On the team’s in house radio show last week, Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said that training camp doesn’t really begin until the first practice in pads. Up until Monday, the Texans had been solely practicing in jerseys and shorts, with no shoulder pads. For anyone wanting to see this defense somewhat unleashed, it was excruciating.
Well, our long nightmare of essentially two-hand-touch football ended on Monday morning, as the Texans took to the practice field in pads. It’s still not REAL football, as the defenders generally try not to bring guys to the ground, put the pop of the shoulder pads in blocking and hitting situations was the sound of sheer bliss.
The team, once again, practiced in front of a full house at the Methodist Training Center, which amped up the energy level. Unlike Saturday’s practice, which saw the defense dominate, Monday’s practice was way more evenly fought, with the offense getting their fair share of victories.
So here we are, five practices in. Let’s look at what’s stood out so far. Here are five thoughts on the Houston Texans and where things stand a week into the preseason:
5. Joe Mixon’s injury opens up opportunity
The biggest story nationally for the Texans is Joe Mixon’s current injury status, which Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network expounded upon this past weekend. We knew Mixon was in a walking boot, rehabbing a “non football” injury. Rapoport reported over the weekend that Mixon is likely to miss all or most of training camp, and will be reevaluated before the season opener.
This news, combined with an injury to backup Dameon Pierce, has opened up reps with the first team for newly acquired Nick Chubb, and, equally interestingly, opened up reps with the second team for second year back Jawhar Jordan, a sixth round pick a year ago. Jordan has looked the most spry of all the backs, and is on the cusp of a real opportunity to make an impression that could see him getting on the team. Additionally, rookie Woody Marks is seeing some quality reps, particularly as a pass catcher.
4. Early on, it looks like a couple recent high draft picks might have trouble making the team
On the other end of the spectrum are players who’ve been here for one or more seasons, and that might be seeing their time coming to an end. John Metchie was a second round pick in 2022, and an amazing story, as he came back from cancer in 2022 to contribute in 2023 and 2024. However, he’s never lived up to his draft slot, and the receiver room is highly competitive, and includes two rookies who are locks to make the team. Metchie is fighting for his football life.
Similarly, Juice Scruggs was a second round pick a year after Metchie, in 2023, and after being named the starting center in camp a year ago, he is now not even in the two-deep anywhere on the offensive line. Scruggs is clearly behind Jarrett Patterson and Jake Andrews at center, and behind a slew of guys at both guard spots. Like Metchie, Scruggs is fighting to hang on, and might be a candidate for a trade.
3. The early winners in the offensive line competition are….
While Scruggs is struggling to gain footing in the offensive line room, on Monday, the team trotted out their first and second team offensive lines, and for the first time in this camp, they didn’t conduct massive shuffles of who was playing where within the same practice. They picked five man combos and stuck with them. For what it’s worth, right now, the first team is, left to right, LT Cam Robinson, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Patterson, RG Tytus Howard, and RT rookie Aireontae Ersery. Which is a good lead in to tell you that….
2. Rookie class looks solid
So far, so good on the rookie class. In addition to Ersery, the two receivers they drafted, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, both look ready to contribute. Cornerback Jaylin Smith, a third round pick, looks ready to play, if called upon. As mentioned earlier, Marks has had some nice reps in the offensive backfield. Even sixth round pick Jaylen Reed had an interception on Saturday. The Texans have enough star power to where, if the rookie class can just fill in gaps, the depth will be in real good shape.
1. This defense is going to get arrested for football murder this season
Finally, the biggest takeaway from the first week of camp is that, to nobody’s surprise, this defense looks legitimately good with elite potential. Plays being made at all three levels of the defense, with the secondary living up to every bit of the hype. However, the element to this defense that has announced its presence with thermonuclear authority has been the defensive front, led by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, who have been taking turns seemingly ruining poor Blake Fisher’s football career by treating him like a turnstile on the way to whichever quarterback Fisher is supposed to be protecting.
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