A "Can Only Keep 3" Graphic that Offended Us as Texans Fans

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast

Episode: A "Can Only Keep 3" Graphic that Offended Us as Texans Fans
Date: July 1, 2026
Podcast Host: Audacy
Hosts: Seth Payne & Sean Pendergast

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a viral "Can Only Keep 3" social media graphic featuring NFL running backs, which the hosts found offensive as Houston Texans fans due to the absence of Arian Foster. Seth and Sean break down how Foster’s peak compares favorably to several big names included in the graphic. The discussion uses statistical context, fan sentiment, and playful banter to defend Foster’s legacy—and, by extension, Houston’s sports pride. The show also touches on the latest NFL Top 100 list, Texans roster implications, and commentary on the Jacksonville Jaguars' off-season moves.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Infamous "Can Only Keep 3" Running Backs Graphic (03:08 – 08:39)

• Graphic Details:

  • Shared by FanDuel, the image featured nine “at their peak” running backs from the 2000s/2010s: Adrian Peterson, Saquon Barkley, Marshawn Lynch, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, LeSean “Shady” McCoy, Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, and Ezekiel Elliott.
  • Fans are supposed to pick the best three. But Arian Foster is nowhere to be found.

• Hosts’ Offense Taken:

  • Sean is immediately perturbed:
    • “I was a little offended as a Texan fan by one that got sent to me by FanDuel… and it had nine running backs on it... and I was like, where’s Arian Foster in this list?” [04:18]
  • Seth agrees, arguing that Foster’s best years are definitely on par with, if not superior to, several included:
    • “None of [Todd Gurley’s] good years were as good as Arian Foster’s good years.” [04:37]

• Statistical Comparison:

  • The hosts break down Foster’s peak production:
    • Led the NFL in touchdowns twice (2010, 2012)
    • Compared peak year stats side-by-side with McCoy:
      • McCoy: 1,607 rushing yards, 2,146 scrimmage yards, 100 yds/game
      • Foster: 1,616 rushing yards, 2,220 scrimmage yards, 101 yds/game
    • Seth: “Eerily similar. And I think that…they had similar peak production.” [06:03]
  • Sean: “Peak Arian Foster is certainly better than peak Ezekiel Elliott. And I think peak Arian Foster is better than peak Todd Gurley. That’s three right there.” [06:30]
  • Additionally, Foster was elite as a receiver and pass protector, never having to come off the field except for injury.

• Disagreement with the Graphic:

  • Sean: “I was greatly offended by this graphic on behalf of Arian Foster and Texan fans everywhere.” [07:51]
  • On whom they’d remove, Sean is clear: remove Elliott over McCoy, but Seth feels McCoy’s peak merits inclusion.
    • “I would feel like, for one, he’s…better than Todd Gurley… at his peak, he was better than Todd Gurley’s peak.” [08:16]

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2. NFL Top 100 List Talk (09:39 – 13:40)

• Current Progress:

  • Countdown is underway. Sean notes players 88 (Jack Campbell, Lions LB) and 87 (Ted McMillan, Panthers WR) just released.
  • Sean: “When I see Ted McMillan at 87, I’m like, okay, well, Nico’s definitely making it... And Nico’s 32 last year in the Top 100, so I don’t think there’s any danger of him falling out.” [10:14]
  • Debate over who else from Texans might make the list (Nico Collins, C.J. Stroud).

• Underrated/Overlooked Players:

  • Discussion of Tuli Tuipulotu (Chargers EDGE, ranked 86): Seth calls him “underrated and under discussed.” [11:14]
  • Travis Etienne (RB, Jaguars) at 96: Seth irritated by lack of discussion on Jaguars’ off-season:
    • “On behalf of the AFC South, I get a little offended that there hasn’t really been that much discussion about the fact that the Jaguars just really did very little to try to improve their team in free agency this off-season.” [11:35]
    • Jaguars lost defensive star Devin Lloyd and let Etienne walk, then reached in the draft on most picks.

