Houston Texans 2024 Preview: Roster Breakdown & Key Players with Cole Thompson

all right finally talking Houston Texans football on the ourlads football network and of course the rlight football YouTube channel and if we're talking Houston Texans football that means Cole Thompson is with us from Fan Nation how's it going Cole buddy it is going to be a season to remember for good for bad for whatever the reason it will be a season to remember down at Energy stadium in 2024 okay so you're are you into the hype oh we we got an hour or so to talk about the hype of what I do and don't believe in why I'm the most hated reporter reportedly in the city of Houston because of I'm not gonna give you a 13 and4 prediction but you know neither here nor there that's just me being completely honest and I think deep down most Texans fans know that I'm right and they just don't want to admit it it's okay you can come to the dark side whenever you want you can join forces with me as actually understanding what this team truly is yeah uh and look this is what happens you know if you you jump uh a few spots that you're not supposed to in a quick amount of time there's always that little drawback there's always that little come back to reality moment even though uh you know I think some analysts are trying to say that about the Packers and the Lions but the the difference is is especially those organizations they're more they've been stable and even Detroit lately they've been building towards something slowly Houston was like that boom we're there and it doesn't usually just all of a sudden we're just we're here we have no problems look at the eagles look what happened to the Eagles have they made such a run to the Super Bowl so quickly even though they had won one a few years prior look what happened to him last year so I get what you're saying um and I think this division is going to be a lot tougher uh than people think I think that's the main thing that people aren't talking about Greg is that this division whether or not it starts or ends with the Texans I I still believe the Texans on paper are the best roster in this divion far and away and I think that also when you look at the starting mentality from adding in Joe Mixon adding in an all pro and Stefon digs what you're getting back in healthy tank Dell what you have on Deno Collins the addition of guys like Deno autrey who is suspended for six games but still you really want him there for the matchups against Kansas City against Baltimore against Detroit which as of right now he will be aiz Al Shyer I I I personally love the addition of Kamari lter like and we'll we'll get into stories about what he brings to this defense we we kind of talked about it back when OTAs were going on you have the best overall starting unit the problem is depth and that's a major area where a lot of people don't look at these squads like if I were to go ahead and rank the Texans overall roster not starting unit roster they would probably be a top 10 team but maybe they'd be closer to eight or nine where I probably wouldn't have them I I wouldn't have any concerns when it came to the Colts like the Colts they have depth they may don't have great starters but they have depth Tennessee has added in some good depth I don't think that they have great starters but they have decent depth I think the same thing about a team like the jackville Jaguars they have good depth so depth is essential for your success and that's why maybe I'm a little bit more translucently and transparent when it comes to cautiously optimistic when it comes to the Texans from a starting standpoint arguably a top five team in the NFL this year arguably but if you lose one of those pieces it's like when you have when when one of your valves in your heart closes the rest of it has to start pumping more blood for you to be able to function do you have enough blood to be able to function with this squad if one of your key elements is out for the year and thus you're not going to suffer a brain anism well let's start with that then what do you think is the team's biggest weakness right now besides just saying depth give me some specifics of where you think teams could take advantage of Houston this season this season definitely the offensive line is the main one and case in point it's not that I don't think that the offensive line is good when you look at the starting five lar me tunel Kenyan green juice scrug sha Mason Titus Howard that's probably I would say a top 12 offensive line in the nation easily in the NFL no questions asked lar me tunel for my money is the second best left tackle in the game you could argue that he is the best left tackle in the game because of what he provides in pass Pro he's been one of the highest rated pass protectors in the NFL for the last four years I mean you put him and Trent Williams literally on their own pedestal and then the conversation starts and you could really argue that if you go one a1b so be it it's why both these guys are always getting brand new deals despite getting up there in age you have value when it comes to a franchise left tackle if you don't have one you're basically paddling Upstream with styrofoam pads that that's what you're dealing with I like what I've seen from keny and green I like what I've seen from Drew Scruggs both of these guys were either injured or playing out of position last year they started to come into their own they've started to really have a good understanding kangan green looks like a completely different player uh he's lost about 15 pounds he's put on about I would say 10 pounds of muscle he's carrying his weight extremely well he's doing a very good job of keeping that low center of gravity he's winning most one-on-one battles he had a couple of mishaps in the game against Pittsburgh but overall I thought he had a very solid performance he was great in the uh preseason game against Chicago Bears actually was if I'm not mistaken the highest graded offensive player Pro Football Focus he was fantastic in that game uh Shaq Mason's a really good a really good guard you could have worse you could have better but when you have stability and a guy that you know is going to give you 16 games you feel really confident but then there's Titus Howard and from a standpoint of what Titus is at this point in his career it's always a cautionary what if you feel good when he's on the field to start but you also have to keep in mind well what if because if we've what happen with him it's always a what if when it comes to injuries he says he's healthy he says he's playing well he looks fine when he's on the field he's looked decent the problem is that he's missed some practices he suffered a little injury when he was in Chagrin Falls Ohio last week he didn't play in the preseason game against the Steelers so you're wondering is this going to be something to where by week six or week seven you're tur into Blake fiser the second round pick