HOUR 2 - Should Texans Bring Back Diggs? + Which Team are We Most Optimistic About? + Most Impactful Texans Storyline

Summary

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Payne & Pendergast – Hour 2

Date: July 14, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne & Chris Partee (in for Sean Pendergast)
Theme: Should the Texans Bring Back Stefon Diggs? | Houston Sports Team Optimism | Most Impactful Texans Storyline Heading Into Training Camp

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Episode Overview

In this hour, Seth Payne and guest co-host Chris Partee deliver lively and frank commentary on the hottest topics in Houston sports. The primary focus is on whether the Texans should bring back free agent Stefon Diggs, which Houston franchise inspires the most confidence heading into their respective campaigns, and the most critical question marks facing the Texans as training camp approaches. The episode balances fan sentiment, takes from NFL insiders, and candid discussion of player development, off-field issues, roster depth, and front office philosophy.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Should the Texans Bring Back Stefon Diggs?

Segment Start: [01:15]

• Stefon Diggs' Free Agency & Recent Comments:

  • Hosts discuss Diggs’ positioning of himself as an elite “number two” receiver on any roster, his confidence, and what it means for the Texans. Diggs claims, “Take those as your ones. You want to take the number one spot away? Name your number two receiver right now. And tell me how much he makes. And then my last question is, is he better than me?” ([01:53], Diggs Audio)
  • Seth’s Take: “He’s not going to come out and say he’s the best receiver in the league… but you could have the best number two guy, the best one-two punch in the league.” ([02:29])
  • Chris: Acknowledges Diggs' “big talk” but sees how it frames him as an asset.

• Why is Diggs Still a Free Agent?

  • Seth: “There’s always some kind of controversy, either on field or off field…always something going on. But based on how he operated when he was in Houston, I have a hard time telling a team that you shouldn’t bring him in.” ([03:47])
  • Notes that while Diggs was a model teammate in Houston, off-field drama lingers.
  • Team must balance development of young receivers (Jaden Higgins, Jalen Noel, Tank Dell’s uncertain return) versus adding a veteran, especially given cap space limitations.

• Spending Philosophy:

  • Seth and Chris agree: “You can’t spend money on everybody.” ([05:47])
  • Describes tension between pursuing available stars and letting young talent develop on rookie contracts.

2. The Texans & "Sketchy Background" Players

Segment Start: [07:03]

• Texans’ Evolving Stance on Risky Signings:

  • The team has become more willing to consider players with troubled histories, but maintains high standards. “There’s definitely more of an appetite now for the Texans…and signing people that might have a sketchy past than there was in the past. But…they still have pretty high standards for exactly how much chicanery they’ll allow.” ([07:38])
  • Discusses recent workouts (e.g., Terryon Arnold) and differentiates between levels of off-field issues.
  • Stronger line for violence toward women versus other off-field incidents.

• On ‘Busts’ in the Draft:

  • Seth: “I have a hard time even calling anybody a bust if they’re not top half of the first round... what’s the difference between the back half of the first round and the first pick in the second?” ([11:38])
  • Praises Texans’ meritocratic approach: “They’ve done a good job…of just saying, ‘hey, look, it’s an open competition, we don’t care where you were drafted.’” ([16:09])

3. Unfilled Free Agent Needs: Who Would You Target?

Segment Start: [18:21]

• High-Profile Names Still Available:

  • Receivers: Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen
  • Defenders: Joey Bosa (Edge), Bobby Wagner (LB), Taylor Decker (OL), Mekhi Becton (OL)
  • Seth: “Deebo Samuel is an interesting one…the versatility is really cool... you could do some fun and funky stuff. But it’d be for a cheaper price than Stefon Diggs... still, it creates a really crowded wide receiver room.” ([19:12])

• Crowded Receiver Room & Tank Dell’s Status:

  • If Texans are optimistic about Dell, it doesn’t make sense to spend big on another WR.

• Preference for Defensive Depth:

  • Seth leans toward targeting Joey Bosa for pass rush depth, but doubts Bosa would accept a backup role.
  • Mentions Derek Barnett as an underrated potential addition who brings reliable production. ([22:10])

• Value of Offensive Line Depth:

  • Highlights analytical insight: “Your sixth and seventh offensive linemen are almost as important as starters.” ([25:28])
  • Praises Texans’ focus on overall OL depth: “Their starting five might not rank all that high, but their top eight or nine are doing a lot better than a lot of other teams.” ([26:12])

4. Which Houston Team Inspires the Most Confidence?

Segment Start: [31:05]

• Texans, Rockets, Astros: Who’s Most Playoff-Ready?

  • Seth: “I still feel like it’s the Texans…you look at how close they could have been to being in an AFC Championship game last year with C.J. Stroud playing the worst football of his life.” ([32:12])
  • Chris agrees: “Rockets ended last year with not much progress; Astros are just mediocre at 47-51. Texans seem the most stable.” ([32:53])

• Astros’ Bullpen Dependency Worries:

  • Seth: “It’s hard to be a team anchored by your relief pitching.” ([32:53])
  • Not comfortable betting on playoff runs that require a lights-out bullpen with shaky starting rotation.

• Rockets’ Vitality Tied to Health:

  • Emphasize importance of Fred Van Vliet at point guard (“If he can be healthy, it’s night and day... I think it really, really matters having Fred Van Vliet out there.” [35:03])
  • Rockets’ struggles magnified by key injuries and slow development of Reed Sheppard.

5. Most Impactful Texans Storyline Heading Into 2026

Segment Start: [41:19]

• Main Storylines Identified:

  • Wide receiver depth & Tank Dell’s return
  • Offensive line progress
  • Defensive depth
  • New OC Nick Cayley’s connection with C.J. Stroud

• Seth’s Choice: “I think I’m a little bit pessimistic about Tank Dell coming back and being the same force... it's few and far between the examples of guys who come back from this kind of injury at his position.” ([42:47])

  • “If we take Tank Dell out of it… I think they’ll be fine with Jaden Higgins and Jalen Noel. It’s run game and tight ends that’ll really round out the offense.” ([43:50])

• Ultimately, Offensive Line is The Key:

  • “If the offensive line is genuinely solid, not awesome, everything else falls into place.” ([44:24])
  • “CJ Stroud, just by sheer logic…if you give a quarterback a better offensive line, he’s going to look like a better quarterback next year.” ([44:54])

• Defense Depends on Health and Development:

