Is the Texans O-Line Really Improved? Or Just Older and More Expensive?

Summary

Payne & Pendergast Podcast Summary

Episode: Is the Texans O-Line Really Improved? Or Just Older and More Expensive?

Date: July 16, 2026
Hosts: Seth Payne, Sean Pendergast (referred to as Chris in the transcript)
Guest: Cole Thompson

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into one of the hottest questions facing the Houston Texans as training camp approaches: Has the team’s much-discussed offensive line (O-Line) actually improved, or is it just older and more expensive? Hosts Seth Payne and Sean Pendergast (with guest analyst Cole Thompson) break down the Texans’ O-Line situation, analyze offseason changes, and debate expectations for the 2026 season. The conversation blends insider analysis, stats, and signature humor, making it a packed listen for any Houston football fan.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage for Texans Training Camp

• Anticipation Runs High:
  • “This is the most anticipated training camp in the history of the Houston Texans. It is for me.” — Chris [01:15]
  • The trio addresses the cycle of optimism experienced by Texans fans and whether this year is actually different.

2. The Critical O-Line Question

• Framing the Question (by Cole Thompson):
  • “Is the offensive line improved or just older and more expensive?” — Cole Thompson [04:36]
  • All agree: it's definitely older and more expensive — but is it better?

3. Deep Dive: What’s Really Changed on the O-Line?

• Starting Five vs. Overall Depth:
  • Seth distinguishes between evaluating just the starters versus considering the entire O-Line depth.
  • “There’s two levels to it. There’s the starting five and then... the sum total.” — Seth [04:49]
• Key Player Upgrades & Rotations:
  • Ariante Ursary moving to his natural position, veterans getting another year in the system, and new faces like Ed Ingram.
  • Veterans like Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith are highlighted as potentially impactful additions—with the caveat they’ve missed full seasons in recent years.
• Depth Has Been Aggressively Addressed:
  • “They’ve probably addressed the depth of the offensive line way better this year than they have in the last couple of years.” — Seth [06:10]
  • Chris: “Last year, when we were in West Virginia... [these] are guys who would be backups on a lot of teams competing to be the starter and the backup to a backup.” [06:29]
  • Blake Fisher, once slotted as a starter, now could be fighting for a roster spot, signaling stronger competition.

4. Why O-Line Depth is (Statistically) Critical

• Analytics Highlight:
  • The “sixth offensive lineman” on an NFL team often plays 75% of snaps due to injuries and rotation.
  • “The sixth offensive lineman averages 408 offensive snaps.” — Seth [08:04]
• Resource Prioritization:
  • “It’s way more important you get a sixth or seventh O-lineman than a third running back.” — Chris summarizing Twitter analytics [06:57]

5. Will the Improvement Be Enough?

• Baseline Has Been Low:
  • “It’s not a high bar to clear. It wasn’t a good offensive line last year... I do think it was improved over the year before.” — Chris [07:12]
• Expectations for 2026:
  • The collective consensus: improvement should occur, but the real question is if it will be enough to push the Texans from “bad” to at least “league average.”

6. Position Battles and Unknowns

• Center Spotlight:
  • Keelan Rutledge and Jake Andrews vying for the starting center job.
  • “Keelan Rutledge is going to have a spot on this offensive line... that’ll be one of the more intriguing position battles to watch.” — Chris [09:46]
• Health Remains a Wild Card:
  • Both hosts emphasize the need for improved health—Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith haven’t played full seasons in three years.
  • “You also have to take into consideration neither have played a full healthy season in the last three years.” — Cole Thompson [11:54]