out of Notre game now what I will say is Fischer is going to be the first phone call at either time spot so ly tonso goes down if tus Howard goes down fish's the guy and so he's worked both left and right tackle in practice uh last week he saw a few reps at the first team on the right side when laramy was out for the entire spring I mean for the entire spring and when he was out for most of the star training camp he was seeing reps on the left side so this is a guy that comes in with 25 starts underneath his belt at right tackle one start at left tackle there's going to be a learning curve but the biggest thing I think for him is that he's going up against guys like danal Hunter he's going up against Anderson if you want to get a welcome to the NFL moment before you're welcome to the NFL moment that's a good way to start with an all pro and a pro bowler at defensive end I just wonder what happens if you lose both Titus Howard and larmy tunel because you might be able to feel good about where you are if say Howard is to miss three to four games and fiser got start but if you lose both the offensive line is still a liability at times and Nick ceri even talked about during the regular season you have to now think of it as having four starting tackles you have to because if you don't know what the depth is going to be if you're going to lose a player for a game so you have to feel good with your second teamers as if they had to start for the regular season which is why when everyone was freaking out saying why are you using a second round pick on an offensive tackle well you better have good depth because if you're a quality team usually you have great depth on the offensive line and so that's why you bring in Blake fiser everyone else Still Remains a question mark when you look at the interior line Kendrick green Jared Patterson dedri Ellison how do you feel about those guys Nick broker you know he's playing right tackle at times he played in the game against uh Pittsburgh last week it was it was a hard watch it was a very very very hard watch to see him at right tackle and if that's what you got to turn to you got to be on the market to find an offensive tackle and here's the problem Greg teams know that they need offensive line depth so they do one of two things they either won't release them even if they got to put them as a third Stringer or they're going to make you trade out the wazu for a guy that's a third string offensive lineman and you're gonna give up like a fourth round pick for somebody that's going to sit on your bench we saw this last year with Houston when they traded for Josh Jones from the Arizona Cardinals they gave up a fourth rounder and he played I think four games because of just the value of that depth yeah is so important to a team I think that when you look at the defensive tackle spot it's a mystery it really is you know I like what I've seen from Foley flowski I really liked what I've seen from Mario Edwards if there was one guy that I could say I have come away more impressed with every single rep it is Mario Edwards he has done a great job filling in as like that thre te for itch kind of a bit of a bull rusher underutilized size using his center of gravity to stay low to the ground be able to push up field and get the Back Field add value in the run defense he's done a really nice job but everyone else behind them is a mystery and sometimes mystery is a good thing and sometimes it's a okay it's a mystery why is it a mystery at this point you know you don't know what you got in Tim settle he's been missing a lot of practice due to an injury uh khil Davis has been hit and miss at times same thing mccartt hinish Marcus Harris is a really intriguing player I loved his film coming out of Auburn but he's been working with the third team and he hasn't moved up past the third team so do you feel like that maybe you can just Stow him away on the practice squad for a year maybe he performs like a Khalil Davis or a Kurt hinish where comes on to The Season's end and then earns himself onto the active roster fidelia's pain I think was brought back largely due to the fact that he plays that intertwining three Tech fourte five tech can be a defensive end can be an interior pass rusher and with Deno atry out that that that's kind of the way you look is that we're going to bring in a guy that maybe will stow away on the active roster he won't really play unless we need him to to but we can get a dude that can play multiple spots we feel really confident in his skill set but he also was released before the start of training camp so how quickly is he going to be able to adapt to where what if you need to use him on a third down play is he ready for the NFL do you feel like that you have a great line the thing about interior defensive line and Greg you know this snap counts are really important for these guys they'll play Maybe 52% 55% of a game and then the backups will play 23% and then the stringers will play like 8% you're going to have to probably see Mario Edwards and fley fotosi based off what we've seen in practice right now get 60% of reps okay and 60 is gonna be deteriorating on the body and so that's a major concern I think the last position that you have to worry about right now is probably safety and it's not that you have to worry about safety it's not at all what the question is is how do you feel about a pairing of Jimmy Ward and Eric Murray or Jim Ward and kin bollock the rookie out of USC because Jaylen Petri when they're in a base formation is playing the free but when they're in a nickel formation he's actually replacing Desmond Keening he's playing in the slot so he's actually been used in so many different ways and the thing was is that when he was at when he was at Baylor he won all Big 12 defensive player of the year because of his ability to win in the slot he was that star position underneath Dave Randa kind of a safety kind of a corner kind of a linebacker a little bit of the bigger size and he's done a really nice job of keeping things in front of him especially when it comes to the run defense he's been exceptional in that aspect but my question is what more do we need to see from him before we actually go ahead and say no you're just gonna be playing in the nickel and then we're gonna move kin Bullock Bullock's been a really big surprise in Camp I think the one thing that you can take away is that his closing speed is phenomenal he was tracking down balls there was a play last week against Pittsburgh where I think it was Kyle Allen at the quarterback and he was looking for um for uh Hunter and uh immediately just throws it and the ball goes out of bounds and uh cayin B picks it off but it doesn't count because it's out of bounds that's not the part that's impressive the part that's impressive was he got there in less than three seconds and that was a 30 yard Sprint yeah it's just his closing speed is phenomenal and the thing that was so impressive