  • Texans were “relatively lucky with injuries last year.” Depth, especially at LB and secondary, is crucial.
  • “If either [Stingley or Lassiter] had been injured for a long stretch, it could have been disastrous.” ([46:59])
  • Praises DB development under coaches Vasso and Adigoke, hopes to emulate Chiefs’ success at replenishing the secondary.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Diggs’ self-promotion:

  • “He’s telling teams, look, I’m not going to come in and act like I’m your number one guy, but you could have the best number two guy, the best one-two punch in the league.” — Seth Payne ([02:29])

• On risk and free agency:

  • “There’s always some kind of controversy, either on field or off field…But based on how he operated when he was in Houston, I have a hard time telling a team that you shouldn’t bring him in.” — Seth ([03:47])

• On developing young players vs. buying veterans:

  • “At a certain point you gotta... you can’t spend on every single guy that might be an asset on your team after you’ve already spent a good chunk.” — Seth Payne ([06:01])

• Defining "bust":

  • “If you’re a top 10 pick and you don’t become an impact player, yeah, you’re a bust... back half of the first round, I start looking at it as, man, it was a bad pick and they screwed up.” — Seth ([11:38])

• On Texans’ front office culture:

  • “Good GMs know that they gotta be open to being wrong... If I see a GM cut a third-rounder after his rookie year, I’m like, good for him. That’s a guy whose ego isn’t all wrapped up in it.” — Seth ([15:08])

• On offensive line depth:

  • “Your sixth and seventh offensive linemen are almost as important. The Texans have done a good job of that this year… they’re better suited than they were last year.” — Seth ([25:28])

• Astros’ playoff hopes:

  • “It’s hard to be a team that’s anchored by your relief pitching... every game can't be a bullpen day.” — Seth ([32:53])

• Texans storyline that matters most:

  • “If the offensive line is set and functioning well… everything else falls into place… CJ Stroud, just by sheer logic…he’s going to look like a better quarterback next year.” — Seth ([44:54])

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Important Timestamps

• [01:15] – Diggs free agency debate begins
• [03:47] – Seth unpacks Diggs’ baggage vs. on-field value
• [07:33] – Texans’ evolving standards on character risks
• [11:38] – Defining and accepting ‘busts’ in the NFL draft
• [18:21] – Free agent wish list: Debo, Bosa, Allen & OL depth
• [25:28] – Analytics on OL depth; Texans' improved approach
• [31:05] – Comparing optimism: Texans vs Astros vs Rockets
• [41:19] – Most impactful storyline for Texans in 2026
• [44:54] – Offensive line as lynchpin to team success
• [46:59] – Defensive depth, health, and secondary development

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Tone and Style

• Lively, unfiltered, and grounded in insider experience
• Honest takes, humor (“as soft as applesauce”), empathy for front office challenges, and fan-level excitement
• Seth regularly injects player and locker room perspective, while Chris maintains relatable, radio-friendly pacing

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For Listeners Who Missed This Episode

This hour was a must-listen for any Houston sports fan weighing hopes for the Texans’ upcoming season. Seth and Chris broke down the nuanced risks of bringing back a personality like Stefon Diggs, the developmental crossroads facing the receiver room, and why spending big is often at odds with nurturing young talent. The conversation also zoomed out to contextualize how the Texans stack up against the Astros (uneven, bullpen-dependent) and Rockets (held back by health and point guard woes).

Throughout, the most consistent message was that success in 2026 will come down to the trenches: the Texans’ depth and durability on the offensive line could make or break C.J. Stroud’s next step, regardless of flashier storylines at receiver or running back. While defensive depth lurks as a looming concern, the coaching staff’s track record at developing DBs inspires hope. If you want a sense of what real NFL insiders are watching as camp approaches, this is the episode for you.

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Transcript

[Richard Deitsch]

Hey, this is Richard Deitsch, the host of the sports media podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the sports media podcast has you covered.

[Seth Payne]

I've been turning down interviews all week. CodeCAPI reached out. Oprah, George Stephanopoulos.

[Chris Partee]

So I said no.

[Seth Payne]

I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility.

[Richard Deitsch]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Seth Payne]

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[Chris Partee]

It's Payne and Pendergast. I'm Chris Partee. He Seth Payne. I'm in for Sean Pendergast this morning. So before the break, I gave you a little tease there. There's an offensive playmaker out there that is still available in free agency who's a former Houston Texan. Stefan Diggs is still on the market looking for a team, and he had some comments recently that if they are true, they would fit the Texans once again to a T. Opportunities aside, people

[Sports Analyst/Caller]

might say it might be like, what, seven? That's like real one, right? My opinion, I could compete with anybody. But take those as your ones. Right? Right. You can't name a number. Too bad there's not a number two on a team. Like, let's presumably give people the credit to just say, okay, you want to take the number one spot away? Name your number two receiver right now. Right? And tell me how much he makes. And then my last question is, is he better than me?

[Oregon Lottery Announcer]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. All right, Seth.

[Chris Partee]

A lot of big talk there from your boy.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I appreciate, Honestly, though, I feel like this is a weird. This is a weird tip of the cap to somebody who recognizes that man. He's still being cocky, but in a way that recognizes the like he's not going to come out and say he's the best receiver in the league or anything. But it's a really good way to position himself which is like look man, there aren't a lot of team. He's saying there's, there's no team out there that's as good as him as a no guy out there who's the number two guy. So he's acknowledging like he's telling teams, look, I'm not going to come in and act like I'm your number one guy but you could have the best number two guy, the best one, two punch in the league. The first guys that jumped to my mind immediately were George Pickens and Devonte Adams.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Like just so George Pickens with the Cowboys and Devonte Adams in the red zone especially was just unstoppable last year. Right. So I like. But I understand where he's going and how, you know, I brought up Devontae Smith. Yeah. I said devontae Smith yesterday thinking about like if you, if you took last year's, you know, if you're using that example and it's just hard to figure with the, with the Eagles just because the like AJ Brown and the way they were using him was so weird and everything was so strange about.

[Chris Partee]

There's a lot going on.