7. How Much Does O-Line Improvement Matter to Key Players?

• Impact on C.J. Stroud:
  • “If C.J. Stroud gets a competent, good offensive line in front of him, does it make a huge difference this year for C.J. Stroud personally?” — Seth [10:39]
  • Cole remains skeptical about ‘over-anointing’ Stroud: “I want to wait and see what he was going to do from year one to year two. That was the big question mark.” [10:49]
• Running Game as an Indicator:
  • David Montgomery’s performance could be the single best reflection of O-Line progress.
  • “The most important player could be David Montgomery... if you have better offensive line play, you can run it more efficiently.” — Cole [11:29]

8. Competition Culture: A Sign of Progress

• The group celebrates a return to real position battles:
  • “If in week one the starting offensive line has Keelan Rutledge at left guard and Trent Brown at right tackle... I’m totally cool with that, as long as they won the job.” — Chris [13:01]
  • “There’s times when you just watch the Texans defensive line go up against players and you say, you know what, it’s the Texans defensive line. Nobody’s blocking them. You didn’t feel that way. It was, good God, get these offensive linemen off the field.” — Cole [13:12]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On O-Line Resource Allocation:
  • “It’s way more important you got a sixth and seventh O-lineman than a third running back.” — Chris [06:57]
• On O-Line Turnover:
  • “We’ve got guys who... would be backups on a lot of teams competing to be the starter and the backup to a backup.” — Seth [06:29]
• On Expectations and Caution:
  • “Let’s learn our mistakes from the past... everyone decided to anoint him [C.J. Stroud] as the next Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson... okay, let’s not do that yet.” — Cole [10:49]
• On the Running Game as O-Line Barometer:
  • “If David Montgomery makes the leap, it means the offensive line has probably made a leap.” — Chris [11:29]
• On Avoiding Last Year's Problems:
  • “Thank God that the Texans will no longer be saying number 57 has reported as eligible at tight end.” — Cole [12:43]

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Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 01:15 | Anticipation for training camp; setting up O-Line discussion | | 04:36 | Main question: O-Line improvement or just older/pricier? | | 04:49 | Seth on starters vs. O-Line depth | | 05:52 | Analytics: the sixth (and seventh) O-lineman's value | | 06:29 | Depth issues last year and improvement | | 07:49 | Roster competition: Blake Fisher's future | | 08:04 | Clarification: O-Line backups and snap counts | | 09:46 | The center competition: Rutledge vs. Andrews | | 10:39 | How much does O-Line improvement matter for Stroud? | | 11:29 | Running game ties to O-Line success (Montgomery) | | 12:43 | Avoiding emergency eligible lineman/tight end packages | | 13:01 | Value of open positional battles this year | | 13:12 | D-line dominating practice last year—a sign of O-line weakness| | 13:30 on | Transition to headlines and closing segment |

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Tone & Style

• Honest and Candid: The hosts are transparent about their skepticism as fans who’ve seen the Texans cycle through “rebuilds” before.
• Analytical but Playful: Statistics and player evaluations blend with amusing side-comments and insider banter.
• Constructively Critical: No sugar-coating; concerns about health and past mistakes are addressed head-on.

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Summary Conclusion

The consensus: The Texans’ offensive line will almost certainly be improved compared to last year—mainly due to added depth and shuffling underperforming players down the roster. But questions remain about durability (especially with veteran additions), whether the group can reach true league-average performance, and how much this improvement will translate for quarterback C.J. Stroud and the run game. Training camp competition, especially at center, will be a major storyline to watch.

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Rich in detail, this episode is essential listening for Texans fans eager to see if this is finally the year Houston builds an offensive line worthy of its high expectations.

Transcript

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[Chris]

All right, training camp is going to be here. We're under two weeks away from the Texans first practice at 2026 training camp. Seth, I feel like we've said this the last like three or four years. This is the most anticipated training camp in the history of the Houston Texans. It is for me.

[Seth]

Yeah, it is.

[Chris]

Well, you're sure?

[Seth]

Yeah. You, you, you love to, you love to get hyped up about. Yeah, I'm a hyperbole at heart.