about him when he was coming out of USC was his ball skills I talked to a couple Scouts and they all said if you can get him at his Peak you're looking at Prime New Orleans Saints Marcus Williams Just A Center Fielding ball Hawking safety that is going to create turnovers that is going to create mismatches that is going to get the ball back in an offense's hands he may have a liability at times he may be a liability at times when it comes to coverage in the side of um inside of the run defense but in coverage alone really really really solid player so the two areas that are the most concerning regarding depth would be the offensive line and the interior of the defense I would say so probably okay uh taking a look at Camp battles how's that going I know most of the jobs are set is is is is is there a real battle going on there at safety is that really the one that everybody needs to keep an eye on uh or is that really everybody's going to kind of play and it's just it'll play out during the season and we'll figure it out then it it's it's it's not a battle let's let's start off there it's not a battle right now if you were to go into a base formation let's let's say you're running the 4-3 and you have your three and you have your weak side linebacker your strong linebacker and you don't play the nickel it's Jaylen Petri and Jimmy Ward that that that's a that's a done deal those are going to be the two that will start when they move to the nickel that's going to be the interesting part so Eric Murray has seen most first team reps when that happens okay uh but kayin Bullock yesterday during a walkthroughs was getting more reps with the first team so I truly believe when the New York Giants play on Saturday when they go up against them in the preseason and usually everybody's different about this because Craig you remember this like when we had four preseason games number three was the one that you really want to test what your starters were who was going to be seeing more playing time because by game number four it was like cool whatever we're just gonna throw you out there and hopefully you don't mess up and by the way uh we're just seeing who's going to be our last 10 spots that like with the last preseason G G was yeah but now with two preseason games people are different some will play starters the entire first half in the second game some will play them in only a quarter and then in game three they'll play them the entire half and get them prepared for the NFL starting in two weeks so it's all different but I truly believe that in this game you will see kin Bullock work reps with the first team defense and they'll work Eric Murray in as well and the reason why is because of if you're able to feel confident in the rookie a guy that you got four years of Ross control with on top of that he feels like he is going to be a long-term staple for this defense where Eric Murray is going into a final year of his contract you want to get him on the field quickly you want to see what he can do and Murray this is not a shot at Murray at all because Murray played great last year like when they asked him to fill in for Jimmy Ward and for Jaylen Petri when both missed time he was a really really sturdy option before he got injured but at this point in your career you kind of know what Eric Murray is you don't know what kin it can be which is again one of those you're risking potential for also opportunity which I don't think is a problem but when you are trying to set a standard very early on in the season that's what you're going for it's just to be able to have that type of personality to be able to feel like that you don't have any flaws on your team so I think that they are going to give klin bulock a lot of reps this upcoming week just to see well if we have to move to this formation do we feel confident with the rookie playing over the veteran or do we feel confident with the veteran playing over the rookie and we just know our situation that's going on I think of the other position that you're really going to have to wonder about in this game which is a very underrated position but I think it's that third defensive end role because of everyone talks about how important it is to have multiple pass rushers sure but for me we also know that last year Jonathan Gard missed a few games will Anderson missed a few games and then you went to Jerry Hughes and you went to Derrik Barnett well do you feel like that those are going to be the two that are going to once again back in that role or do you feel like that maybe Solomon bird the seventh round pick out the USC could fill in that Gap do you feel like Malik fiser who was really really good for the UFL this past year maybe Fells in that Gap do you feel like that maybe you have a khil Davis 2.0 with that situation and also is Jerry Hughes G to be a guy that you trust to be able to go out there because of he's also 34 years old and do you feel like that there's room on the roster or do you want to maybe go with the younger option so I think that's going to be a really interesting one Houston still looks great you know for for how he's played and also for a guy that was kind of on the free agent waiver for a while all the way up leading into the training camp he's looked really really promising but so is Derrik Barnett Derrik Barnett was one of the best finds I think on the waiver wire last year for any team and so that was a big factor into Houston success especially when they lost Will Anderson for two games so I I I think that's going to be something to watch for and then the wide receiver depth just in general three guys are already locked in I think that you have to consider a fourth whether it be Noah brown or Robert Woods just because the contract you might be able to move them I think at the most you'll get in return for either guy as a fifth round pick but both are very much front heavy if you're willing to take on the signing bonus for Robert Woods maybe you'd be able to move him and it feels kind of like malpractice to have him as like your seventh receiver how good he's been but also it doesn't feel right to cut him because if you want to get something in return in the Net game maybe it's back to Buffalo you know just released Chase clay poool maybe they're looking for a deal but you have to wonder who are going to get those last two spots is it going to be John me and Ben konic because of one was a second round pick and one was brought in Via a trade this off season because of his special team skills do you think that maybe it's G to be Xavier Hutchinson he's been probably the most consistent on game day even though John Mei has looked better in practice do you maybe go ahead and keep Steph Sims because of his special team skills that's something that does not get brought up enough is that his special team skills are through the freaking roof he has been great when it comes to being effective on that on that level quintes cus you know