NFL Insider Aaron Wilson Talks The Texans Reporting To Training Camp

KPRC reporter Aaron Wilson joins Next Up in-studio to discuss the Houston Texans reporting to training camp, making them the first team to have all its players in camp to begin preparing for the upcoming season. Wilson analyzes the newest additions to the roster and breaks down the position battles, especially on the offensive line.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
All right, let's pivot, shallwe Texans report today? Reporting the training

(00:05):
camp. This is this is whenit starts. This is magic and the
guys will you know, they'll gothrough the administrative stuff. You get issued
this issue, Dad playbook, allthat, make sure all your ducks in
a row, all the requis atpaperwork, sign you sit out in the
auditorium. Domico's gonna address the team. He's gonna say, here's all the

(00:25):
things, goals, here's our sayings, here's our model, all the things,
and then guys are probably gonna geton the field and run a conditioning
test because they gotta practice tomorrow.With that being said, just a few
minutes remaining in this segment, hangingout with us for the next song.
I'm halfing out forty five minutes.I have belong you'd like Aaron Wilson.
Appreciate you, bro, what's goingon? Good morning, appreciate you?
Good morning? Yeah, man,doing well? It's upon us. Yeah,

(00:46):
you're rested, you ready, hydrated? I'm hydrated. I think I'm
as ready as you get phone charged. I hope so good. I'm good.
It's always even for reporters the daybefore camp or the first day of
camp. There's a lot going onbecause you're thinking about stories, you're thinking
about the heat, and you're justthinking about, Hey, I want to

(01:06):
have a good season too, youknow, you want to do a good
job of reporting, keeping the fansinformed, the readers, the listeners,
the viewers, all of them.And I think it's just you set your
own standard from day one. You'reout there, you're paying attention, you're
trying to keep up with things,and hopefully you're not just working hard,
you're working smart. So you havesome ideas and you're able to implement them.

(01:27):
I'm jealous. I'm jealous of youguys because to some degree, I
love my job. I appreciate thegood you blessing from the Lord in favor
to be able to have this showin this time slot that I share with
Gordon and Connor. But with practicestarting at nine o'clock every day, I
don't get the luxury that you guysget to be able to go out there
and to try and make it backto do this thing. So I'm going

(01:49):
to have to be selective about whatpractice is that I can attend. Let's
start here again, about three minutesleft in this segment. Let's start here.
What do you think, because youknow people in that building, you're
sourced when it comes to this teamand this league, what do you think
Demiko is state of the union isgoing to be when he addresses the team
today. I think he'll tell themagain, I don't have advanced knowledge of

(02:13):
his species. He didn't send youa copy. You don't have that baby
in excel something from some of theother team meetings and clips, and just
listening to him and knowing him andknowing that what he communicates to the guys,
a lot of what he'll tell themwill be very common sense about last
year's record, meaning nothing you startfrom scratch that you don't want to you

(02:35):
know, like probably some variation ofthe nick saban, which he's probably already
said in the spring at the SeniorBall, you know, when he was
getting inductive into the Senior Bowl Hallof Fame, he referenced records. Let
them know that, Yes, peopleare patting him on the back, and
that's nice. It wasn't that longago that people were, you know,
really making fun of the organization inthe league. They see those things.
Yeah, you know, there's ahyperbole either way. Sometimes it's usually not

(03:00):
a lot in between you're great oryou're awful. I think that they're in
the very good category and they couldbe a great team. They just they're
working toward that goal. So fromday one it's about setting standard. He
always talks about that swarm mentality withspecial work ethic and a relentless mindset,

(03:21):
and a lot of it is aboutlike both scham beckers to say, it's
about the team, the team andthe team. He doesn't like any uhes.
He called it energy vampires, culturevampires, something like that. They've
got all type of says over there. I don't these are all great things
to establish. Yeah, I don'tthink they have any problems. They are
a good locker room, good energy. I saw some of the guys this

(03:45):
week, like Kamorrow, Lassiter,Kaylen Bullock, Christian Harris, Jamo Hill.
They were out there in the heaton the field. They could have
been resting up. They were allworking. Ca Stover, same thing,
CJ. Stroud, Tank Dell.A lot of guys in town find too
the details to remain explosive and justto not let up at the end.
Right before you hit the camp.But you know, talking to Kamari,

