that trade up? Do you think Breer's onto something. Here's one other thing that he says a little later in the article. One player I've heard the Tennis Brier speaking. One player I've heard the Texans have done plenty of work on is Donovan Jackson Ohio State. Okay, which they shouldn't have to do a whole heck of a lot of work. He's from Houston and he played with their quarterback.
Yes, still should know.
Yeah, I've heard the same and I'll put that in my in my mock draft story that they've actually done a lot of research on him recently, like the research and the talks with people at Ohio State. I have a swears at Ohio State and they've been calling about Donovan Alatt Jonathan.
How many trades in the first round. Just give me a number, come out, it's time to predict. Wait, set a number and then go over under. Okay, let's go, oh five, I.
Think it'll be less than five.
Wow.
Wow, that's all that's got crazy with that number. They would jump all over that number. They would Yeah, it's take they take take the other at four, put it at four. I'll put it at four. But listen, Okay, you know how this goes. I know, I know we haven't had the pre draft trades, but you know, once we get to that night, it's gonna be ping Pongah, it's gonna be a pinball machine. Hensley is gonna be getting a lot of airtime on Thursday Night. I predict this. I'm gonna go over five, over five, I'm going six.
Wow, six, you're going I think it's gonna be three.
Okay, once we get one, that's gonna get that that's gonna break the seal. It's kind of like that first trip to the restroom when you're at the bar and then all of a sudden, you gotta go every half hour.
This is from my memories.
We always have that when it's a draft like this, Oh, they're gonna be a bunch of trades because everybody's boards are gonna look differently, and oh there's a run on this.
As a run on that.
Really, to be honest, there maybe two players that you can legitimately go, Okay, I'm moving up for that guy. I'm going up for genty, I'm going up potentially for one of the linemen.
But you're forgetting one important thing. I'm going Jonathan, I'm going I'm going three or.
Four quarterbacks become real popular on draft night, and I know, but this is not the Kenny Pickett Draft.
There's some guys here who are attractive.
I mean, well, it's just Sudor Sanders right now, which one, Hey, I saw Willis.
Win a big game.
I know, I know, he just took him a little while to develop. Nobody's really good. I mean Matt Carrall and Elie Willis in that particular draft. Yeah, I mean, look, I'm with Jonathan though, I think three or four trades probably probably it. And but and I the more I but the more I mean, I go back and forth on this every day. I mean, I do think that there will be a player that ends up at twenty five of all these guys that we talked about that we go, oh, there's Zabel, or there's Connorly, or there's Banks.
Somehow at twenty He's not kidding twenty five.
The more I've thought about this, bookers, there are twenty to me, and then I go back to this booker twenty five. So that's who you shuttled on, Jonathan, was your your your final pick? I just feel like, and we've talked about it the last couple of days. When CJ's gone up there, both CJ's are gone up there to speak, when Will's spoken, when Petriot has talked, when Demiko has talked, it's very clear there's a right kind of guy for Houston, and Booker feels so much like that.
Yeah, absolutely, I mean everything you hear about him, you know, just a leader. He I remember seeing Demko talk about the kind of offensive lineman he wants, wanting somebody gritty like Tyler. Booker exemplifies that, and he happens to feel the position to need yes, considered the best guard in his draft class.
So if he's there, and Booker, I.
Mean, and Banks is not on the board, I fully expect them to take that chance on him unless unless they unless they think that they could get him a little bit further in the draft, and they don't think the guys behind him will take him. But I think there are a few teams in this draft looking for a guard.
Jonathan.
We'll be asking you to this question a lot throughout the next several months, all the way until the end of the season.
What do you think so far?
And all we have to go on is press conferences Nick Kelly and CJ. Stroud the relationship based on what they've said, what do you think so far of what you're feeling about the projection of this offense's performance with those two.
Yeah, I just think this seems to be the correct match. You know, Nick Keyley is giving CJ Stroud the rains to take control of the offense. I think one of the things that CJ was a little bit frustrated about was the fact that he couldn't make checks at the line of scrimmage. You know, they left that up to the center, and now Kaylee has given him that rain. And you know, during the interview process, everything I heard was that the Texans were looking Demiko was looking for an offensive coordinator that would build his offense around CJ. Stroud and his strengths, and so far that seems like Nick Kylee has been doing that. And everything I heard about Nick Keayley was that he was a down to earth guy like you, was a guy that you have a beer a beer with or he throw a party for his kids and he have a big beer keg for the adults and a karaoke for the kids. So it just seems like a perfect fit. He's seems like a people's person and obviously he's very smart and has a lot of ton of experience.
Jonathan how far As you go with your mock draft.
I did seven rounds for the Texans.
Specifically, Okay, I know you don't want to give up anything, but rounds two through seven, was there a pick that either you were really conflicted on you weren't sure about When you look back, you're like, man, I don't know, or you look back and you go, yeah, this is a slam dunk right here.
Yeah.
When I got to the fourth round, I hadn't had a receiver yet, so I was trying to choose between a receiver that I had never heard of that would probably be considered a reach, or take one of the best available playmakers who could.
Also catch divulge. Uh yeah, Arizona states Cameron.
How do he pronounce his last name? I don't want to mispronounce his last name. The running Backcataboo Skataboo. Yeahah. I picked him as he was on the board. He was best available, and to me, they've looked at running backs in this draft and he fits as a different type of player than Joeffer. And then you got Damian Pierce on it on the end of his rookie deal, So you know, I think that's an extra playmaker for for for CD stride. If he's there, that could possibly be a guy cam scataboo in Houston. The fans would go nuts for that. Oh that would be that draft weekend that were very bad. That would be the one everybody was talking about.