• Front Office Critique:

  • Seth calls out the Jaguars for draft reaches:
    • “When you routinely go way above whatever the consensus is, you’re either a brilliant or you’re a freaking idiot.” [12:47]
    • On the viral war room video: “Let’s shock the world. Take the best player on the board.” [13:36]
  • Sean compares those moves to notorious Bill O’Brien tendencies:
    • “That’s a Bill O’Brien move, man. You’re setting up a parlay that has a really, really long shot of even having half of it happen.” [13:00]

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3. Quick Banter and Transition

• The duo’s casual aside about "House of the Dragon" demonstrates their laid-back rapport, but skips quickly to the sports meat of their show after a few humorous minutes.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sean (on Arian Foster’s absence):
  “Arian Foster surely is on a list where they’re being asked to decide...whether peak Arian Foster or peak Todd Gurley.” [04:24]
• Seth (on Gurley):
  “None of his good years were as good as Arian Foster’s good years.” [04:37]
• Sean (on the value of peak over longevity):
  “Arian’s body of work suffers from the injuries... but at their peak, I think he deserves to be on a graphic like this as one of the nine.” [05:15]
• Seth (on Jags’ front office):
  “When you routinely go way above whatever the consensus is, you’re either a brilliant or you’re a freaking idiot.” [12:47]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:08 – Rant begins over "Can Only Keep 3" RBs graphic; breakdown of snub and who’s on the list
• 04:18 – Arian Foster missing; comparison to Gurley and McCoy
• 06:03 – Deep statistical comparison of Foster and McCoy
• 07:50 – Foster’s all-around ability, rushing/receiving/pass blocking
• 08:11 – Hosts debate who should be bumped from the graphic
• 09:39 – Transition to NFL Top 100 talk
• 11:14 – Breakdown of Tuli Tuipulotu’s ranking; underrated players talk
• 11:34 – AFC South/Jaguars off-season criticism and strategy
• 12:47 – “You’re either a brilliant or you’re a freaking idiot” draft takes
• 13:36 – Jaguars’ “shock the world” war room clip

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Tone & Style

Sean and Seth keep the conversation lively, passionate, and laced with good-natured sarcasm. Both display a sharp memory for stats and context, underscoring their football knowledge without losing the sense of fun and Houston pride that drives their broadcast.

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Summary

In this episode, Payne & Pendergast passionately defend Arian Foster's legacy while skewering a viral NFL social graphic that left him off a “peak running backs” list. Using stats, anecdotal evidence, and some Texas-sized pride, they make the case for Foster’s inclusion and debate which NFL stars don’t belong on the list instead. Their discussion transitions to evaluations of recent NFL Top 100 releases, the Texans’ and Jaguars’ roster decisions, and broader commentary on front office strategies in the league. With sharp insight, plenty of laughs, and just a little local bias, the hosts entertain and inform — making this a must-listen for any Houston fan or NFL aficionado.

Transcript

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[Matt Thomas]

So. And my wife started watching. She started over from the beginning yesterday because she'd heard the exact same things you were saying, which is. It got really good. I. It was one of those series for me that like six or seven episodes in, I'm like, I don't know, man. There's just too much genealogy and incest and government talk for me.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

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Yep.

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Where it's just never. It's never going to be the same. But it's once you. Once you learn. I hate saying this. I hate recommending a show by saying as long as you put in some homework on the side. But there is a little bit of that. Like, you gotta like, okay, yeah, I gotta really figure out who. But some of it, too, is like, they've got. It's like on the printed page, having two identical brothers, one of which is named Aaron, and the other one is named Aaron. Like, okay. On the printed page, it's easier to keep track of Aaron with an A.

[Matt Thomas]

Right.

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Or Aaron with an E. Right. But they've got these characters in the first couple seasons where, like, okay, they're identical twins and they're both named Aaron.

[Matt Thomas]

Yep.

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And how the hell am I supposed to know which one is which?

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

It's very difficult.

[Matt Thomas]

She started watching it because I get. She was in the other room, and I could hear the booming theme of Game of Thrones playing in the other room. So she's starting over. Amy is from the beginning again.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

You know what they do to. Midway through season two? They do a cast switch.

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Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Of like, all of the young characters to the old characters. You had to do homework to keep everything. Dude, I gotta learn. I gotta. I gotta learn. Which is which Amongst brutal.

[Matt Thomas]

It was brutal. All right. So I mentioned in the. I mentioned heading into the break that I get fed a lot of. I get fed a lot of those things, Seth. Where you get nine faces on them and said, you've got to eliminate six.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas]

You know, so they get people to reply as to who the three they're keeping are or whatever. I was a little offended as a Texan fan by one that got sent to me by fanduel fanduel Sportsbook, and it had nine running backs on it. And it says at their peak. And they're all running backs from the 2000s. You know, I would say they're all running. I'm looking at the. I'm looking at the nine faces here. I would say the oldest one in terms of when they were drafted is probably Adrian Peterson. He was drafted in 2006. The rest of them are all drafted in the 2000 and tens or teens. But it said at their peak, pick the three best out of these nine. And the running backs were Adrian Peterson, Squan Barkley, Marshawn Lynch, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Shady McCoy at 6, and then Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Wait a second. You got to Todd Gurley and I. And I was thinking, where's Arian Foster in this list?