[Seth Payne]

I think he's got a point though that he would be the nuts best number two receiver on a lot of teams in the league. I think that, I think the problem is that I think the follow up question is so easy to answer. If that is true then how come he's not on a team right now? Well, because everywhere you go there's always some kind of controversy either on field or off field. And I would include the Texans with that. He was a dream when it came to. He was a dream when it came to how he operated in the building and as a leader and everything. But there was drama off the field with him while he was here. He was, he was being sued for whatever by a couple of women. He goes up into New England and you've got at least two off field dramas. You had the, well looking out and it seemed like whatever the hell happened with Cardi B that didn't seem like, I don't know how much how disruptive that was or anything. But you also had him, him handing out the pink substance on the boat to the girl in Miami. That was not a good early on that he wasn't in the building as much as people wanted him to be. And then the entire season, like, he's under the veil of this, this pending criminal charge, which he was completely cleared of eventually, but he's the kind of guy, there's just always something going on. But I don't, man, based on how he operated when he was in Houston, I have a hard time telling a team that you shouldn't bring him in. Yeah, I think for. For me, where I am right now is that the Texans have spent pretty heavily in terms of just total cash up front. They had a lot of cap space that's kind of dwindled pretty quickly. Oh, yeah, you're not Diggs to a long term contract. There comes a point where you got to say, look, we like Jaden Higgins and Jalen Noel and Tank Dell might be coming back, that we need to develop these young guys. We think they have a high ceiling. You know, none of us on the outside know exactly how they feel about Tank Dell right now, but it's just, it's. It falls into the category for me of man, you can't spend money on everybody.

[Commercial Announcer]

No.

[Seth Payne]

And that you also just. You need to. It's sink or swim time for some of the younger players on your offense. We need to bring those guys along.

[Chris Partee]

Well, seven one, three here on the text line. Yes, Diggs, please. They sound like they want Diggs back, like, immediately.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I don't know. And that's a problem. It's like, oh, I could say that about so many of the guys that are remaining right now in free agency. I would say, look, Joey Bosa, hell yeah, bring him in. I know, like, as a backup event. You. Yeah, pay him, whatever. There's like different offensive linemen that I'd love to have in here. I mean, at a certain point you gotta like, you can't spend on every single guy that might be an asset on your team after you've already spent a good chunk. And that's like, that's the hard part. Yeah. Me as a fan, I would say, yeah, bring Stefan Diggs in. More the merrier. I get it. And I understand, you know, a couple years ago when everybody wanted Simmons the safety because he was out there on the market and they were wondering, all you did, all you have is this second round draft pick, this Calum Bullock kid. What the hell is he ever going to do? Well, I know he's turned into one of the best young safeties in the league. You know, like, that's like, that's, that's. That's what they. Excuse me. Third round pick. some point, you Gotta. You gotta give your young guys that you want to see develop a chance to develop and get the benefit of them being on the rookie contract.

[Chris Partee]

If you want to join us on the text line, join the show. Hit us on the text line. 713-572-4-610. So. So, you know, so I guess what is it right now with the Texans and. Or what is it about the Texans in general and bringing in, I guess, players that kind of have, you know, sketchy or murky backgrounds? I mean, they've done it a few different times. It's worked. It hasn't worked. I mean, even bringing in Terry on Arnold for a workout, was it last week? That was kind of surprising to some, but to some.

[Seth Payne]

To others, not so much right now. I think that. Well, for one, all they did was work them out.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly.

[Seth Payne]

So that's not the same as signing him. Yeah, I think the. There's definitely more of an appetite now for the Texans and signing people that it might have a sketchy past than there was in the past. But I do think that the important thing is they still have pretty high standards for exactly how much chicanery they'll allow when a guy is actually on the team. There's still. There's still one of the bottom teams when it comes to players who have been arrested. Yeah. And, you know, I brought up. When I brought up Jimmy Ward the other day talking about this, people pointed out that he never ended up getting. He never ended up getting charged with anything officially. Right. But he was arrested. I think they only count the actual arrests.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So whether a guy ends up being exonerated or not, it's still like. Okay, there's the, like, you get a general gauge of, like, how many. How much chicanery is on their team by the number of arrests. And the Texans are still pretty low. I'm all for, like, I don't look everybody. Like, everybody's got things they've done in their past that they're not proud of. Some of them are more extreme than others. You grow, you move on, you change. And I've always been of the opinion that as long as a guy, for one, this is going to sound. This is going to sound really bad. I'm going to say this up front. I understand how bad this is going to sound.

[Chris Partee]

Preface it.

[Jimmy Conrad]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

Terry and Arnold is accused of being part of a pretty violent plot to intimidate a couple of guys that he thought had started stolen property from him into giving the property back. He was wrong, apparently, about those guys. Actually being the guys who had stolen the property. And two, if what the police say is correct, he's innocent until proven guilty. Obviously he was. He orchestrated this scheme where his buddies pistol whipped a couple of guys, a few guys trying to, Trying to get some stuff out of him. That's pretty bad. That's really, really bad. It's not as bad. It's bad. Remember, everybody, I said it's bad. It is really bad. I think, though, it's. It's different than violence towards a woman. Yeah, I think like a domestic violence or something like that is definitely bad. Bad. Nobody forget that. But it's also like, I don't, I don't want to. I don't want to, like, throw that aside is just like, oh, that's just, that's just boys being boys. Like, no, this is. It's deeper than boys being boys.

[Sports Analyst/Caller]

But.

[Seth Payne]

But he's innocent until proven guilty. And I could see some, like, by way of just his character, reports of what he was like as a player coming out of Alabama and the fact that this was part of him and four of his friends who, some of whom sound like they, they must be pretty sketchy dudes to begin with. This is the kind of thing you can look at and say, like, try to figure out, all right, man, what the hell happened? Like, what. How did you go from being a guy that Nick Saban and everybody at Alabama was gushing about for your character to where you got wrapped up in a scenario like this after two years in the NFL? And I, like, I can envision, I can envision there being a story behind it where you say, all right, we just got to get you back on the straight and narrow path. And you know, you're going to be like, you're on a one strike policy and all of that. But I wouldn't be upset if they signed him. The other part that I think people are forgetting is that he was so far, two years into his career, a bit of a disappointment. Like, I was. It wasn't ready to call him a bus yet because he had some highs, but he also had some lows. He wasn't nearly as consistent as you would hope he would be. And then he got injured last year, so, like, wasn't a bust. But also it's not like he comes in and you think immediately he's better than Jalen Smith or some of the other guys you have on the roster. But you do add them to the mix as guys that can be. Can be competing for those backup spots.

[Chris Partee]

Seth, you mentioned the word bust. There saying that Terry on Arnold is not a bus yet. But where's.

[Seth Payne]

Well, I mean. Yeah, I mean, he's a bus. For the Lions. Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, for the Lions.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

I mean, because he's gone.