(04:08):
one of the things that really cameacross from me, is I want to
prove to my teammates I belong thatHell yeah, he took it a little
further. He says, I wantto show them I'm a savage, that
I'm a great player. And whatis his name, mister locked me down?
A locksmith, locksmith huge. He'snot talking crazy. What he's just

(04:30):
saying is I'm not just going tosit back and be quiet. I want
to be a part of it.I want to be a vital part of
the team, and I'm going toearn it. So that's what it's about.
Whatever walk of life, profession you'rein, you have to prove yourself.
And he's all about that. He'sall about the work, and he's
a low key guy. We haveto talk more about mister lassiter. I

(04:53):
really I don't have any set agenda. I love when I can just get
in the studio with people and let'sjust figure it out. We're just an
organically work our way through the rosterthrough position groups. I was joined by
the great Kim Davis, the quitelovely Kim Davis yesterday, as you know,
and I asked her the same questionI'm going to ask you on the
other side, the listening public,you can chime in on this as well.

(05:16):
What player, what drill are youmore? What position group are you
going to gravitate to? First?When they popped the doors open and we're
able to get in starting tomorrow morning, I won't be here, but the
people be over at NRG and theMetha Houston Methodist Training Center like yourself seven

(05:38):
one three, two point two fiveseven ninety player, position group or period
you're most looking forward to as wedelve deep into the roster. That's the
great Aaron Wilson and for Gordy NextUp Sports Talk seven ninety one, next
to What's Next. More of NextUp continues now on Sports Talk seven ninety

(06:04):
Home of your World Champion Houston Astros. Yeah Training Camp twenty twenty four,
Houston, Texans. We have expectationsover there, Off Kirby, that is
the most talented roster on paper inthe history of this organization. Those are
my words, and Wilson and Iwill pars through the roster and he will

(06:25):
tell me if indeed that is hyperboleor not welcome in the next up.
Thanks, everybody's got us preset numberone on your automobile down then We're your
home for Houston sports and remember realTexans Talk and listen to Sports Talk seven
ninety Gordon up in Dallas at SECMedia Day's Day three. Aaron Wilson on
the way to break just a momentago, I asked you doors open,

(06:46):
and I know we're somewhat limited basedon what the Texans PR staff, what
they afford us access to. Ifyou had what is it cock blanche,
and you could just go anywhere toobserve anything player, position, group or
a drill, where would you goand why? I would probably gravitate early
in camp to the defensive line becausethey've added some guys like Daniel Hunter,

(07:08):
and I just want to watch thembecause they're new to me. You know
how great they are. I justwant to see it in person, and
a drill where they're impads. Theoffensive line will become more of an object
of curiosity once everybody is full speed, put the pads on, and you
have to really ease in a coupleof gentlemen. Laramie Tunsel, who had

(07:30):
a minor offseason arthroscopic knee surgery.You got a little clean up I've had
that. He's good. It's justa matter of when they decide he's had
enough days, you know, probablyrunning on the side, things like that.
So let's not panic if we don'tget video of Laromie running out with
the ones tomorrow for the first period. Let's not overreact as what I hear

(07:50):
you saying, it's not important atall. It's not important if he plays
preseason football, you know the guys. I disagree. He's proven. I
don't think anybody, regardless of howmany years you've been in the league,
can go from riding the bike anddoing some drills on the field to lining
up against across from another grown man. My more big picture point is just

(08:11):
that we're not worried about that worryabout and I agree with you that day
one, day two, what doesthat matter in that perspective. On the
other side of the thing, thatright tackle spot. I'm very concerned about
this. I think it's gonna begood. Yeah, it may take a
little bit of time. Is herunning, he's moving or doing all the
stuff doing that for a while.He's had a good off season. I

(08:31):
think he'll have a bounce back year. I was talking with it someone that's
very familiar with Titus actually this morning, and yeah, I think you know,
they'll just have to obviously ease inhis activity level because he's been out
for a while. And it wasa more serious surgery than what Laramie had

(08:52):
where he had to tell Attendon involved. You know, some things they had
to fix in there, but itwasn't as bad as it could have been.
But it was tuition where their headshut them down. And we remember
that Titus broke the hand coming outof camp or was it during camp last
year? He broke the hand.He was clubbed up for a while,
eager to get out there, andit's just a matter of somme as you