[Chris]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth]

I think there might other be other people that are feeling like, yeah, this feels like exactly the same as it's been the last three years. And we're wondering exactly if the offensive line is, is, is going to be at the very least average or above average. And can all these other things fall into play?

[Chris]

Yeah, because they've tried. I mean, they've done the tear down and build up multiple times with the offensive line now. So given that it's we've got 10 radio days till training camp. The last radio day that we do this exercise will actually be the first day that Seth and I are out at training camp on Wednesday, July 29th. So we figured 10 days, 10 questions, one question a day. Cole Thompson is In studio with Seth and I today, just chopping it up with us here on the. What they like to call like the, the, the, like the deadest week of the year and yet I still find it hard. We still leave a bunch of meat on the bone on the rundown every day.

[Cole Thompson]

Does it help that you have the World cup to be able to talk about?

[Chris]

No, we don't talk about it at all on this show. It doesn't help one bit. Yeah, I mean, we, I, like, I've been enjoying the World cup, but I, I, we. We haven't been like breaking down the games or anything like that.

[Cole Thompson]

You know, it's, it's like out of sight, out of mind, but just enough for you to be able to enjoy.

[Chris]

It's nice to have on in my living room during the day.

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That's great.

[Cole Thompson]

It's great.

[Seth]

I caught myself, Chris Partee on Tuesday asked if about asked that same question about the World cup. And I started saying, you know, I've tried really hard to get into it. And I realized, like, no, if I had tried really hard, I would, I would be more into it and I would know I haven't tried nearly hard enough. That's the problem.

[Chris]

You got one game left, buddy.

[Seth]

I wasn't more intrigued. Now it's like kind of a. I'm waiting to see. I more than anything. I was just excited to see so many people. Foreigners. Be excited about having a good time in America.

[Chris]

Yes. That was really fun.

[Seth]

We've already probably been a few anchor babies dropped, like in their early stages of those pregnancies.

[Chris]

We're going to spike in international air travel, like now. Yeah, I got to visit my kid. I got to be there for the birth of my anchor baby.

[Cole Thompson]

I got to go hang out in Amsterdam for some reason. What's the, what are you doing out there, Bill? A kid?

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Seth]

That's a whole nother side topic that we. These international games with the NFL. I mean, there's got to be. There's got to be a couple babies out there, right, In England or Germany or something.

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[Chris]

100%. Gotta be.

[Cole Thompson]

Now Seth's gonna go though full American style. He'll buy the jersey, he'll buy the kid. He'll have a whole watch party for Sunday, and that is when he will get fully invested in a World cup coverage.

[Chris]

This Sunday.

[Cole Thompson]

This Sunday.

[Chris]

Okay.

[Cole Thompson]

As he's watching the finale, he'll be like, I've been. This is the greatest singer.

[Chris]

Watch. You ready, Seth?

[Seth]

Ready.

[Chris]

Ready.

[Seth]

I say the first, the first month of the Tournament kind of caught me by surprise.

[Cole Thompson]

But this last day, but this last day we are fully convinced.

[Chris]

I've been hearing, I've been hearing it's

[Seth]

now we're going to. I was just waiting for Argentina to do something now.

[Chris]

All right, so let's start with question number 10. And Cole, you came up with this question, so you lay it out and Seth and I'll chop it up and you jump in as well here. So what is the question of the day about The Houston number 10 question about the Houston Texans counting down here.

[Cole Thompson]

Is the offensive line improved or just older and more expensive?

[Chris]

Okay, hopefully all three of those things. We know it's older, we know it's more expensive. Those are just numbers, right?

[Ad Voice 3]

I think if.