[Seth Payne]

But I guess in general, 100% conclusively a bust.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly. Where, where is the, the overall first round bust line? Like, is it three years and you've done pretty much nothing or like, how does that.

[Seth Payne]

I always.

[Chris Partee]

Like for you.

[Seth Payne]

I have a hard time. I, and maybe I'm too nice. I have a hard time even calling anybody a bust if they're not top half of the first round because it's a, like it's a now. I mean there's, there's degrees to that. Like, if it were based just on his play and he was a second half of the first round guy, but if he got, you know, you get released after your second season if it was just for his play, all right, that's a bust. Yeah. But like I try to with the draft and one of the reasons I don't get as excited about the draft as some people is I just kind of look at it as a probability cloud. You know, I like, I like, I've. Anybody who's got any honesty with themselves at all knows that you're like, it's, it's a dicey predicting who's going to be good and who's going to be bad. In the NFL, the best GMs in the history of football are, are not all that much better at 50% in figuring out which first rounder is going to be good football players or not. So I kind of like, there's guys I get excited about, but I've always got that healthy skepticism in the back of my mind that like, you know what though? They're like, we'll see. We'll see when we get out there if they're any good. So for me, I got, I tend to be more on. All right, if you're a top 10 pick and you don't become an impact player, yeah, you're a bust. Those were, those are big time assets. Back half of the first round, I start looking at it as more as like, man, it was a, it was a bad pick and they screwed up, but the guy like, what's the difference really between back half of the first round and first pick in the second round? It's not necessarily all that big.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, yeah, no, I get that.

[Seth Payne]

So do you get, do you get. Are you like a guy where you call a third rounder a bust?

[Commercial Announcer]

No.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

He was drafted in the third round. I mean, you know what I mean? Like, if he doesn't pan out, if he pans out, it's a plus for the team.

[Sports Analyst/Caller]

Right?

[Chris Partee]

It's a bonus, I think.

[Seth Payne]

Okay, so if we go to third rounders, that's where. Especially in any, in any of the first three rounds, if it's something where the guy just, it turns out the guy didn't have a good attitude or a good work ethic or something, then I'll label him a bust because I hate him because of that. Like, I get a little bit angry and disgusted with the guy, like, oh, all right. And the Texans used to draft a lot of guys like that in the third round where it was just like, you know, some guys get knocked down to the third round because people might think they're not athletic enough. Like they're really good football players, but not athletic enough. The Texans used to draft these guys in the third round who fell to the third round specifically because nobody was sure if they even liked playing football or if they were just kind of lazy or whatever. And like, that's the worst. That's the worst. Because those guys, they don't get cut for the first three years. In a sense that as a player, when you're on a team and there's some third round pick who's just a bum and he just keeps getting chance after chance because he's a third round pick, you get pissed.

[Chris Partee]

You're like, suck.

[Seth Payne]

Because you also see, like, I used to do this with offensive linemen. There'd be some offensive linemen who are late round draft picks or free agents, rookie free agents. And I'd be practicing against them and I'm like, this kid's got something to him. But meanwhile, like, the coaches and the front office act like he's a bum. Where, meanwhile, the second or the third rounder is starting in football games. And I know for a fact that he's as soft as applesauce, but he's out there starting football games because he's a second rounder. Like, that creates a bad culture on the team that created like, it just feels like you're a player and you're like, these guys don't even know what they're looking for. Or their, their egos are so wrapped up in their own, their own forecast that they can't see the, they can't see the truth of the situation.

[Chris Partee]

But, but that's more about a, I guess a certain type of. A certain level of investment, usually.

[Sports Analyst/Caller]

Right.

[Chris Partee]

As far as the first and second round pick, getting all the, all those opportunities.

[Seth Payne]

Right, right, right. But that's where, but that's where, you know, good GMs know that they got to be open to being wrong. And that's why I always respect the. I like, I like it usually if a team, if I see that a, if I see just without knowing anything else about it, if I see that a GM cuts a third rounder after his rookie year, I like, usually I'm like, you know what? Good, good for him. Like that's a guy whose ego isn't all wrapped up in it because you can take a hit, you know, in admitting you have to admit that you made a big mistake on somebody early on, then people are going to judge you for it. But the right thing is the right thing. And if, if that guy's taking up a roster spot from somebody who's a late round draft pick or an undrafted rookie free agent or maybe just some blue collar one year free agent that you signed, then you're not doing right by the team. You're letting your ego control things. And that's one thing I think the Texans have done a good job with that in recent years of just saying, hey, look, it's an open competition, we don't care where you were drafted. And they haven't. It's not like they've just automatically made guys who are draft pick starters right away. You know, like they did it with Kamari Lasseter, but it was because they were that impressed with him early on, they felt like, okay, yeah, he's doing everything that we were hoping and thought he would do, but they make some other guys wait. Like Caleb Bullock was raw and you know, and he was the third round pick, but he was raw and he had to bide his time and he worked his way into it his rookie year.

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[Seth Payne]

As a fan chosen for the halftime challenge, I love sports for a chance to win the big prize. But when my half court heaves only goes half the distance, how embarrassing for him. I wonder, is sport clips better than sports?

[Richard Deitsch]

Because Sport Clips haircuts is sports on tv. Plus an expert haircut, hot steam towel and massaging shampoo.

[Seth Payne]

Tear up his comically large check. Which is better than sports plus public embarrassment. Sport clips.

[Richard Deitsch]

It's a game changer.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Chris Partee]

Seth, I want to get your thoughts on some, a few other free agent names that are still out there and if you would have any interest in bringing any one of these guys into the Texans. But also on the other side, we're going to go over which Houston team. Are you most confident, Chris? We go all the way to 37.

[Seth Payne]

Oh yeah, sorry. Explained. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we do. This is our mega segment.

[Chris Partee]

All right.

[Seth Payne]

Well, Seth, I thought you were just doing a long and ornate segue.

[Chris Partee]

That's my fault. There something you can give me your thoughts here? I'm going to give you a few names here that are some key names that have been, you know, impact players in the past in the NFL. But right now they're still looking for teams. So we got Debo Samuel, Keenan Allen at receiver, then we also have Joey Bosa on the defensive side as well as Bobby Wagner, Taylor Deck, Taylor Decker, O Line, and Makai Becton.

[Seth Payne]

Debo Samuel is an interesting one and it's funny because I feel like, I feel like there's a lot of people that hear Debo Samuel and they think of that 1400 yard season that he had and, and don't realize how long ago that was.

[Chris Partee]

It has been a while.

[Seth Payne]

It was 2021.