(09:13):
have to hold guys back and say, okay, you know where this is
in your best enters, because we'reAmaranth. See these practices that don't matter.
They matter in the sense that youhave to start somewhere, but they're
not important sometimes for key starters,proven guys that just need to focus on
their health and then get out therein the team concept. But this is

(09:35):
more important. Really. I liketo watch the rookies like to you're going
to ask you about Blake Fisher.Yeah, and before we get there is
the expectation that Titus will start atright tackle, that is the expectation.
Okay, so this left guard thingfor now has been tabled. He's a
right tackle. We all agree there, but they still put him put them

(09:58):
over there. They did it outof necessity. But I think with Kenyon
Green, the improvements he made.I did run into Kenyon this summer at
one of the training facilities. Howhe looked great? How does he sound?
Do you see something different in theeyes. With a little talk,
he said he hopes to make peopleeat their words. He should be and
I'm gonna say it, this ismy words, not yours. Kenyon Green

(10:20):
should he should be embarrassed based onwhat he put on tape that rookie year
injuries are going to happen. Theembarrassment should then stimulate motivation and he should
be an absolute hail raiser. Heshould be a standout in camp. Completely
restructured his body, he looks likea whole different person. It's almost unrecognizable.

(10:45):
Really. He dropped that much muchthinner. He has leaned up to
a great extent. He's more mobile, he can run better. There's a
lot of things he can do.He worked very hard over the summer.
Right next to juwe scrugs. Theyhad a lot of time together. Do
you expect Juice to be at stamfor Jews to be the center, and
of course you know Shaq Mason isright right. And then there's a time

(11:07):
where you'll have to look at othertackles, so you're gonna see the Charlie
Hecks Fisher. So you try tobuild depth and David Sharp and you just
you do that because you have tohave backup plans at the tackle position.
I think Blake Fisher is very talented. He's also a rookie and it's tough
for rookie offensive lineman. They've gotdepth for the first time. They got
Kendrick Green, they got Jared Patterson. I heard say that left guard spot

(11:31):
belongs to him. Ken Drick Green, you remember, formerly University of Houston.
They went and got him from Arizonaafter camp last year. It was
it was the conversation I had withhim. It was more at Steve Son's
football camp. It was more ofa let's see where it goes, you
know that kind of thing, like, you know, not proclaiming himself the
starter, but he was definitely meanconfident he can do it. Yeah,

(11:52):
And he said this is the besthe's felt in a long time. He
had a meniscus, and he saidhe's really been ready since the spring.
But they were over there with him, not wanting to rush him back.
But he's been ready for a while. He's very good. The drill that
I would gravitate to first if Icould go anywhere over there, it's the
nine on seven drill, the runthat what they would consider inside run drill.

(12:16):
I think nine on seven determines andwhat I believe and have seen and
heard how Demico, how physical hewants to play the game. Offensive lineman.
I learn a lot about this offensiveline unit during nine on seven.
I learned a lot about the interior, this defensive line, the defensive lineman
during nine on seven. These linebackers, how do they run fit versus this

(12:39):
off or in conjunction with this defensiveline? These running backs, right,
you can't run that. You can'trun to the outside during nine on seven.
This is an inside run period.Everybody knows is coming. You can
separate who's scary and who's built forthis. I love Dalton Schultzen, can
Kate Stove a block? Will AndersonJr. As an in line tight end.

(13:01):
I want to know who's built becausethey can do whatever they want with
the rules. Football comes down toone simple component. Can you make a
grown man physically do something he doesn'twant to do? And if you've got
more of those guys than the otherteam, you're likely to have success as
long as your quarterback is functional,and clearly we have one of those.
That's why I love the game.Is one of the line of scrimmas.
And you mention Kate Stover tight end. Kate is two hundred and fifty five

(13:26):
pounds of bad news for the defense. He is a dude. He's going
to be a very good football playerfor this team. He's still learning the
tight end position. He runs somevery good routes. He has a lot
of rapport with CJ. Stroud.You know, it's a long line of
guys waiting to get the football fromCJ. There's so much talent. But
I think at some point, yes, Kate Stover will be heard from and

(13:48):
bocking and catching the football. He'sa good football question question question clearly.
Dalton Schultz, who ESPN's executives andscouts and all people said Dalton shots are
top ten one of the best tightend in this league overall. I would
say whether he's ten, whether he'stwelve. He belongs on that tier.
The question I have for you thoughBrevin Jordan came on at the end of