[Matt Thomas]

Thank you.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Once I like, okay. Arian Foster surely is on a list where they're being asked to decide to whether peak. Peak Arian Foster or peak. Todd Gurley.

[Matt Thomas]

Gurley had some good years. Like These guys, he had some good years.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

And none of his good years were as good as Arian Foster's good years.

[Matt Thomas]

Aaron Foster led the league in touchdowns twice in 2010 and 2012. And it's because it says at their peak, that's the big thing for me.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Right, Right. Their peak years, like area Foster's peak year, was way better than Todd Gurley's peak year.

[Matt Thomas]

I contend this has been my contention for a long time, and I contend this about this particular graphic and the nine names I just rattled off. And I tweeted this, I tweeted as much and obviously got a lot of agreement from Texan fans and a lot of look at this clown from fans of any of these other teams. Yes.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

The worst thing. That's the worst emoji anybody can use on the Internet.

[Matt Thomas]

A hundred percent. Yes. But my feeling was, I'm like, if we're just talking peak. Cause Arian's body of work suffers from the injuries. It's, you know, he only had four really good seasons, but at their peak, I think he deserves to be on a graphic like this as one of the nine. And I would submit that at his peak, his peak was better than at least three or four of these guys.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

I was. I was curious about LeSean McCoy.

[Matt Thomas]

Me too.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

That was the first guy I went to. And honestly, Leon McCoy's peak year.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Was pretty equivalent to Arian Foster's peak year.

[Matt Thomas]

Okay.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Like, which. Which means that Arian Foster should be on here. Like Lashawn McCoy's peak year, he had 1607 yards rushing. He had total yards from scrimmage, 2146 yards average at 100 yards per carry.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Arian Foster in his peak year was 1600 yard. 160016 yards rushing. Just about the same. 2,220 yards from scrimmage, 101 yards per game. Like, eerily similar. And I think that. And they both, like, if you look at success rate, everything else like that, they were. They were pretty equivalent. And they're. And it was like that for their best two or three seasons. When I looked at it, those guys, they had similar peak production.

[Matt Thomas]

I would say, girl, to me, if I had to make an argument here that Arian Foster is better than is in the upper half of this graphic or close to it. I think peak Arian Foster is better than Peak Lashawn McCoy. I think Peak Area Foster is certainly better than peak Ezekiel Elliott. And I think peak Arian Foster is better than peak Todd Gurley. That's three right there. So Then we can sit here like, peak Adrian Peterson might be the best running back in the history of the sport. I'm not going to sit here and like, Adrian Peterson was incredible. Part of his ethos was the fact that he came back from a torn ACL and back at a time where the ACL wasn't nearly the formality to come back from that. It is now and was just amazing after that. The other thing I would say about Arian Foster is that we can hit you over the head with all the rushing numbers and the rushing touchdowns and yards per carry and all those things. And I think he stacks up peak area and Foster in all those areas. I blindly. I would say Aaron Foster is. There's that on this graphic. He's among the top three receiving running backs, and I think he's among the top three pass block, like pass pro, you know, like cerebral, picking up blitzes. Arian Foster never had to come off the field for any reason, ever.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas]

You know, and, you know, except when he got injured, then he had to come off the field because he was hurt. So I was. I was greatly offended by this graphic on behalf of Arian Foster and Texan fans everywhere. Bingo. End of the.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah. So I don't know if they made it on the. Who were you going to boot off then?

[Matt Thomas]

I would boot off. I would. I would replace either Lashawn McCoy if I had to replace one.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

If I wouldn't replace McCoy, because I would feel like, for one, he's, like, he's better than Todd Gurley. Like, at his peak, he was better than Todd Gurley's peak.

[Matt Thomas]

If I had to replace one. Yeah, I was just reiterating what I said. I think arian's better than McCoy, Gurley and Ezekiel. If I had to replace one guy, it'd be Ezekiel Elliot, I think Peak Arian Foster, I feel comfortable in saying, is better than peak Ezekiel Elliot.

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When. When's the next top 100 release? Oh, they do that every day, or.