[Chris Partee]

Was it that long ago?

[Seth Payne]

I was thinking 2021.

[Chris Partee]

Wow, that's five years.

[Seth Payne]

He hasn't had a 1,000 yard receiving season since Then. And you would say, yeah, but you remember with Deebo, the thing is that he can be a running back too. Right? The most running rushing yards he ever had was in that 2021 season. That was where he was so incredible. He had 365 yards rushing. He had 1405 yards receiving in 2021. And like, since then, he hasn't had as many rushing attempts. He's never had more than 892 yards receiving, and that was in 2023. And, like, his versatility is really cool. And I think, yeah, he can be a valuable part of it.

[Commercial Announcer]

The.

[Seth Payne]

I like he's a guy in a weird way, I think that Stefan Diggs is 100% a better receiver. Oh, yeah, Samuel is. But there's more about Debo Samuel that intrigues me in terms of bringing him in onto this roster where I want to keep developing my young receivers. But with some of the cool and fun and funky stuff that you could do with Deebo Samuel, if he's open to it, that it might add. It might add a certain level of wrinkle to the offense. That would be intriguing, and it would probably be for a cheaper price than Stefon Diggs, but it still does create a really wide receiver, Like a really crowded wide receiver room. Yeah, I think, like, right now, if they were to sign Devo Samuel or Stefan Diggs, I'd be really excited, intrigued by it. Or Keenan Allen for that matter, because he's another guy that's still out there.

[Sports Analyst/Caller]

Oh, yeah.

[Seth Payne]

It would make me, though. It would make me a little bit sad because I would feel like, okay, they really. They don't have high hopes for Tank Dell. If you think about, you think about, like, depending on how they feel about Tank Dell right now, you might be really intrigued by Stefan Diggs. Still acknowledging that, man, we've got these young guys and Nico, and like, it's just, we want. How do we work all these guys in, not to mention getting our draft pick some looks. But if, if you don't. If. If you don't have Tank Dell, you know, it's still not overly crowded. If they're optimistic about Tank Dell, then bringing in Devo Samuel or Stefon Diggs right now, it's just like, it's wasting salary cap space on something that. On other positions that you might need to fill because of injury or what have you, you know, like backup defensive end. If I had to. If I had to spend money right now to get depth in a position group, I'm way more focused on either the secondary or backup defensive end than I would be in the wide receiver room, especially if they feel good about Tank Dell.

[Chris Partee]

So that sounds like a, like a, like you're leaning towards Joey Bosa there.

[Jimmy Conrad]

I don't.

[Chris Partee]

As a backup defense, you know, outside

[Seth Payne]

rusher Joey Bosa, I'd be really intrigued by. I suspect that Joey Bosa is probably waiting to see which teams end up either being desperate for a defensive end because they don't like the guys they have, or because of injury, where he can be a starter. And, you know, I think the first thing you think of with Joey Bosa is you worry about his injury history, but he's been a lot healthier over the last couple years. I just, I wonder if he's. I'm guessing that he's not interested in signing with a team like the Texans where he's definitively going to be a backup and that he might not get as many reps as he would like that, you know, because he started 15 games last year for the Bills. So I'd, yeah, I'd be intrigued by him, but he'd have to be cool with understanding that he's going to come in and be part of a rotation with the Neil Hunter and Will Anderson, and he's not going to be the main guy. The guy that's out there right now that doesn't show up any on any of the lists that I, that I'd really be happy about is Derek Barnett, you know, like, like Jared Barnett. It's weird. I, I don't. I don't know why he's gotten zero credit from people for, for giving you five sacks a year, not to mention a couple of touchdowns. We'll play in for one of the best defenses in the league. I think that. I think it's partly probably because it's the best defense in the league that people are thinking like, well, yeah, he's a nice piece to have when, you know, when you already have a good defense. And that's what I myself am saying. Like, yeah, he's a really nice piece to have and he's been a part of being a top two defense in the NFL. I think he is also another guy that's probably biding his time and saying, you know, like, I'd like to be a starter somewhere, but I am getting up there in years. It's not like. It's not like Houston is a bad situation or anything.

[Chris Partee]

Not at all.

[Seth Payne]

But he might just be waiting to see if there's an opportunity for him to go in and be a starter somewhere and make. And also make more money, but that. That he's probably. He's still accepting calls from the Texans.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

So I think, like, he might show up at some point.

[Chris Partee]

Realistically, could you see the Texans signing any one of these guys? I mean, I know we haven't got the training camp yet, but realistically, any of these names we just talked about, did you see the Texans bringing in any one of these guys?

[Seth Payne]

I think the. I think, realistically, I like. And Keenan. Keenan Allen's another interesting one that I don't like. Boy, I would love to have Keenan Allen. And yet at the same time, there's kind of an unorthodox method to his route running that I don't know if that's what CJ Needs right this moment. Like, we're trying to get CJ on time and in rhythm and everything that it's just sometimes things are just not quite the perfect fit based on what you want to be as an offense. Which feels weird because I'm kind of turning my nose up at a really good wide receiver, but just for all the same reasons that I think. I don't want to make that wide receiver room more crowded than it needs to be when you're banking on a couple of your young guys to keep developing. So I like the wide receivers. I'm intrigued, but until there's an injury or something, I don't feel a desperate need for. I think that. I think Joey Bosa might be the one that I'm most intrigued by. And then there's a few. There's a few offensive linemen floating around out there that like. Like Makai Becton still out there. And Makai Becton's been very high and low. You know, he's a bust with. He was a bust with the jets, but then ends up being really good with the Eagles. But then he goes out to the Chargers, and he's part of one of the worst offensive lines in football. Like, he seems like a classic guy that the Texans would say, oh, yeah, bring him out on a cheap deal and see how he fits in. And maybe this is. Maybe Cole Popovich is. Has got the magic touch with him the same way that it seemed like Jeff Stoutland did in Philadelphia. So there's a lot. Like, Cam Robinson's still out there. And again, just on a budget, one year deal. It didn't work out when he was here last year, but maybe circumstances are changed. There are a lot of these guys floating around that could be depth pieces. The one there was a TWEET yesterday from this guy. He used to be, he used to be in the like analytics for a few different teams. So it's cool because I like one of these guys that are like actual analytics guys show up all of a sudden in the media instead of just like people who can barely do basic math but write about analytics. There are, there's a lot of people out there writing about analytics who just don't understand basic algebra. And like you can tell they've never taken a stats class because they just don't and they're annoying. So this guy, Ryan Paginetti, okay, he wrote this, he said from 2023 to 2025 OL6 so your sixth offensive lineman averaged 408 snaps per season and your seventh offensive lineman average 256 snaps. So like those two guys average 1000 snaps per team on the season, which is almost like a full slate of games. And I think his point is you got to almost. You got to look at your depth at. You got to look at your depth on the offensive line as a starting position almost. Your sixth and seventh offensive linemen are just as important. I think the Texans have done a good job of that this year. I think that this is something that I've heard a few different people say. You know what the top, their starting five, if you look at it, you might not rank them all that high. If you rank their stop their top eight or top nine, they're actually doing a lot better than a lot of other teams. And like ideally I'd love to have both. But the reality of the situation is you're probably going to play, you know, at any given time, eight or nine or ten different guys on the offensive line during the year. And I think they're better suited for that this year than they were last year.