(14:09):
the season. Brevin Jordan's in acontract year. Brevin Jordan is a Nick
Cassario draft pick is as is CaseStover obviously, but Stover's a Domenico and
Casario pick. Who do you thinkwill be classified? We know how Quateriano
is another one of Cassario's guys.Is it possible that Stover comes in and

(14:30):
steals some reps from Brevin or arewe talking about guys that do some different
things. I think he's competitive enoughthat and versatile enough that he will be
a factor as a rookie. It'llbe nothing be handed to him, and
he wouldn't want that. He isthe epitome of team guy and has the
right type of work ethic and mindset. But yeah, I do anticipate at

(14:52):
some point him having a role,and Brevin Jordan a contract year, had
a very good playoff run. It'llbe competitive. He's going to have to
hold off the rookie for team CoachToronto was still injured during the spring.
Hopefully he's fully healthy now and canparticipate in practice and he has a lot

(15:13):
to proof. He's coming off theseinjuries. He's been injury prone and he
had that. I believe it's obliquesurgery. And yeah, for Tiging,
it's something where Yeah, he's hada lot of promise. He's a nice,
tall, big tight end get forsure. Oh yeah, but health
has been holding him back since hegot in the league. On the other

(15:35):
side, I have purposely held backthe conversation about the quarterback and the wide
receiver room. The wide receivers arein conversation for a couple of reasons.
The addition to Stefan Diggs. We'llsee how the rest of the league views
that. I'm talking about GMS coachesand scouts and are we sure the Texans

(15:56):
and Nick Cassario got the right receiverin for CJ. Stroud in this offseason?
More of that to come. Wewill wrap up our one Next up
Sports Talk seven nine, next supand back up now down door plates and

(16:17):
Chris Gordy on next up on SportsTalk seven ninety and there's more to talk
about that. As Stroud, youlittle play action to start, good protection.
Here's it out for Collins. He'sgot it. One play touchdown Texans

(16:41):
seventy five yards. Just start tonightfor number seven. That play still gives
me chills. Welcome back in thenext up as we wrap up our one
inside of the Sports Talk seven ninetystudios were in the Uptown Park gallerya lo
cast Stones throw if you will fromRiver Oaks, Stan Fleet me on social

(17:03):
media at stand sportsman to my left. That is the great Aaron Wilson.
He is at Aaron Wilson Underscore NFLand Texans Open camp. We have talked
a lot about linemen tight ends,a little bit about the backs. We'll
get to CJ. We can spenda whole hour with just on CJ.
Wide receiver rankings are out A Dubbsand ESPN. We're looking at got the

(17:26):
network on what is his first take? We got the TV on in the
studio. They've ranked the top tenwide receivers according to executive coaches and scouts
in order, Justin Jefferson, Tyreek, Jamar Chase, c d Lamb,
Davontae Adams. That's the first five. AJ Brown six, I'm on Ross

(17:47):
Saint Brown at seven was a surpriseto me. Mike Evans at eight.
Remember when y'all told me Mike Evanswas old and washed up, not you
Dubs. Everybody told me Mike Evans, ohd washed up? Why would you
want him? He got his money. He's still top ten receivers in the
game. Number nine, Steph Diggs, Number ten, Brandon Ayuk. Two

(18:07):
questions here for you. Do youbelieve Steph is still revered or viewed as
a top ten wide receiving this leagueright now? And are we sure?
Would you rather have Steph Diggs underthe current contract and how it ended up?
Or should the Miko and Caserio haveput pedal to the medal Because Brandon

(18:27):
Ayuk of the forty nine ers secondteam All Pro in twenty twenty three is
saying he wants out, and thescouts, executives and GMS are saying he's
a top ten receiving the league,Steph Diggs or Ayuk, And it's Stefan
still a top ten receiving the leaguein your mind. It's a great debate
starting with Stefan. Yes, Istill believe he's a top ten wide receiver.
His skills have not diminished. Lookat the early portion of last season,

(18:51):
he didn't hit some wall, whateverreason they stopped throwing them the football.
So that's something that in some wayswasn't in his control. But as
far as his skill set, theroutes all that, people are going to
say the drops in the playoff gameversus who was that was that Kansas City?
I think maybe he had the dropsone play. You know, he's
still Stefan Diggs and he's in theprime of his life and he's an outstanding

