The Houston Texans closed out the early portion of the 2023 offseason Wednesday of last week with the second of two mandatory minicamp sessions at the Methodist Training Center across the street from NRG Stadium. The team and its staff will now enter about a six week hiatus, allowing some decompression time before a season that hopefully sees a return to relevance for the local football franchise.
The early reports on this rookie class appear promising, particularly quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson, the second and third overall picks in the draft, but there was a lot more to like about the direction things seem to be going for the Texans. Last Friday, general manager Nick Caserio joined me and my cohost, former Texans defensive tackle Seth Payne, for a wide ranging interview on how things stand right now, and what the future looks like for his team.
Here are the four mist interesting tidbits, including audio embedded for your listening pleasure:
“That’s where that synergistic approach comes in”
If you’re a Texans fan who was concerned about the working relationship between Caserio and new head coach DeMeco Ryans, this cut should put your mind at ease. This was one of several times that Caserio mentioned how much he enjoys learning about Ryans’ defensive scheme, which is very different from the schemes Caserio was “raised in” in New England. Caserio is clearly trying to customize the shopping lists for free agency and the draft in a way that stocks the roster with Ryans’ scheme-friendly athletes.
“One of the things we’ve had to do with Will is slow him down, because he plays with his hair on fire every play”
One recurring theme at Texans’ practice, with Caserio and Ryans and many others, is the praise for defensive end Will Anderson, who thus far, has been everything the coaches expected to see when Caserio traded several picks to move up nine spots and draft him. At this stage of the offseason, the advancements are more mental than physical, because there is no hitting going on at practice, but Anderson appears to be a quick study.
“[Rookie linebacker, Henry] To’o To’o has been pretty advanced relative to his understand of what’s going on on the defensive side of the ball.”
Caserio will answer questions about specific players, if asked about specific players. Rarely does the Texans’ GM volunteer high praise for any one player, particularly rookies, but the cut embedded above was an unprompted thought about To’o To’o, the rookie linebacker from Alabama. To’o To’o is viewed by many as a steal in the fifth round, and this is a good sign that he may contribute right away.
“From the start of OTAs, [C.J. Stroud] has certainly made a lot of progress.”
Here is Caserio’s assessment of Stroud and the strides the rookie QB has made since arriving in the building at the beginning of May. One things is quite evident, from both Caserio’s view, as well as Ryans’ various answers about Stroud — the kid is a football junky, and his thirst for knowledge is impressive. Defensive coordinator Matt Burke told a story a couple weeks ago about Stroud coming up to him after the rookie threw a pick in practice, and asking the Texans’ DC about the coverage, so that he didn’t make the same mistake again.
BONUS Caserio Thought on J.J. Watt: “We try to run a weak side zone play away from him, and the mother effer gets his three yards in the backfield and it’s 2nd and 13!”
For you J.J. Watt fans, enjoy this anecdote from Caserio about Watt destroying Patriot gameplays back in the day!
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