[Chris Partee]

So it sounds like you think the Texans may have finally gotten the offensive line right and on track. That's what it sounds like.

[Seth Payne]

I don't know about is right.

[Commercial Announcer]

Right.

[Seth Payne]

Sounds pretty or on track, pretty dramatic or like they can dramatic or like

[Chris Partee]

they could get be on track this year because they've struggled with the offensive line.

[Seth Payne]

In 2023, the O line for all of its issues still finished up ranked 16th on pro football folks, this final O line ranking. So like for whatever it's worth, take PFF with a grain of salt and everything it's way they've been the last couple years that is and that was lo and behold that was CJ's best year as or most most impressive and most encouraging year As a pro, I think that they could have got, they might be back at that level now, which is again, pretty. If they're that much improved, they don't have to be, right? Like, they don't have to be one of the best offensive lines, but if they have a substantively better offensive line and CJ doesn't get better, then that's a really, really bad sign. If he does get better, then, hey, man, what people have been saying all along is like, yeah, you just got to support him a little better. All right. That makes a lot of sense. Look at him. He's been the same guy. He's just, he's got a better offensive line in front of him.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, I, I, I think if the offensive line can get back to that kind of mid level there, like you said, they were ranked 16th by PFF. Take that for you know what it's worth. I think, yeah, I think CJ will improve and I think that offense, I mean, I, I've been saying this. If this offense can even be average, I mean, this team really should be with that defense. They should be legit super bowl contenders.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, legit. The one thing, because I always bring this up and it's a little bit, it's a little bit shady on my part, I'll point out that they were the 13th best scoring offense last year. Like, all right. But you got to weigh that with a couple of that was they had some blowout victories and some situations where, yeah, we know that by and large, it wasn't like they were in above average, slightly above average offense. But in terms of just, I always remind myself of that, just to remind myself that, look, they weren't the Browns, they weren't the Dolphins. They weren't a bad offense. They were just, they, they definitely now and if they didn't have the defense they have, they wouldn't have been the 13 scoring. You know, they were, they're the beneficiary of a lot of turnovers and short fields and all of that. But there are the, the gap between where they were last year and being a genuinely good offense isn't as great as it feels. And I think a lot of it comes down to, again, an oversimplification. But short yardage and red zone and the ability to run the game, run the ball, those things are all interrelated. You know, having the ability to run the ball also makes you a better red zone in short yardage offense. But those three things, like, you tweak those up because they were one of the worst red Zone offenses in the league last year, they. They were really good at getting down into the red zone. They just couldn't do anything when they got down there. They were awesome at kicking field goals in the red zone. But the. Just by. And that's where I think with David Montgomery. I don't expect David Montgomery to be a top 10 running back this year, but he doesn't need to be if he can just be that guy that. Think of all those short yardage. Think about those short yardage situations down in the red zone where they just needed a half yard and couldn't get a half yard. Yeah, like, that's what I need out of David Montgomery. I need a half yard. You know, I need 18 inches. Like, that's a. It's a. It's a big difference, and it creates a much different offense than. And it doesn't need to be that David Montgomery runs for five and a half yards per carry or anything. It's got to be in those specific situations that you can do something.

[Chris Partee]

Well, we're going to find out here soon because like I said, training camp, we're coming up on a couple of weeks away. Let's get to this. Which Houston team are you most confident in right now based on your previous season or current season results?

[Seth Payne]

So we'd have to say this. All right. It is so confidence, kind of the bar for all three of those teams right now is, all right, they're. They're playoff worthy. That, like, obviously, like, it might. Based on recent results or just where the Astros are right now, like, okay, they're all, they're all capable of making the playoffs. So it's a huge disappointment if you don't make the playoffs. How, how capable are they of making a genuine push in the playoffs, like a league championship or a conference championship game? I still feel like it's the Texans. Like, despite any of the, despite any arguments or debates about CJ Stroud, I think, I mean, you look at how close they could have been to being in an AFC Championship game last year with CJ Stroud playing the worst football of his life. Like, that's the, the fact that that was still a relatively close game deep into the third quarter versus the Patriots.

[Chris Partee]

It's amazing.

[Seth Payne]

White C.J. stroud being as awful as he was that day.

[Chris Partee]

It's amazing.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. Like, I still feel the most confident about the Texans.

[Chris Partee]

Texans. Okay.

[Seth Payne]

Where are you on that?

[Chris Partee]

I got to go with you there. I mean, just looking at the, how the Rockets ended their season and what they have really haven't done this season. They have not done much. I know you guys have talked about that a little bit. I've talked about it on different, different shows on our slate here at Sports Radio 6 10. And then the Astros just, I mean, they're just, they've been a mediocre team this year. I know they've played better as of late last six weeks or so. But just overall this season, the Astros have been, they've been mediocre at 47 to 51. That's mediocre to me.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. No, and it's really hard. Like, I mean, it's just, I thought the, I thought this weekend it was kind of a perfect microcosm of what you're looking at with the Astros, which is that it's hard to be a team that's anchored by your relief pitching. That. All right, like, okay, we got for us to somehow make it through a playoff series, we got to be sure that. We got to be sure that we can score enough runs and that Ochre, Brian King and Josh Hader are the best versions of themselves, which are. Then they've been really good and steady and solid and everything. But man, I don't like going through and having it. When having it be that they couldn't win that series because their best players in their best relief pitchers had a little bit of an off day or an off night. They have the starting. Yeah. Especially if you go to a seven game series and okay, well, we only have maybe by then we have two starting pitchers that we trust and then we just need the relievers to pitch a boatload of innings versus a really good baseball team in the playoffs. And it's like, no, they're going to. They're going to. They're not. They're going to every game. Can't be a bullpen day.