[Matt Thomas]

No, they do it every day. They do it. They do it. They do two every day. They just released yesterday was Jack Campbell, the linebacker for the Lions, came in at number 88, and Ted McMillan, the wide receiver for the Panthers, comes in at number 87. The thing I like about this area of the top 100 where we're just kind of easing into the bottom portion of it.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas]

Is you start to look at it and go, oh, okay. Well, I definitely.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Maybe the Texas might have tried to trade up for Ted McMillan or something.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah, maybe. Well, here's what I was thinking is like, when I see Ted McMillan at 87, I'm like, okay, well, Nico's definitely making it. Like he's. Than Ted McMillan, you know, like, I don't think. And Nico's 32 last year in the top 100, so I don't think there's any danger of him falling out. But you never know what the player votes. Like when Bryce Young made it, ironically, another Carolina Panther at 98, I'm like, all right, well, I think CJ is going to make it this year. That was a more debatable 1. Is CJ going to make it? But when Bryce Young made it at 98, I'm like, oh, yeah, CJ's gonna make it.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah. And Ted wasn't. I don't know why I said, Tap McMillan trading up that. Not. Not in that draft. Obviously, we were thinking about offensive linemen at that point. Yep, yep. So the. How many, how many quarterbacks then so far?

[Matt Thomas]

Bryce Young. Bryce Young might be the only quarterback so far. Yeah, I don't have the full list in front of me. The one they announced Today at number 86, they announce them every weekday at 9:00 clock and 10:00 clock. They unveil two new players. And so today's 86 and 85. 86 is Tuli Tui Upalutu from the Chargers.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah, he's. He's underrated and under discussed, I think.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Like, he's one of the. He's. He's really, really good. Here's one of the guys I was nervous about in that Texans Chargers game.

[Matt Thomas]

Yep.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

The Texans did a Good job with him.

[Matt Thomas]

They did. They did. So he's 86. Whoever's 85 will get announced in about 25 minutes.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Travis HN's number 96.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

And that's one. That's another one of the ones where I get. On behalf of the AFC South, I get a little offended that there hasn't really been that much discussion about the fact that the Jaguars just really did very little to try to improve their team in free agency this offseason with the stated strategy of, hey, we're going to let guys like Travis Hn just leave because we're going to get compensatory picks sometime in the future. But also that even though the Jaguars made an impressive surge offensively in the second half of last season, they were not. They had a hard time running the ball. Yep. And that. That. I, man, just. It's not so simple that. Oh, okay, you guys don't need to run the football. You've got Trevor Lawrence back there slinging it. I don't know if that's a. I don't know if that's the right way to approach a season. And yet the. The gm, who's just damn near. He's damn convinced that he's smarter than everybody else, feels like that is the right way to proceed.

[Matt Thomas]

They. They let their best player on either side of the football walk in free agency because they let Devin Lloyd walk also. I think you could argue he was their best player defensively last year. They let Travis Echan walk, and they. Every draft pick they had was drafted like 20 or 30 spots higher than the consensus out there.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Right. Which is like, I'm cool with it when teams supposedly reach on a player here, too. But when you. When you routinely go way above whatever the consensus is, you're either a brilliant or you're a freaking idiot.

[Matt Thomas]

That's a Bill o' Brien move, man.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Yeah.

[Matt Thomas]

That's. You're setting up a parlay that has a really, really long shot of even having half of it happen.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Just routinely doing it. GMs do it, like, every GM reaches there, and it's. It's fine if, you know, it's. You win some, you lose some, but when you're doing it all the time, it's because you think you're smarter than everybody.

[Matt Thomas]

And it was that video that they showed from inside the war room where he. They were getting ready to pick the. The tight end out of A and M, whose name, Bork Chicker, or whatever name is. The. The. Whatever his name is.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

The.

[Matt Thomas]

The tight end from A and M that they picked three picks before the Texans took Marlon Klein, where he's like, let's shock the world. Let's shock the world.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

Shock the world. Take the best player on the board.

[Matt Thomas]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

All right.

[Matt Thomas]

Pain and Pendergast with you on a, on a Wednesday.

[Matt Thomas' Co-host]

All right, Wednesday.

[Matt Thomas]

It's Wednesday. Yep, I got it. Coming up next, the Rockets make a signing today. How are we feeling about that, this EMI article that Chandler Rome has here? All right. EMI is going to start tonight. You know how I feel about current emi. Does this article make us feel even better about where Imai is in his progression as a major league pitcher? And how does that, how does that affect our view of Dana Brown if EMI ends up working out the way he's worked out over most of his recent starts? We'll have that coming up next.