(19:17):
Oh boy, you should see thosevideos. The footwork, it's incredible.
And his routes, I mean,he really puts guys in the blade.
I had a great conversation with CaseKeenum about how dynamic and nasty these routes
are. He said, he justwatches them all the time. Same thing.
He has Tankdale routes in his phone. He watches for fun. That's
case his hobby that, you know, working out and just being around his

(19:41):
family. You think about the debate, though, you could have a younger
player and a long term deal,but you already have that with a younger
player like Nico Collins and Tankedale underrookie contract. For Tank, I would
say I'd rather have the proven eventknowing that I already have Niko. Where

(20:03):
the Texans are. Specifically, ifyou didn't have Niko, I would want
Brandon because of the age, theheight, all those factors. So Brandon
nowy six foot two hundred pounds,former first round pick. Obviously he's twenty
six. How all is steph they'sthirty, it'd be thirty one during the
season. I forget what his birthdayis when he's he's thirty four, all

(20:26):
right, So you're talking about areceiver. A difference of Yeah, he's
gonna turn thirty one during the season, So fair point by you. Where
the Texans are and who the otherpieces the step digs, even on a
one year deal, though I wouldhave loved to have kept the contract.
Where was that when we got him? But I understand Casirio's logic, trying

(20:48):
to appease him, trying to motivatehim, get the best out of them.
I get it. But if we'rethe Niners, owe us for sending
them Elik Collins for damn free,they should be sending us Brandon Nyuk.
So when I look at it,and some people, if Gordy was here,
Gordy would say, oh, Stan, that's ridiculous. You can't pay
everybody, you can't give Dolton showshis money and then Laramy's making that type
money. Titus is making good money. You just extended Shaq Mason for Joe

(21:12):
Mixon just got money. You can'tthen trade for Yauk spent that time,
you can. I watched Philly doit. I watched San fran do it.
I'm watching the Dolphins do it.You can spend big money on offense,
you can, but they have inmy opinion. I mean, you
look how much expensive Laramie is,Titus Howard, Shack Mason, all those

(21:33):
guys making real money. One ofthe most expensive offensive lines in the game.
Of injuries and all that haven't playedto that level. They've been good,
but not as you know, notliving up to the salaries just yet.
I brought it up. They can. Texans and Jets most players on
injured reserve all the last season.The majority of that was the old line.

(21:53):
I think that will level back outthis season. That's hard luck and
it doesn't always contend NFL. Yes, it's a cycle. Come back to
the receiver, Steph. You likethat, you're saying, Steph, I
would do Steph. I mean,I just think if it's done in a
vacuum and you're just starting your receiverfor from scratch, just picking, of
course, but in this case,because you have something that's a bit of

(22:17):
a parallel shoot. I mean,would I rather have Nico than Brandon is
another question. Oh you bring upNico, I did him a disservice.
So I just gave you those topten names if you're tune it into the
program. We've been going through thisESPN list of top wide receivers. Steph
Diz comes in at nine, Brandonand I Yu comes in at ten San

(22:37):
Franz. So that was a thingwe talked about back then. Honorable mentioned
Cooper Cup, Deebo, Garrett Wilsonwith the Jets, Jaylen Wadle in Miami,
Davonte Smith and Philly and Nico comminsflat out, And I'm gonna ask
you too real quick, do youanticipate Nico's gonna go do that again?

(23:00):
I think he'll have very similar production, very similar Okay, I think he
will still be a target that Cg'sdrought picks out quite a bit because when
everybody's covered, he's still open.He's six or four. He has a
of hogh pound in the football,and he also has a way of he
doesn't take a lot of shots.He has a way of work in the

(23:21):
middle of the field while still protectinghimself. Nico's got I'm not saying he
is a tight end, but he'sgot some tight end craftiness. And this
is some people are gonna go crazy. But remember I Jason Whitten, even
when his physical skills diminished, heknew how to find the crevices in the
defense and he could just sit downand it felt like Jason Witten was always
believing open. Nico's working on gettingto that level. But by body type

(23:45):
and certainly by production, I thinkhe can do some of those things.
There was a big change that Nicomade over the past year, including incorporating
hot yoga and a lot of physicalbody work with ten Win, who's revolved
physical therapy, and that really helpedhim a lot to open up his hips
to fluidity, flexibility, injury prevention, the durability. That's a lot of