the guy was making the active roster in um in Detroit before the suspension and he's looked like a wide receiver that can play so do maybe you put him on the active roster put Sims on the practice squad because you know go ahead and pick him up like is that the way you go about it so those are those are things that are really really important that I think are going to be questions that need to be answered in this com up upcoming week well I mean so let's say they keep seven uh that still means and shouldn't one of the other younger players Wen a better pack a better uh offer I mean Woods I know he's a veteran but come on I mean I think you get a little bit more for Mei uh I'm not sure what You' get for him but again he's at least younger so who do you think the Texans would be willing to give up the most as long as they got a good deal for him I think the most would be Robert Woods there's just there's just not a home for him at this point and last year you have to remember he was brought in because of they wanted more stability at the wide receiver spot but they also brought in Noah Brown and they thought okay we'll take a flyer on this guy that's mostly been used on special teams and has a wide receiver for and both had their moments last year you know you have the two games where Robert Woods I mean where yeah where Robert Woods had I think it was like 95 yards and 110 yards and then you had the two games where basically it looked like Noah Brown was the best wide receiver in the NFL against Cincinnati and Tampa Bay where he had 195 yards in one game and then he had 125 in the next like there were just moments where both them stepped up the thing is is that Woods is a more of a veteran for a number three where I think that also Noah Brown his contract is fully guaranteed so you could be able to work a deal to where maybe you're paying 3.5 million 4.5 million of the $9.2 million they do for Robert Woods this year to move off of him if you get a better pick maybe it's like you pay $4 million and you get like a fifth round pick in return yeah where Noah Brown if you want a return any return that is higher than I would say probably a fifth round pick or even a sixth round pick you're probably paying the entire salary so basically you're paying $5 million of guaranteed money for a fifth round pick is that really worth it is that really where you feel good the Mei conversation is really really difficult to get behind because of there's two things number one this would be Nick cerio not waving the White Flag but certainly saying I probably didn't look and go through as much as I thought that he was going to be as talented as he was we can't help that he did go through a cancer scare thank God that he is healthy thank God that he is back to full speed this was a guy coming off a Tor ACL as well going into the year but the time has kind of passed him up but I gave up a second round pick I mean I gave up a fourth round pick to move up in the second round to go get him cerio likes what he does when he drafts that's something that he's prided himself on is that he's very good evaluator when it comes to college kids translating to the NFL so you'd be kind of like punting on that idea that you miss on a guy that you traded up for in the second round the other thing is that you got two more years of roster control and what if tank Dell Goes Down And what if Stefon Diggs Goes Down And what if n Collins goes down yeah and C J strout has said on multiple occasions I've seen a brand new version of John Mei and so if Stout has as much poll as I think that he does inside that locker room especially when it comes to his wide receivers he may say I can get the best version out of bet he will not be flourishing in Pittsburgh or he will not have a great career if he's working opposite of Kyler Murray in Arizona or if he's in Carolina we United with Bryce young he's just gonna fall down on the waiver wire it's not gonna be a good fit I know how to work John Mei I know what's best for John Mei so it just feels like even though he has been the most underwhelming in the preseason he has that backing by cerio and by stad to where if he has any any success this weekend against the Giants or next week against the Rams I think that that's enough to say we're going to keep you around for one more year if things don't pan out maybe we'll trade you at the mid-season point before the deadline maybe we'll hold on to you until the offseason then TR in the offseason give you a fresh start elsewhere I just I don't think that they're right give up on that cheat just yet well something's going to happen there just's no question there's just way too much depth in that unit so uh when that happens if there's an injury that kind of answers our question probably but if there aren't any injuries then Houston will be making a deal at some point uh because they're just not GNA dump uh one of these guys okay um talk about the rookie class you mentioned fiser I know you weren't really sure if Fisher was even going to be a relevant player this year so he's uh obviously moved up the ladder since we spoke is anybody else uh who who's actually looked good so far that we might be able to see them in action this season H Kamar L's already won the start in jaob a corner like it's a done deal like this is when you know that you're really really good when you're a rookie and it's the Hall of Fame game and they have an opportunity to give you more reps if you want it and they say nah like done deal at like and what was so funny was is that he was brought in because of a lot of people thought well you get a first round pick in Jeff Auda you get a first round pick in CJ Henderson both are going to be re Rejuvenation projects something that demo Ryan I think Prides himself on is getting the best version of a player to come on into his system and immediately cash in elsewhere you know look at like Cashman last year Cashman kind of flew under the radar he was SP teams guy he didn't really do much he was brought in by Houston the year before uh underneath that Lovey Smith was really just kind of like another flyer on the wall comes on in a year with Deo Ryans immediately gets paid by the Minnesota Vikings like immediately gets a massive contract because of what he did so you figured okay CJ Henderson Jeff Auda those would be two guys that former first round top 10 picks really talented players when they were out Ohio State and Florida maybe they were just in the wrong situation and by the second practice it's like no those guys are second teamers and Kamari lter has already won the job like you just knew it at that point and he plays with such confidence the kid is bursting from the seams with the non-nonsense mentality he's mature Beyond his age he's asking questions to Derek Stingley he's asking questions to Stefon digs he's not afraid to talk back I mean like like that's I think the sign of an all confident quarterback is when you're going