[Seth]

Okay, so there's two levels to it. There's the starting five and then the, the sum total of the offensive line. So if you think about the starting five last year, one, you had Ariante Ursary, a second round pick, Cam Robinson, who was to be no more. And you, you know, from the very get go Lake and Tomlinson and Juice Scruggs was a doomed experiment. I think that the starting five, even if we just isolated the Ariante Ursary and him not have it like if Ariante Ursary doesn't have to start the season at right tackle all of a sudden instead of left tackle. I think just in addition to having more veterans on the offensive line, Ed Ingram being in the system for one more year, I think it's going to be better at the beginning of the year than they were at the beginning of last year. The big part for me is really, as Casario has said about, you know, you're going to have to have at least 8, 9, 10 guys play at some point during the season. And then that. That new analytics guy on Twitter, Ryan, what's his face. Yeah, he pointed this out the other

[Chris]

day that I saw this. This was a really good point. Yeah.

[Seth]

The sixth offensive lineman on average is playing 75% of the snaps in a season. So like depth really, really matters. The seventh offensive lineman for most, like on, on the average NFL team plays a really big chunk of snaps during the season because of injuries.

[Chris]

Like several hundred snaps.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah. And I think that they've probably addressed the depth of the offensive line way better this year than they have in the last couple of years. Because last year, Sean, during training camp, I mean, when we were in West Virginia, we're watching and you're looking at these interior offensive linemen just get destroyed and you're Thinking these are the guys who are competing for a starting spot.

[Chris]

Yes.

[Seth]

Like, these guys. We've got guys who are going to be. Would be backups on a lot of teams competing to be the starter and the backup to a backup.

[Chris]

The.

[Seth]

Like, your backup is a guy that should be a. Your starter is a guy that should be a backup.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Then your backup is a guy that might not even make the team on

[Chris]

a lot of other places.

[Seth]

I think that's a lot different.

[Chris]

It's 100%. I saw that same tweet and I actually had it bookmarked. I'm like, this would be a great thing to talk about. Like. And Ryan and I. His last name escapes me. He followed both of us.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Chris]

But he. Because people were talking about running back depth and he's like, no, no. It's way more important. You got a sixth and seventh old lineman than a third running back. If you're going to use resources for something. The reason I think it's going to be. I. I think it's. I think it legitimately is going to be improved.

[Cole Thompson]

Right.

[Seth]

A.

[Chris]

Because it's not like we're working off of a baseline that's really hard. It's not a high bar to clear. You know, it wasn't a good offensive line last year. I do think it was improved over the year before. So I think this will be a second consecutive year of improvement. The question is, is improvement good enough or do they need to be legitimately at least average or good? That's a bigger question. And that I think there's a lot that factors into that and health factors into that. All those things. I think the one thing I would illustrate that I feel very confident is going to be an improved offensive line. Blake Fisher was the anointed right tackle at the beginning of training camp last year. Now it's a question, does he make the team?

[Seth]

Right.

[Chris]

You know, now it's a question, does he make the team? So they've got guys that have taken the guys that haven't been really good performers and kind of push them. Push them to the level of the depth chart they're supposed to be at, which is competing. Which is competing for their job to

[Cole Thompson]

not be on practice squad.

[Chris]

Right, right, right.

[Seth]

The one that. Just as a quick clarification, the sixth offensive lineman averages 408 offensive players caps. Proceed. So almost. Almost 50% or so. But like. And then the seventh offensive lineman as well. And we know with the Texans it's been worse than that. It's been. It's been it's been a lot of injuries and you just have to account for that. And in any given year, you're going to have. You're going to shuffle guys through there.

[Chris]

Yep.

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[Chris]

Keelan Rutledge factors big into this. Too.

[Cole Thompson]

True.

[Chris]

Keelan Rutledge. Keelan Rutledge is going to have a spot on this offensive line. Now we'll see if he's the starting center or not. That'll be one of the more intriguing position battles to watch when training camp comes around. Is Jake Andrews and Keelan Rutledge presumably at center. But I think, I think it's. I think it's going to be improved because it's hard not to improve off of what it was last year. Do I think they're going to be average? Because I think that's all they need to be is average. And this is going to be a better running game. I think C.J. stroud is going to be a little more comfortable back there.