(24:07):
the things. One of the reasonshe got that contract is he improved his
availability, and I think that's wherehe made a big change. And he's
the more fluid, looser athletes.So he invested in himself and the investment
came back to him with the seventyfive million dollar deal. Is Tankdale gonna
be one thousand yard receiver this season? I believe you will be. Will

(24:30):
his role be what it was lastseason? Or because you've now added Steph
Diggs Bobby Slowak offensive coordinator, doeshe envision something different for Tank? I
think he's going to have Tank notjust lineup inside. He'll be outside just
like last year. Some because hecan win either way. Yeah, you
can put Tank anywhere. I thinkthat's one of the things about this wide

(24:51):
receiver room. And let me beclear, for the sake of time,
we won't get a chance to reallydo a deep dive on you know,
Noah Brown. The Texan signed yesterdayQuintin Sephusz. He got a cost decent
player. He got caught up inthe gambling deal for the Detroit lines.
You look at the Texans wide receiverroom on paper right now, and you
can only keep six. We haven'ttalked about Metchi, we have who knows

(25:14):
what they do with Robert Woods.This to me is the best wide receiver
and not just best wide receiver room. That's the best position room any NFL,
any team, any position group.It's the Texans wide receiver room.
Anybody. I don't see anyone thathas the depth. I mean, we
are talking about Ben Skourck, whois gonna make the team. I think

(25:37):
I think so too. Why wouldhe trade that pick? Exactly? And
he's coming from mcveig's offense, whichis similar to this one. He can
play full back, he plays justlook the tackles he made. Probably he'll
be a core Frank Ross guy morethan anything. Love it. Aaron Wilson,
appreciate you man. You're say aroundif you want to hang out kicking.
I know, we got some otherstuff we need to do. I

(25:59):
need to have whever camp starting tomorrowor yeah, report today, camp start
tomorrow. A lot of studs intown. Let's go get the work and
gentlemen, the weekend is approaching,and if you want to perform like a
stud, let me recommend the goodpeople at get studrx dot com, a
local, reliable, discrete solution foryour male enhancement and performance needs. It's

(26:21):
a Texas based company and they deliverwithin a fifty mile radius. If you
want to keep things discreete some ofyou are used to some of those high
price other options, you know,those other blue alternatives and sealis and some
of this other stuff. Well,my guys at get studrx dot com they
do the same thing, except theyhave some other natural compounds that they can
blend in there. Maybe you wantto start fast, maybe you want to

(26:45):
go along. Maybe it's gonna bea big boy weekend. Make mama happy,
make your spouse happy. You deserveto feel like the stud that you
are. That's get studrx dot com. Now what's next? Next steps?
Next man, next stop, thenext step, take the next step,
next up, next stop, nextnext time? This he wants to be

(27:07):
next? This is next up withTad norfleetten Chris Gordy. Let's see what's
next next sax stupid Excited? Arewe the Texans reporting to training camp today?
First practice tomorrow. Welcome into thesecond half. Kicking off right here
in the Sports Talk seven ninety studios, the legendary KB and ME your home

(27:30):
of Houston sports will real Texans talkand listen you stay right here for the
best commentary, insight, information andentertainment as pertained the sports in the city.
Stand Northfleet me as stand sportsman onsocial My radio partner Chris Gordon.
He's in the SEC trying to meetNick Saban or something. He's doing something
in Dallas in his stead. That'smy man, Aaron Wilson. You see

(27:52):
his work. He's the Texans inNFL inside of for us here at seven
ninety he is at Aaron Wilson Underscore. There's Connadie McGovern. He's on the
other side of the glass. Theyappreciate his work and if you missed the
first hour of the show, youcan go to Sports seven ninety dot com.
That's where we also see Aaron Wilson'swork when he's got some nuggets for
us as well, like the Texanspicking up yet another wide receiver. They

(28:17):
signed a d lineman from the UFLas well. Those are camp guys.
We'll see if those two gentlemen canmake the roster. You can also always
use the free iHeartRadio app. AaronWilson has agreed to stay back with us
to the segment. As we continuetalking Texans. You have questions for me
and comments for me and or Aaron. We are at Sports Talk seven ninety
on Social seven one three two onetwo five seven ninety. A lot of

(28:38):
talk about the offense. To openthis segment on Texans or this conversation on
Texans, and we left out oneguy, and then I want to pivot
to the defense. CJ. Stroudcame in ranked number seven on ESPN dot
COM's list of quarterbacks. Do youthink that's appropriately slotted? And what are
you seeing hearing about CJ? AndI'll add to the end of that.