up against pro bowlers and all pros and you get a big play and you stand over them and go that's what I'm talking about that that that that's what I'm that I stand on my business and and he's doing that like that's just something about his Persona that really I think has drawn in for Deo Ryan I remember and I think I told the story when I was at uh when we were on back in June when I was in Indianapolis I always like to ask Scouts just like who is one player that you don't want to see join forces with a current coach coordinator and the answer I got the most was Kamari lter with demica Ryan you just don't want those two to work together because there's something about that swarm mentality that Deo preaches and there's something about that physicality that he plays with that is just a match made in heaven and a nightmare for offense coordinators it's just it's just that way and that's been the case for him so far kage Stover is a guy that I don't think is going to see an extended amount of playing time just because of you look at the tight ends with gravin Jordan when you look at uh Dalton Schultz coming back on a three-year deal there's not really a role for him okay but he is a former player underneath CJ Strat at Ohio State and he has stepped up over the last few days when you talk about practice and when you talk about in the games he had a really really big catch in the Hall of Fame game he had three catches for like 33 yards including I think it was a nine yard pickup for a first down uh with CJ strad they like using their tight ends the the one thing about the Texans is they are not afraid to run 12 Personnel they're not afraid afraid to run 13 Personnel they will utilize their tight ends because that's how Bobby SL likes to run his offense especially when it comes to inside the red zone so there are going to be I think designed packages to where Stover is going to be on the field and he might even find his way into the end zone for a few times and I think there's something about having that relationship with a Young quarterback that you don't already have to that you don't already have to Blossom CJ's already called him like his brother he said that they they were close when they were in Ohio State they would often go have cookouts and Barbecues in their backyard he would always have his family come over their families are very close-knit and again the one thing for CJ and the one thing for Cade they don't have to work on their relationship their relationship was sound back in Columbus now it's just going to translate over to NRG Stadium so I think that he is going to be a prominent part of the red zone offense there will be a role for him on this team I don't know what that role is are you talking about caylin Bullock uh guy's going to play I think eventually by The Season's end he will work his way into the starting rotation I don't know when that's going to happen but I think that he will jard Jordan is going to be the really really interesting one because of there's two ways to look at this the first is he offers value on special teams the second is he also offers value in the passing game I think he averaged like 13 yards per play last year at Louisville while finishing with over 1100 rushing yards he finished with 300 receiving yards or something like that so he adds value in that aspect but the other part is what really are you going to get from a 25-year-old rookie and on top of that do you feel comfortable with maybe putting him on the waivers and hoping that he just doesn't get picked up and then it allows you to go ahead and run with Damen Pierce maybe run with Cam Acres the guy who was second round pick that shown that he is back to full health Dar ugba is not going anywhere uh just the way he plays special teams the way that Frank Ross loves him the way that the organization loves him he'll be on the active roster so so do you keep three running backs and then stow away that or keep four running backs with Cam ACR stow away that fifth running back and if one of them starts a struggle you release them and then you raise up jaar Jordan that might be the best case I think the same thing goes for Marcus Harris I I I don't see a scenario where Harris gets let go in in in total form maybe he doesn't make the active roster but I think that he will stick around on the practice squad because the main thing is defensive line is a question mark regardless you can you can try and sugarcoat it however you want but Mario Edwards and Foley fotosi compared to Will Anderson Dan Hunter ziz Al Shyer Derek Stingley Kamari Lasser Jimmy B that's the weak point of your defense like like like I'm just listing off names and if I if I say those names you know who I'm talking about you don't really know who I'm talking about when it comes to fif fotosi doesn't mean he's a bad player but means you don't know what I'm talking about so I feel like that Marcus Harris probably is a dude that you stole away on the practice squad for a little while let's see what you got in Tim settle let's see what you got in khil Davis let's see what you got with this up maybe fidelus pay because of he's a dude that can play in that Deno atrey role if autrey comes back and he doesn't have that same type of impact the way that he did when he was in Tennessee maybe find a way to release somebody else and get Marcus Harris on the active roster give him a few more reps this was a guy that last year was really really potent for Auburn's defense and I just feel like that when you come from an SEC background and when you come from a background of what is that physical approach that Deo Ryan wants he's not going to pull the trigger on you and say you are not capable of being a part of this team so he's one of those guys that I just have this gut feeling internally that they're going to do everything in their power to hold on to him in some capacity because that they see a vision to wear maybe not in 2024 but 2025 he could be a factor for this defense and is do who has the least chance of making the team out of the rookies it's it's well larius Henderson would have been my pick but he was injured wav because if he had he was dealing with the shoulder injury uh I don't think maybe he'll come back on the on the practice squad at The Season's then maybe they'll resign him they'll give him a shot if I'm going just simply based off of players I would probably go with Solomon Bur he's a 25y old defensive end he was a fiveyear six-year player in college I think he spent four years at Wyoming then two it was at uh two it was at USC he's a guy that came on strong late last year but he wasn't really a potent pass rusher for the Trojans he's kind of pushed down the depth chart right now when you look at guys like Jerry Hughes and Derek bnet and then denil Hunter and Malik Fischer's gotten reps over him and Ali gay and him are seeing the same amount of reps and then you also have now pay getting factored in it it just feels like