[Cole Thompson]

Right.

[Chris]

And I think that to me, that comes down to health.

[Seth]

We don't even. That. I just realized as we're talking to Cole here, we'll have to get in through the rest of the show. We don't really know Cole's stance on any of this. Like is whether he, whether, whether He's a. Whether he's a believer in CJ Stroud, whether he despises him, like, exactly.

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Where.

[Seth]

Where are you on just. If CJ Stroud gets a competent, good offensive line in front of him, does it make a huge difference this year for CJ Stroud? Personally?

[Cole Thompson]

No. I mean, but I also thought that CJ Stroud was overhyped after his rookie season. I want to wait and see what he was going to do from year one to year two. That was the big question mark. And everyone decided to anoint him as the next Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson in that upper echelon of categories. And it was like, okay, let's learn our mistakes from the past. Because then we did it again with Jaden Daniels the following year and I wasn't that high on Jaden Daniels to come on out. So it's like you throw that together. I agree that the offensive line is going to be better, but Seth brought up a really good point on Monday when I was listening to the show that the most important player could be David Montgomery. And that's because of the fact of if you have better offensive line play, you can run it more efficiently.

[Chris]

When we were doing the whole Seth, when we were, you and I were doing that exercise of pick one guy on the offense, that was a table this year. And Seth very, very astutely picked David Montgomery because for the price of one, he makes the leap. It means the offensive line has probably made a leap.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah, but it's, I mean, like so. Which means the offensive line is more important. But yeah, the David Montgomery might be the most accurate indicator of it.

[Chris]

Seth had a cheat code.

[Cole Thompson]

But to me, what's so interesting is that, yeah, you bring in Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller and both those guys are damn good run blockers and that's efficient. And what you need for this team to be better in a Nick Caylee offense, you also have to take into consideration neither have played a full healthy season in the last three years. And so you're throwing in the fact of, okay, Keelan Rutledge, we're going to try him at center, but all we know of him is that he's taken snaps in practice at the Senior bowl and then here. And then you got two injured played guys in the past that were paying in and not an important amount of money to. But there's a reason why they were on a cheaper type contract when maybe you could have splurged a little bit more to get a more pro prolific name out there that you would trust is going to come on in and be a guaranteed bonafide starter. Like, thank God that the Texans will no longer be saying number 57 has reported as eligible at tight end.

[Chris]

No, that's true.

[Cole Thompson]

That. But that's where we are.

[Chris]

That's true. No, but to Seth's point, like this year they signed Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith and yet if in week one the starting offensive line has Keelan Rutledge at left guard and Trent Brown at right tackle. Cause they won the competition. I'm totally cool with that. You know, I'm totally cool with that.

[Cole Thompson]

But you're cool with that as long as they won the job.

[Chris]

They won the job. And that Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller didn't look like garbage or got hurt. You know they didn't. Yeah, they won the job legitimately. They didn't get it handed to them because of injury.

[Cole Thompson]

Because what I thought was interesting is that you guys were talking about West Virginia last year and there's times when you just watch the Texans defensive line go up against players and you say, you know what, it's the Texans defensive line. Nobody's blocking them. You didn't feel that way. It was good. God, get these offensive linemen off the field. We don't need to see them ever be playing snaps meaningful again.

[Chris]

Yeah, more competitive reps at training camp would be a godsend this year. The ones versus the ones, I'm saying. Yeah. All right, headlines. Let's do them. We'll do them coming up next. Not a ton of headlines to get into Cole Thompson in with Seth and I here today, but we will get into those headlines. We'll revisit some of the headlines from yesterday too. We got a World cup final. We'll dig into Lance McCullers a little bit. I've not had a chance to discuss the passing of Janice McNair as well. So we'll, we'll talk about that for a little bit in Headlines as we roll on here on a Thursday. We'll do that coming up next.

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