(29:02):
Cej's been on a world tour.I am a little not concerned, but
I am aware he's been busy.Now, he's been working China, Japan,
He's been working. But I justlike, mentally, where was their
rest? Every time I see him, he's on airplane somewhere. These young
guys at this point they can dothat. That's not a big deal.

(29:26):
One day, you're flying somewhere,you're getting on a field, you're working
out, you got a different gym. Great. He was over the weekend.
He worked out with Justin Allen forthe first time, and that's who
tankdlle always works out with, hisclose friend. So they posted some of
the videos. I talked to Justinabout it, and he said, this

(29:47):
guy is so locked in. He'sin great shape, and you can probably
tell from some of the photos helooks a little different, looks like you
put on a little bit different ustlelooks like look a little a lot stronger.
And I think that makes a differencebecause it makes a difference to out
of the You know, when you'regetting hit, when you're trying to run
away from people and just everything.As you stand in the pocket, we
forget why you're on that point realquick. For me, we forget when

(30:11):
CJ got concussed. You know,he took the shot in Arizona. That
was the first time here versus theCardinals. I was like, ooh.
Then he officially gets knocked out ofthe game up in MetLife Stadium versus the
Gests. She scruggs that left guard. But when CJ was recovering from the
concussion, he told us, Ithink you in the room over at NRG,
this is a time that I cankind of like a mini by week.

(30:33):
I can let my head get healthy. But he said, also my
shoulder, And I never forgot thatshoulder part. So my point to you
is putting on muscle, yes,allows you to absorb some of those blows.
Oh yeah, I would say withCJ, consummate leader, organize several
workouts. I think sometimes you havesome business opportunities, opportunity to grow the

(30:55):
game. That's what he was doing, kind of being an ambassador when he
went on the trip d with MikeCaparsions, when he went to Morocco.
So he went a few places.He's been in a Paris Fashion Week.
Step is getting some work in inParis. Charles Almnehu former Texans guy there
as well. Lots of guys theydo those things and their opportunities, and
sometimes it's those things that it's justa couple of days and you cannot work

(31:22):
NonStop every single day. You gottahave a little fun, you gotta relax
a little. But I think thathe made gains this offseason. I think
also his comfort level in the offense, his leadership. It's no, we're
heading into camp. No one's sayinglike last year we Anster earned the job.
We're not gonna hang. He's justyou know, it's more like,

(31:45):
is he leading them to a superBowl? Is the more of the question.
Yeah, and he's a top fivequarterback. I you know, I
didn't necessarily I don't get to intothe debate stuff. But do I think
that he should be behind Justin Herbert? No, I don't. I think
Sam Brafford was a problem for me. I think he's a little better than

(32:05):
Brafford. Now, right now,let me ask you this about CJ.
Because I get into a lot ofconversations when I'm just out moving around and
even on social media and text andall that stuff. There are some for
Rob Parker, Fox Sports Radio,join this program this week or last week.
He says, year two for quarterbackscan be tough, it can be

(32:27):
a challenge. I said, well, it wasn't for Luck, it wasn't
for Trevor Lawrence, Jalen Hurt secondyear as a starter, he made the
Pro Bowl. Joe Burrow goes toa Super Bowl his second year. I
don't put much stock into your yeartwo. They've got all this tape and
now they're trying to stop you.I think if you're built and you have
the right pieces, you can havea successful and productive second year. It

(32:49):
works both ways because he's out therewatching those defenses too. He's making his
own adjustment. I'm a smart player. It's not like he's just sitting there
like sitting dun oh, you know, what are they gonna throw at me?
He's not worried like he's not builtlike that. He's one of these
guys that's ultimately supremely confident, andhe has reason to be. He takes

(33:10):
good care of the football. Hemakes good decisions when you think about his
route progressions. When he breaks thehuddle, goes to the line and looks
out at Stefan Diggs, tankdal NicoCollins, dogs or handed to Joe Mixing.
Joe is a big X factor.We haven't talked about Joe off upgrade
for this zone off I've been sayingthis and people acting like Joe Mixing is

(33:35):
He's slightly better than singletary. JoeMixing in this offense coming from Zach Taylor
Cincinnati. This a lot look atJoe. Joe looks like a linebacker,
but he moves like a much smallerman. Joe is a very underrated running
back and run it, catch itpass pro likes to run people over,