Very popular, absolutely, Jonathan.
So with you have your final mock draft out there in the Houston Chronicle, what about the coverage this week of the NFL Draft.
Uh?
Yeah, I'll be me and my coworker Sam Mormon will be covering it from every angle. I'll have a profile on Nick hopefully coming out tomorrow. Oh so that should be interesting. Still finishing doing the finishing touches on that, but yeah, that should be coming out. So please look on Houston Chronicle dot com for more of it.
Sounds great, Jonathan, Thanks a lot, Thanks for having me.
All Right, there's our weekly visit with Jonathan Alexander of the Houston Chroniclecrime dot Com. All right, coming up, some closing thoughts from the podium from head coach Tamiko Ryans, among other things before we send it away.
And tomorrow is Draft Eve. I think that should be an official holiday. We'll see if it catches on.
It's Texans Radio final segment on the show tonight and as we discuss some podium highlights. Jamik o'rians this week with his team getting back to work in the offseason conditioning program voluntary, Damiko Ryans talked about what's most important for the players during this time of year.
The most important thing for me, what I asked our guys today and our meeting is just be where your feet are, right. We have a limited amount of time to be here. Like, Let's be where our feed are. Let's be connected, like, let's talk to our teammates. Let's not walk around with our heads down on our cell phone all the time, eyes up, eating lunch with each other, truly connecting with one another, and we'll improve upon the football. Right, It's about you put the right work in. You'll get better at your craft, but let's get better at connecting. Let's get better at the football. Coming in with the right attitude and attitude to learn, attitude to grow. If you come in with that mindset, guys will really maximize you know, these nine weeks we have here in the offseason.
See, this is what I love about him. One of the things he makes me want to be better. I mean, people listen to him. You can always glean something for your life out of what Tamiko Ryans has to say, What CJ. Stroud has to say about this offseason, how it's different from his first off season which was the draft stuff, the pre draft stuff and ramping up as a rookie, and last year's first full off season as a pro.
How's this year different?
This is experience, you know, just more like more games on my belt, not only games, but just like an off season, a free time, OTAs drafting, like draft schedule, things like that. Just just comfortability with those type of things. So that's been the most Probably the best thing is just being used to like how things go, trades and all types of stuff. So it's nothing you get comfortable with completely, but you find comfort in it more as you get more experience.
I feel the topic of leadership came up. Where is CJ. Stroud on that?
Yeah?
You know, for me, I always believe in just serving leadership, serving in any way I can.
And like I told you.
Before, my coach and college coach Fitch, taught me the most important job, the only job really quarterback has is to make everybody around them better and whatever that looks like, that's what I want to do. And you know, it's been nice. You know, now I feel like I got another year under my belt, more experience, you know, more comfortability with just how the NFL works, how the league works, how the city works, how everything. You know, just being a quote unquote quarterback NFL is. You know, it's something that no one can can teach you about. You got to experience it, got to make mistakes, you gotta fail, you gotta do good, you gotta do bad. And so that's that's what I plan to do, is just use those experiences to help others and you know, be a servants to one another, to you know, to help. You know, it says in a word that iron sharpens iron, so another man sharp is another. So that's what I plan to do.
CJ.
Stroud, entering year three, sounds like a twenty eight year old veteran and he's a third year guy, so he's been in the league for a while, but he sounds even more mature than that. Will Anderson Junior also heard from at the podium this week, and he was asked about the defense of course, and we talked about CJ. Gardner Johnson and the impression he made on us earlier today. He's made an impression on his teammates well, he and other additions to the defense and just the defense being back. They were bawling late last year and they're ready to hit the ground full throttle this year.
Man, And my emotion has been everywhere for me those last one play off games, Like for me, I'm like, you gotta do that every game. You know what I'm saying, Like that's just been my emotions and I'm like, bro like going into this division I see for our team, division I see for the defense is like the sky's the limit, Like if we come out batting like that, nobody can touch us. And it starts now. And it's been nice to see everybody in the locker room, everybody being here, even the vest, and that just shows how much they care about the program and where they want to see the program go.
And like one guy, I.
Gotta highlight like I have my highlight with A Z's last year, CJ. Gardner Man, Like today was my first day meeting him, and he is everything I knew he would be, like competitive talk smack and I love it and we got we need those type of guys in the locker room that lightning you know to lighten everybody's mood a little bit, and so like it's fun. Man, football is fun, and he brings that energy.
Boy does he an energy infusion. Not that they needed extra, but I guess you can never have enough. They're always looking for guys like that, and they'll be looking for more of them in the upcoming NFL Draft starting in forty eight hours on Thursday night, I'll be there with John Harris and Andre where at the draft party George R. Brown Convention Center, Avenida to Houston. It's gonna be fun. And then Friday night here in studio, Saturday, all day in studio, Sean Pendergast helping us out, Robert Hensley. It's gonna be a lot of fun to cover the NFL Draft and see what picks the Texans end up with. And we'll finally have the answers to their questions. What will Nick do with Round one? All the other picks, how many trades will they make? It'll all unfold in real time right here Texans Radio on Sports Radio six'. Ten that's gonna do it for the show. Tonight this will be up in podcast form soon. Enough area forty five coming. Up stay tuned for, that have a great. Night Go.
Texans