when you look at all these other guys if Dylan Horton was healthy I would 100% say that the guy that's thead man out is Solomon bird okay but it just feels like there there's not a home for it like there may be a home for Marcus Harris there may be a home for jir Jordan I I just don't see a scenario where you have five pass rushers and then you're going to keep a six when maybe you need that other position for linebacker maybe you need that other position for tight end maybe you need that other position for your fullback like those are those small roster moves where you say what's more important to us having a guy that maybe factors in on special teams because he can add value also inside the red zone or do we keep a six pass rusher because of we just want to be able to rotate guys in and out all right uh by the way are there any injuries on the team that could at this point that could open up some spots besides Horton uh Christian Harris is a really big question mark right now only because of he's been dealing with a calf injury if I'm not mistaken uh he came back to practice on S on Sunday he was there for about half of it he left early he was holding his side definitely felt like that he tweaked something again it's not expected to be a season Ender it's not even expected to be a really big factor when it goes into the regular season everything that I've heard everything that has been reported is that he should be good to go by the start of the season but maybe he's not and maybe they're just waiting to put him on the IR even if it is for four weeks just to get him back to full health but if they put him on the IR now he's done for the year so they're gonna probably wait a little bit I could see maybe a scenario where that opens up a door for Max Tulie to come on board I think Max Tulie is the undrafted free agent that everyone needs to be talking about he's just he's been really really consistent when he gets on the field he's shown a little bit at that momentum that you look for in a linebacker and the linebacker spot the big thing is you have your three guys up front but the depth behind it is not that great when it comes to consistency like you know what you have at this point in Neville hwit this is a guy that is a special teamer he is here because of he is great on special teams you do not want him playing three snaps per Drive every single defensive play you just don't delhon Phillips he was injured at one point maybe he offers value on special teams maybe he's an easy cut Jake Hansen's an undersized linebacker that continuously carved out a role for himself on special teams does he continue to be that guy has he shown enough to where they feel confident in him do they want to go maybe a little bit younger with Tulie does that make a little bit of sense i' Jacob Phillips you gotta remember this was the third round pick coming out of LSU as part of that defense that won a national championship and the only reason why he has not been a more prominent name during his his NFL career is injuries he he's suffed an injury at the end of his rookie season he missed almost all of his sophomore year because if he had torn peack as soon as preseason started last year he tore his other pack and was out for the entire season so he just hasn't been able to get on the field but he has been pretty promising when on the field so it's like do you take a risk on that guy because if you know what the potential is maybe he ends up being one of your better linebackers just because he can stay healthy finally in the defense that works in his favor so those are questions that I think the you have right now um will Anderson's dealing with an angle injury another one that you know everything that we've heard it's not that big of a deal it's more so a precautionary thing and I understand that you know when you have a player that just is coming off of winning Defensive Rookie of the Year everyone is talking about him making that jump into all pro status everyone believes that he can be as good as miles Garrett as good as khil Mack as good as Joey I mean Nick Bosa and be as good as this upcoming year because if you have to double team a guy like Neil Hunter which is going to open up avenues for you on the other side the last thing you want to do is put yourself behind the sticks by losing him for three or four games at the start of the Year rather than have him play in the free in the pre in the preseason like Deo Ryan is one of those coaches that likes seeing players play in the pre-season because he wants to get them up to speed when it comes to what is the contact what is the feel like on game days how them be able to run through plays in front of a live live crowd instead of in practice but they're not necessarily needed you don't need the preseason to figure out what CJ Shrout is going to be you don't need the preseason to figure out what will Anderson or denil Hunter are going to be it's helpful but it's not necessary per se all right let's uh end the interview with the big question from uh that we kind of tossed aside at the beginning and that is prediction so uh a lot of people predicting big things for Houston this season after what they saw last year matter of fact when I uh I I kind of got a kick but I understood when the top when the players came out with their top 100 list that CJ strad was already at 20 I was like okay that that was fast um but then again they had Lamar Jackson had a Patrick Mahomes so nothing surpris me uh but anyway there's a lot of excitement about what happened last year a lot of people thinking about bigger things what do you think and again I think as we said I think this is a tougher division than people think it's not going to be as easy everybody's going to be gunning for Houston now I don't know how their schedule is so you can toss that in as part of your prediction so what do you think let's start off with the fact that Houston had one of the best off seasons in all the NFL they they they they simply just did like whether you want to say that Stefon digs is a diva that's going to have an attitude issue by week 13 he still is a receiver that's put up over 1100 yards his last four years and he's going on six consecutive 10,000 yard seasons and looking for a seven denil Hunter was one of the most underappreciated pass rushers in the NFL when he played for the Minnesota Vikings and now he gets to play in front of his hometown crowd that's a huge win for him it was a big selling point for him to come on in Aziz Al Shyer here's the best part you may think that he is an undervalued linebacker the dude was a stud last year outside of a demo Ryan Le defense and he was a stud in a demo Ryan Le defense yeah so he's just proving to himself that he can be one of the best linebackers in the NFL by The Season's end I like their secondary I love the pick up of Kamari l just because of that mentality versus the fixture of what is De Ryan's defense they work so well they can