(33:57):
likes to be physical, likes tomix it up. Let you know about
it. I think that joy respectthat he'll walk in that locker room and
dudes know that's if you told mehe's gonna be one of the team captains,
wouldn't surprise you. He was ateam captain of Cincinnati when he came
over. I think he's done alot since his days of Oklahoma to establish

(34:17):
himself as a professionals a profession Ithink you see the the you know,
the path that he got on andhe hosts his team, and they had
some things. They were probably watchinghard knocks, a lot of people seeing
people talk about hard knocks. Theywere in on that Saquon Barkley. They
tried to do that. They talkedto Motor Singletary. There was allfirs made

(34:38):
to Motor and they wound up pivotingafter looking into DeAndre Swift and Pollard and
all these other backs, and theywound up looking at Okay Cap casually and
just deciding let's just make the tradeand getting our starting running back. And
it's a different type of back.You have Damian Pierce, who I think

(34:58):
will bounce back this year. He'sregained lost too much weight last year.
He had exercise so much, hehad, you know, gotten himself a
little a little too small ankle injuriesI think, and a sickness during camp.
He lost a lot of weight andhe just didn't really have, in
my opinion, the vision and theconfidence in the offense because he wasn't a

(35:22):
fit right away. When I usedto when we're in the locker room,
I know you're doing your deal andwe respect what you do. And I
love that when I go into thelocker room postgame, I'm more going by
energy, vibe and Damian Pierce allyear. Last year, he just had
kind of deer in the hit.There was a glaze in his eyes,
like he said, it feels likeI'm a rookie again. It was upsetting

(35:44):
for him. He's a very proudyoung man and it was tough for him,
but he still stayed within the teamconcept. He didn't complain. He
took touchdown. Very supportive of motorthere. They were cool all year and
to have some like him that's beena pro alternate as your backup under team
control for more years, at leasta year. It's a good situation.

(36:07):
Real quick, we're up against day. We got just a minute here.
We didn't get a chance to reallydo a deep dive on the defense.
It sounds like the secondary for youis where your eyes gravitate to give us
about thirty seconds secondary, what areyou thinking? Got a shut down guy
and Derek Stingle Jinia takes away hisside of the field. If number two
corner can play well, maybe itwon't be five interceptions Stephen Nelson type of

(36:30):
deal, but a good, reliablesecond corner. They'll be fine. I
think that Jalen Petrie has had moresurgeon season. He learned a lot from,
you know, not having some successlast year. People have used the
word humbled with Jalen Peatrie. Notthat he was arrogant, but when you
have success like he had as arookie, you don't success again shrow you

(36:52):
off a little bit. And theway he puts it, it's not I
have a chip on my shoulder,but he knows that he can do better
than that. At is Jimmy Wardhealthy? Yes, I just saw Jimmy
yesterday did a nice job along withAziz al Shayer and Jake Hansen and Earl
Mitchell. They were visiting some communityemergency responders from the United by Graver Houston.

(37:14):
Very nice, spid surprise these ladiesthat make those phone calls when you
need help, when you have dispatcher. Yeah, so they worked tirelessly during
Hurricane Barrow. Shout out to them. I would say with Jimmy it even
came up like right away. Hewas talking about yoga, pilates, things

(37:35):
like that. So he because normallythat's where his injuries have come from,
and that's all of us. Asyou age, you become more stiff,
tighter. Yeah, but I thinkyou'll see a looser, hopefully you know,
less injury prone Jimmy Ward, becauseif he plays seventeen games, you're
getting an outstanding safety performance from himand it helps the whole defense. I

(37:58):
love Jimmy to communicate with asease goingback to their days in San Fran,
the adjustments they can make. Domicocan say something and it may be in
Texans language or it may be inSan Fran language, and that can get
communicated right down the line from Jimmyto Azis. You get the front set
and will be a captain in myopinion too. Aaron Wilson, damn it.

(38:21):
Every time we talk to you,I have like eight other things that
I'd like to get to, butI have to share you with the rest
of Houston following his work, won'tyou, Houston if you aren't already he
is at Aaron Wilson underscore NFL.I will see him at the media function
tonight, I do believe, andthen we'll continue a monto his work as
Texans open up camp tomorrow again RealTexas Talk and listen to Sports Talk seven ninety