[Chris Partee]

No, it shouldn't be.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I honestly, I honestly I feel, I feel more optimistic about the Rockets and their ability to be more the team, the team that people thought they were going to be headed into 20, 25, 26 headed into last season. I do think that, I think that there's some weird gap where. Because positionless basketball is such a big thing these days and everything, I feel like we almost want to act like, like having a point guard doesn't matter anymore.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, it matters. Yeah, it matters.

[Seth Payne]

But it's weird.

[Chris Partee]

I don't know anymore.

[Seth Payne]

Maybe it's because people don't like simple solutions or whatever, but I just, I like. And I'm not like, I don't claim to be like the big NBA guy or anything. But there is a part of it. It's like, yeah, I. Look, I know Fred Van Vliet's not one of the top point guards in the league or anything, but when you take a team that's built to function with a point guard, specifically to function with Fred Van Vliet, and you decide like, no, instead we're going to take all these young guys and have them play in an uncomfortable role and position.

[Chris Partee]

Exactly.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. You're going to get drastically different results. And then especially even when you make that work to a certain degree, but then Kevin Durant is injured in the playoffs, then, yeah, it's going to look really, really bad. There is a thing going on with the Rockets that's a lesser version, but kind of similar to what happened with the Texans, which is that the playoff results skew your feeling about the entire operation.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

I think to a more extreme degree than it should. And I like. And I just. I don't. I feel like a dullard. But there's a part of me that just wants to say, like, yeah, it really, really matters having Fred Van Bleed out there. And if he can be healthy, I'm a little bit concerned about how his injury and his age might affect his defense. But beyond that, I think they're. But defense wasn't the problem last year with the Rockets, you know, and it hasn't been.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

Right. It's that. No, can they have a well structured and designed offense and execute it properly there? It's just going to be night and day as long as Fred Van Vliet is healthy.

[Commercial Announcer]

Yeah. And.

[Chris Partee]

And if Fred Van Vliet is there and he's healthy, Amend Thompson doesn't have to play out of position at point guard.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

Reed shepherd doesn't have to play point guard. You can put him. Put him off the ball, let him be a tour. I believe he's small, but I believe he's a natural two guard.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. I think there are a lot of things that we wanted the young core to do in terms of progressing last year. Like, I feel like everybody that talks about the Rockets at two years ago, at the end of the season, at the end of the playoffs, thought, you know, before the Durant trade or anything, is like, wow, this young core is so good. And these guys each individually, just have to take that proverbial next step forward. You get to last year, and once Fred Van Vliet gets injured, and then certainly after Steven Adams goes down, I think that. I think people almost felt like, well, okay, I might have said they needed to improve by 10%, but really these guys just need to improve by 50% and everything will be just fine. All we need is for Reed shepherd to develop into a true point guard. Okay, cool. So what are they going to do about it? Barely play him at all.

[Richard Deitsch]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And really just not give him an opportunity to develop into that role. Okay, so you're going to go out and find somebody to actually play point guard? No, no, no, no, no, no. We're going to wait until after the trade deadline and then really give Reed shepherd an opportunity to learn how to play point guard.

[Chris Partee]

Well, the 713 on the text line here. Rockets need a better GM. So someone is not a fan of Raphael Stone.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah, I don't. Man, it's hard because again, I don't want to. It just. You never want to just hit the easy button and say it's as simple as, yeah, you lost Fred Van Vliet, who was a vital cog beforehand. That part you can't anticipate. Just like the Texans last year couldn't anticipate that Joe Mixon was going to be mysteriously injured. No, you could not, not play football the entire season. But like, the, like, what do you do? What do you do to account for it or make up for it? That was where I felt like the organization really failed them last year.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, it did feel like they dropped the ball there. Which Texan storyline could have the biggest impact on the team's success in 2026? As we approach training camp, we'll get to that Next Sports Radio 610 Oregon

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[Jimmy Conrad]

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[Seth Payne]

My boss asked for results so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had. Impressions.

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[Richard Deitsch]

On the Powers that Be podcast, we examine the players and currents behind today's most consequential decisions. Join us. Listen to the Powers that Be wherever you get your podcasts.

[Chris Partee]

Yes, it's Payne and Pendergast. He Seth Payne, I'm Chris Partee and I'm in for shot. Sean Pendergast this morning had a little trouble getting that out there.

[Seth Payne]

You're doing a good job though, man. It's hard. It's an adjustment doing early morning radio. It is for some. You do a lot of the night. You do, you, you do Area 4 to 5 a lot. That's a big, that's a big gap, man.

[Chris Partee]

Yes, I do Area 45 quite a bit. And you know, I've done some morning radio in the past when I lived in Austin for one of the stations out there, but not as a host, as a producer.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

So I mean, it's obviously different when you're on this side as well. But that's been like 10 years ago. So it's been a while since I've actually done morning radio.

[Seth Payne]

I do, I always try to remember this when you guys are in and we do an unfair thing with our co hosts when Sean is out, which is I like we have, we have. You run the show. Yeah, because I'm just a organizational mess. You can talk to Ben about it during the break that I just, I lose track of too many things. So I just, I'm along for the ride. But you know, this is what I always think of you guys. Anybody that has to fill in in the morning, whenever I do an interview at 9:30 or 10 at night, somebody has me come on. I just, I, my brain doesn't work. I just, I, by that point, you know, I've been, I've been up for 18 hours or whatever.

[Chris Partee]

You're done.

[Seth Payne]

And yeah. And I like, I sound like I'm drunk. Which is probably more entertaining. But I just. But my brain really doesn't work. I have a hard time paying attention to what questions people are asking me and everything. So you've been doing an incredible job. If the roles were reversed, I would be much worse off.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah, well, you're definitely making. Making it easy for me. So let's get into this. Which Texan storyline Seth could have the biggest impact on the team's success heading into the 2026 campaign as we approach training camp here. So we got. Obviously we've talked about this on the station, you know, all off season. Wide receiver depth is one of those things that we've talked about. Also the Texans O line and I just asked you this in the last segment. Have they finally gotten it right? Also you got defensive depth depth, Tank Dale. Where is Tank Dale at coming into training camp and what should we expect? Or is the team optimistic about him? You know, what's he going to look like then? Also Nick Haley, offensive coordinator C.J. stroud. Can they get him back on track, though? There's so many things going on here with the Texans. So which storyline for you, Seth could have the biggest impact?

