Houston Texans training camp is, perhaps, my favorite time of year on the sports calendar. Sure, from a purely functional standpoint, it is where we see the seeds planted for what we hope will be a successful (or, as compared to the last three season, a LESS FAILURE FILLED) season, and we will certainly discuss on field elements momentarily.
However, selfishly, for media members, it is a time of fellowship, almost like the first day of school, where you see old fiends that you haven’t seen since, say, the Texans draft party all the way back in April. To that end, the best distractions from the heat the last two days came from a camp visit by WWE superstars Chad Gable, Otis, and Maxxine Dupri, here pictured with owners Cal and Hannah McNair:
Then, on Tuesday, the media got a good laugh at longtime NFL writer (and my cohost on the Houtopia Football Podcast) John McClain, and his complete lack of knowledge that an air conditioned tent existed for overheated media members:
Sp for those of you who attend these practices and sit in the fan section, and wonder “Hey, what’s going on in that media area across the way?”… well, now you know.
There’s no hiding it, C.J. Stroud is struggling.
For the most part, Texan fans are rooting for C.J. Stroud to be the starting quarterback in Week 1. If they’re not, then those fans merely think it’s better for the long term to sit Stroud for a season, and then make him the starter in 2024. Thus far, the latter category of Texans fans has more support for their case, as the two padded practices on Monday and Tuesday were a struggle for the rookie QB. On Monday, Stroud threw picks to Blake Cashman and Derek Stingley (a pick six), and on Tuesday, his first pass attempt was picked off by CB Steven Nelson. In situational team sessions late in the practice, Stroud failed to move the first team offense in any meaningful way. To be fair, the pass protection has been bad for all three quarterbacks, but Stroud’s decision making under duress has been lacking.
I’m still not sure who the go-to receiver is going to be.
Robert Woods and Noah Brown are the two most experienced receivers in this group, and Brown has made a few plays throughout camp. As for Woods, I’ve barely noticed he is on the team. Nico Collins caught a nice deep ball from Mills on Tuesday, and looks like the same player that got people feeling optimistic last season, before injuries (and Pep Hamilton’s offense) derailed that. The most promising part of this corps are the young guys — John Metchie and rookies Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson. Dell has been the one guy getting open the most in camp drills, and Hutchinson looks like a player who as way under-drafted as a sixth rounder. So to sum up, the most “Wow” plays have come from three guys who have yet to take a snap in the league. So… yeah.
Derek Stingley, Jr. is looking like the guy they drafted.
When you’re a cornerback drafted in the top three picks in the draft, much is expected of you/ When the fourth pick in the draft also plays cornerback, and becomes the best corner in the league his rookie year, then the questions abound when you look merely mortal as a rookie. Add in injury issues that date back to college, and things get real tense, real fast. That’s what Stingley is walking into in 2023, and thus far, he has responded well in camp. He’s come back from his injury-shortened rookie season looking like a Greek god, and playing like a top flight playmaker, with Monday’s pick six his masterpiece so far. Stingley was asked about Jets CB Sauce Gardner’s other worldly rookie season in his media session on Monday, and he played it cool, but the hope here is that questions like that fuel the former LSU All American to where he becomes the same foundational piece for DeMeco Ryans that Gardner has become for Ryans’ former coworker, Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
The rookie class looks very promising.
Let’s put Stroud on a separate burner than the rest of the rookie class, because his impact, progression, and development are all graded on a different curve than your non-quarterbacks would be. So the rest of the class is headlined by third overall pick Will Anderson, for whom I’ve already devoted about 2,000 words on his awesomeness this far. No need to expound further. He will be great. Second round pick, center Juice Scruggs, is running with the second string right now, but was singled out by Ryans for a couple plays he’d made in the run game, so some positive crumbs there. Dell and Hutchinson have already been cited in this post, they’ve been very good. Defensive end Dylan Horton is flashing at times, and linebacker Henry To’o To’o has also been singled out for his awareness and instinct at inside linebacker. So far, so good for a promising group of young players.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