coexist I think the offensive line what you did was you brought in a great option for your long-term right tackle L me tell someone he's on the field prob bow caliber player that's just it Joe Mixon a lot of we have not talked about Joe Mixon that much in the show which is which is kind of interesting but Joe Mixon is honestly I get the the the conversations about his best your are behind him and that they wore him down when he was in Cincinnati from a scheme standpoint this was arguably probably the second best running back the Texans could have gotten this off season and I'm gonna piss off a lot of Texans fans when I say this one it's a better fit than saquon Barkley it's a better scheme fit than saquon Barkley that does not mean that him and saquan Barkley are on the same skill level but sometimes having the right scheme fit does better numbers for your production I thought Tony Pard was a better scheme fit for the Texans offense than it was for uh than than saquon Barkley doesn't mean I would take Tony Pard over saquon Barkley but for scheme fit in the way that I want this offense to be utilized a proper way Tony Pard was a better fit for the money you were going to spend so I feel like that if you get a healthy Joe Mixon your run game is not going to be top 10 it's not even going to be close to top 10 but you could push top half you could say that this offensive line if it holds its block if they play consistently Damen Pierce maybe cam Acres it's going to be a unit that probably is top 16 and if you get to top 16 with the way of the passing attack was last year with this five-headed monster that demo I mean that that CJ Strat is talking about it's a good start it is and honestly Greg it's not a five-headed monster it it has the potential to be a dozen headed monster when you break it all down because dton Schultz is really damn good in this offense you look at three guys up front with Stefon Nico and tank John Mei you've heard CJ stra talk about him he loves what he brings to the table Kate Stover that's a dude that he has a relationship with from college that's eight names right there let's continue you still have brevan Jordan who de o r believes is gonna have a breakout year this year you have Noah Brown who I don't think is gonna go away and for like three games out of the year he looks like a top 10 Target you have Damen Pierce out of the backfield you have potentially cam Acres at the backfield so so we're talking about a 1413 headed monster that could easily be one of the best in the NFL when it comes to passing throw in a solid not great but solid rushing attack you're talking about a team that has the the ability to win the AFC you do you 100% do sure but the blessing that many people don't want to come to the reality with and I'm not comparing you to Jacksonville Texans fans I'm not comparing you to Jacksonville Texans fans let's all say it together let's all Cole is not comparing you to Jacksonville Texans fans but Jacksonville had a fourth place schedule when they won the division and they went nine and8 the next year when they had to play a first place schedule the Texans had a fourth place schedule when they went 10 and seven and won the division for the first time since 2019 and they play a first place schedule the other part that's really important here that many of fine folk don't want to admit they played against the NFC South last year as their counter NFC rival that division finished as a unit 11 games under 500 yeah 11 games under 500 between those four teams one team went to the playoffs and they were nine and eight they won the division because they were nine and eight you now play the NFC North and I get it now with the JJ McCarthy situation going on and what's going on yeah Green Bay is not going away Chicago got Chicago got better they they they got better no matter how you want to phrase it they got better Detroit is a top three team in the NFL y you have all three of those games that that are going there your division got better your division just case in point it better on top of that you play games against the AFC East where you are gonna have some struggles potentially guarding Tyreek Hill Jaylen Wadd in this passing attack with Tua you also have games against the New York Jets whether or not I think that Aaron Rogers is going to be a guy that gets you to the playoffs it's going to be a Thursday night game it's going to be in MetLife it's going to be a fr Condition it's going to be Halloween spooky stuff happens on that day you could drop that one New England it it feels so fitting for a team like the Texans no just just Greg It Feels So fitting for a team like the Texans to start off the year undefeated and absolutely dismantle everybody they play they kick the crap out of Jacksonville they kick the crap out of New England I mean out of out of Buffalo they beat the breaks out of Chicago they look like the best team in the NFL and then they Dro one game against New England by a field goal because of it's a bad performance it's a bad snap it's a risky day like Drake May balls out looks like Tom Brady 2.0 it just it's such a Texon thing to do to where I don't think it happens but I'm not gonna rule it out so I'm just gonna go ahead and predict the schedule let's go throw it all together real fast oh no I think that Indianapolis is a win I think Chicago is a win I think Minnesota is a win I think Jacksonville is a win I think Buffalo is a win I think all right wait wait wait so you think they're GNA start five and0 I think they start six and0 six I think they start I think mines there of course so I think that the closest game that they will play is probably against Chicago in week two I think that that that Caleb Williams in this offense is going to be already huming by the time that they get their week two I I do and I think of the Sunday night game it's in Houston it's their home opener there may be a few slip UPS along the way that's one game that I'm just circling yep potentially a really big trap moment so I got them at six and0 to start the year they lose in Green Bay talk about playing at Lambo it's a noon kick I think they lose that game I think they lose to Indianapolis on October 27th I think that that's one of those games where you split it you feel really good on the road you come home that's one to where I feel like you drop I think that you beat the Jets but I think you lose back toback against Detroit and Dallas I think that you win against Tennessee I think you lose against Jacksonville then you have your byee so you get to hit the reset button I think that you win against Miami that's a that's a three that's a really tough three- game stretch there I think that you pull off the upset of the year and you go into Kansas City and you beat the Chiefs I think you win that game I think you lose your last two games to uh uh to Baltimore and to Tennessee and I think you finished 10 s oh same record okay I think you finished 10 s it sounds to