[Seth Payne]

I just. Okay. You know what, it's interesting. You laid out five things.

[Chris Partee]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And it's. And it's 100%. I agree with you. To separate, like two of those things are the same thing. It's wide receiver depth and wide receiver number two position. That was one of your item lists. And then how will Tank Dell look? Returning from injury is another item. And it does. Those are two separate things. And yet obviously very interrelated. I've been operating in this weird way where I just. I don't. I'm trying not to acknowledge that Tank Dell might come back just because I don't. It's such a wild card.

[Chris Partee]

It is.

[Seth Payne]

But now it's getting to the point of like almost professional negligence because the training camp's almost going to be here. But what I've realized is I think. I think. I don't want to admit it to myself, but I think I'm a little bit pessimistic about Tank Dell coming back and being the same force or the same presence that he was before just because it's. It's few and far between the examples you can find of guys like that. You got to go to guys like, really the guys who have had three ligament, like a torn. Hurt their knee and torn three ligaments in their knee when they. When they injured their knee. Nick Chubb in his injury in college is probably the best example who came back from an injury like that and ended up being one of the very best running backs in the NFL. And there's a few other guys, but it's just, it's. It's hard, it's dicey to come back from. So I always kind of just put it off on a shelf and just think of it almost as like, oh, yeah, like that's the money I put away and forgot about. You know, when you discover an old, discover an old 401k, you forgot about it.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, that's always fun. That's all.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. All right. So I think if we take Tank Dell out of it, I still think, I think they're going to be fine with Jaden Higgins and Jalen Noel. And let's say that, let's just say for the sake of this exercise, Tank Dell isn't involved at all. I'm not as worried about those guys. It's awesome if they look if one of those guys really comes along. But you can have a good offense just by virtue of having. You've got Nico Collins. Yeah, it's. What do you do in the run game and what do you do with your tight ends that can really round out the offense? It doesn't have to be that you've got a stud slot receiver, a stud number two receiver. I think the biggest thing for me as far as like, like Nick Caylee in this, in Stroud, that's, that's obvious. Like, that's a huge deal. But I think that's also related to the offensive line. I think the offensive line, if the offensive line is genuinely solid, not even awesome, but just genuinely solid. I think that's the thing where everything else falls into place. Like you then if you, if the offensive line is set in their functioning well, then the run game is going to look better than it was last year. The pass game is going to look better than it was last year. CJ Stroud is simply just like, just by sheer logic, you know, okay, take a quarterback, give him a better offensive line in front of him. Unless he's a complete doofus, he's going to look like a better quarterback next year. So for me, it really is still the offensive line. The one, the one wild card that I really, really want to see is just depth on the defense. Because they had injuries last year, they were able to work through it. But we saw, like we saw when Aziz Elshire was out, they were a different defense. You know, Ashton Genti had his best game of his, of his rookie season against The Texans when Aziz Elshire was out, we saw what happened when Kamari Lasseter wasn't out there. You know, they struggled. They. They were able to motor along without Jalen Petrie, but it felt kind of precarious. And part of the reason they were able to is they were able to go to their four. They just went to their base four, three package a lot more, which had EJ Speed involved and EJ Speed's not there.

[Chris Partee]

No longer here.

[Seth Payne]

Yeah. So, like, that kind of the depth. I feel like the depth on the defense is more precarious than people might realize just because they were relatively lucky with injuries last year.

[Chris Partee]

I feel like this defense is so good that, you know, like you just mentioned, we kind of overlook the aspect of the depth and there being questions about the depth for the defense. I just feel like they, they were so great last season. It's like, okay, they'll play through anything, Right?

[Seth Payne]

Right. Yeah. And. But it is, it's also, though, man, for the vast majority of time, you had the four most important or impactful positions on defense, defensive end and cornerback. You were in pretty good shape. I mean, Derek Stingley having to work through and fight through and play through those injuries, those oblique injuries that he had, you know, people kind of forget in the first part of the season, Stingley wasn't quite himself. There were just a few. There's a few plays that he didn't make and some things that he didn't do where you could tell, all right, he's just. He's physically not quite himself.

[Jimmy Conrad]

Yeah.

[Seth Payne]

And it could have been disastrous. I guess the. If either of those guys had been injured for a long stretch of time. I think the biggest thing this year that I'm optimistic about or hopeful for with the defense is if you look at Dino Vasso and Steven at Agoke. Vasso is the defensive backs coach and AD Goke is the safeties coach specifically. They've done a really good job, look, developing a bunch of guys who were not first rounders. You know, Kamari Lassiter, Caleb Bullock, Jalen Petrie. They've done an incredible job with them. Derek Stingley's gotten better, you know, year by year, and more than anything, he's just stayed healthy. But they've done a great job. You want to get to a point like the Chiefs have been for a long time, and they're going to be tested in this, this year. But the Chiefs have been really good at developing cornerbacks and developing defensive backs to where they can, they can survive the loss of a free agent here or there. I mean, this year they're gonna have to do without Trent McDuffie. Like that's a different level, but that's gonna be rough. Yeah. So I think that's what you hope to see out of the Texans defensive backfield this year. Is that all right? Jalen Reed, hopefully healthy and in his second year, Jalen Smith, some of these other Kamari, Ramsey, the young guys, like if they can come along, then that's where, that's where Dino Vasso and At A Goke really prove their worth is that you've got that bonafide depth in the bet in the secondary.

[Commercial Announcer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chris Partee]

But it seems like no, no matter what we, what the discussion is about, the Texans, you know, just talk about, you know, defense, defensive line, depth, defensive backfield depth. But it just feels like it always comes back to, like you mentioned earlier in the conversation, the offensive line.

[Jimmy Conrad]

Yeah.

[Chris Partee]

The offensive line is, you know, in sync. Then everything else seems like it's going

[Seth Payne]

to fall into place. You get the best version of everybody else just by, just by that very simple thing of, you know, having five human beings be much better football players than they were last year. There are like a replace guys that they did last year. And, and also factoring along the way, really it's eight guys at least. Like, yeah, I can't look at Braden Smith or Wyatt Teller between the two of them and their injury history, like it would be, it would be idiotic for me to project that both those guys are going to be healthy the entire season. So your depth is going to get tested at some point.

[Chris Partee]

Oh, man. Yeah. Hey, great conversation. But you know, it's only going to get deeper and hotter this conversation as we approach training. Training camp. All right, up next, we're going to get a little petty on the other side. Sports Radio 16 history that doesn't suck

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