me though that that's important to get off to a really good start because they're probably not going to start six and 0 but if they don't off to at least a four or five win start in those first six games it's going to be tough because that rest of the schedule that's when things start getting hairy every single game after you play the Jets feels like it could be a tossup it just does you feel like that you're right on the same page as um as Detroit well maybe you are maybe you're not you feel like that you're better than Dallas but the game the the fact that you do play Tennessee twice that's that that's hopefully the Saving Grace that they're not as good because we I don't know that's the one mystery team to me in the division I have no idea what Tennessee is going to do this year that they could be better than we think they could struggle because they got a a lot of young players young coaching staff and all that kind of stuff sure but also at the same time what if Will Lis is who he is yeah so yeah I mean again lot better than people think it's little things like that that could be a major difference in you securing a victory or not that's just the case it is so I think that tenants and again not every record is the same Greg you know this as well as I do there will be teams that will go 12 and five that don't look like they're 12 and five rosters there will be teams that go eight and uh that will go eight- nine that got the brunt out of the I mean if you look at Pittsburgh schedule like Pittsburgh from Thanksgiving on they better be undefeated if they want to make it to the playoffs and if Mike Tomlin wants to continue his winning streak like like they have to because of there's just no way that you come out on top with who they play but you still would say that probably Pittsburgh is a better team than some of the nine and8 rosters just the way that the sword fell was instead decapitating them instead of helping them decapitate somebody else that's just the case so 10 and seven does not make you the fifth or sixth best team in the AFC if that's what your record says that you are what it means is you had a first place schedule you played really close in some matchups maybe you won a game that you probably shouldn't have maybe you lost a game that you shouldn't have but you still feel good enough to be able to go on a run into the postseason I think they're probably the three seed in this year's playoff I think a three seed probably guarantees you at least a spot in the divisional round I think they have a shot to go the AFC Championship I just can't buy at this moment when you look at Kansas City and what they added in this offseason at wide receiver when you look at potentially I think a team that you got to keep a really close eye on is Cincinnati I I know a lot of people are kind of downplay their success because of the whole T Higgin situation and then Joe Burrow's now looking like CM Punk like I mean you can go ahead and make all those excuses but yeah he still was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and it's still one of the best passing games in the NFL and they got better on the offensive line so do you feel like that maybe they're gonna hang around I think that also there's going to be one surprise team I don't know who it is just yet just like the Texans I think that you also gota look at I don't think that the Jets are really going to be a a Super Bowl team but their defense is still their defense I I mean that's just the bottom line the defense is still the defense Buffalo still has Josh Allen like again Buffalo still has Josh Allen whether they lose Stefon digs or not and maybe that's a blessing for both parties maybe Stefan ends up going for 1400 gets an all pro Year signs a lucrative contract either with the Texans or elsewhere off season and Josh Allen balls out wins the MVP and both walk away happy like maybe that's the case yeah I just can't put them in the same category as Kansas City right now I maybe can put them in the same Cate I can put them in the same category is Baltimore I think Baltimore takes a major step back this year but I don't think I can put them in the same category as Kansas City yeah Kanas City to tell you the truth I don't know I just uh it's it's so hard it's so hard to keep it going to keep the momentum going injuries catch up to you at some point catches up to everybody uh and look what happened to him last year I mean we have to remember that they they they were not nobody nobody thought they were going to do anything in the postseason they were struggling at the even though the receivers got better and all that Rice got better and all that they were they weren't they they were vulnerable and they went on a run and they showed you that hey you just get us into postseason with Patrick Mahomes don't count him out but uh yeah that's just uh that's a that that even just shows you that the NFL is that's what's so great about it that's why I love the whole fourth fourth play schedule first play schedule it evens things up almost every year or at least it attempts to and a lot of times it does so you know what's always funny me Greg is when people are like oh who's going to go worse to First and they're like it has to happen every year yeah because of somebody plays a fourth place schedule and they're better than advertised yeah like Tennessee feels like that team that I'm not gonna say will because of I just have so many questions but it's not gonna be the most surprising thing with the four play schedule if they come out on top well Cincinnati is probably the perfect perfect team everybody CCNA yeah no you're right and they were in fourth place last year so since like again but ALS Alo like does that make Cincinnati if they go 13 and four better than the Texans maybe maybe not that's that's kind of the beauty when you play a fourth play schedule like that yeah yeah and that's what we'd like to see anyway Joe burrow and CJ strout in the postseason we just want to keep all these quarterbacks healthy that's what we want yeah all right Cole uh what are you up to now what's uh what's next uh what are you putting out there on social on on your videos what's uh what's the latest you doing both NFL and college right yep so if you want to go ahead and follow me SEC unfiltered and Mr Cole Thompson on YouTube I talk SEC on one channel I talk college football Nally on another Channel if you want to follow me covering the Texans it's the Texans wire usatoday.com uh we're breaking down everything right now that comes to preseason we'll have live updates tomorrow from the game against the New York Giants we'll have updates going into the final week of training camp we'll have updates going into the regular season we'll be breaking down news that comes out about injuries about potential roster Cuts everything that you need to know about this roster going into 2024 find out your number one source at Texans wire.com thanks Cole anytime Greg