April 3, 2024 • 10 mins
Houston Chronicle Texans beat writer Jonathan M. Alexander joins The A-Team to react to the team acquiring wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills. He talks about what went into general manager Nick Caserio making this move. Plus, what it does for this Texans offense in 2024 and beyond.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Let's do it. Let's talk somemore about the new look Houston Texans.
The bill said it's done, They'vealready tweeted it out. It is official.
The Texans have added Stefan Diggs somedraft considerations swapping spots. Texans actually
add a couple of picks in thedeal, as well as the contract and
services of Stefan Diggs. To thatend, Houston Chronicle Texans beat writer Jonathan
(00:23):
Alexander joining us now another visit herethis offseason from you, Jonathan must mean
trader. Nick is back at workabout three weeks out from the NFL Draft,
where the Texans can't wait until Fridaymaybe to get started with their efforts,
so instead he has been putting togethera group of established, significant,
(00:44):
disruptive and explosive players to try tomake a go of it in year two.
For CJ. Stroud, First,you're surprised that they were able to
get a deal like this done,And second, how's the fit with Stefan
Diggs and Bobby Sloak's offense led byc J. Stroud. No, I'm
not surprised, especially when you lookat what they try to do earlier when
(01:07):
they try to trade for Keenan Allen, and at that point earlier in Seas
when they offered to the Chargers,at that point it became clear that they
were going to swing for the fenceswhenever possible, and they certainly did that
with Stepan Diggs. And it wasapparent ever since last year that Diggs wanted
(01:30):
out. So it makes a lotof sense that this deal came to be
considering what the Texans were looking for. They were looking for a separator,
they were looking for somebody who couldhelp them out in the fast game and
continue they they feel that it's importantthat they surround CJ. Straaler with pieces
so he can continue to flourish,so he doesn't have a step back,
and adding Diggs here to go alongwith Nico Collins and Tank Dell definitely gives
(01:56):
them that and they don't necessarily havethat drop off anymore that they had before
in case one of those guys goesdown with the injury. It's obvious that's
what's the case. I mean it, and this is what we've talked about,
and obviously the Texans are being proactiveabout it. But with regards to
you mentioned a potential Allen deal,with what you know about what that deal
might have looked like versus what thisdeal does involve. Which one is or
(02:23):
was better? I think this oneis better. You look at what the
Texans gave up. They got that. They gave up the pick that they
got from the Vikings, that twentytwenty five second round pick, and they
really essentially what they did was theygot that pick in the Vikings, they
moved down to a spot where theythought they could get a guy of the
(02:46):
same caliber that they could get attwenty three. And you look at what
they could have potentially given up forin the Charges trade. I think that
was also a future third round pick. I think Stefan is a little bit
more of a better receiver than Keenanallen Is. Keen Now is certainly a
Hall of Famer, but I thinkStefan Diggis has continuously and consistently has been
(03:10):
a little bit more consistently. Allencontinue has been a top ten receiver in
this league, in top five mostyears. So you add that along with
Nico Collins, as long as theycan manage, you know, the ups
and downs of his you know emotions, I think they're good. And you
have a course like Demico Rance anda guy with the temperament like see this
(03:30):
child. I think that should befine. Figured it would come up at
some point, and I briefly mentionedit in the opening two segments. It's
been a common theme with elite passreceivers. Keishawn Johnson even wrote a book
about it. I think he askedfor the football. Do you believe in
any of this stuff? Because Buffalowon a lot of games, he was
really productive, Josh Allen was supersuccessful. The same thing is true in
(03:53):
Minnesota for many of his years there, especially since he had the all time
greatest play in Minnesota Vikings history thanksto case Keenum. But the stupid diva
tag, the nonsense mouthy, whateveryou want to call it, Does any
of this really matter? Did itreally impact the Bills in a negative way?
It impacted the negative perception of Digsquite clearly. And obviously, how
(04:15):
do you think, if at allit plays now that he's in Houston.
Yeah. I read a lot ofreports from the Bills about their situation.
It seemed like it did have aneffect. You know, it can I
think since when you're losing, Ithink it's magnified, and it seems like
that's what happened. A little bit. I think they could have the Bills
(04:38):
could have managed it a little bitbetter. It seemed like they started going
away from Diggs as well. Butas far as the textives go, I
think as long as the technicians win, you know, they'll be fine.
I think, you know, mosttop right with you to have a little
deepening, But I think that's okay. I don't think that's totally bad.
I think as long as the Tectiansare winning, and they'll find a way
(05:00):
to get Digs involved heavily. Ithink Bobby Slack has shown that he knows
how to get his best weapons involvedand get them involved in offense, and
I think that'll happen here. Idon't foresee it being a problem at least
in year one. Now. Ifwe start talking about you know, the
years go on and the numbers ofplayers start dwindling and then they start losing,
(05:25):
then you might have to worry aboutit. But I don't think right
now they have to worry about it. I think Biggs will be happy because
I think the Texans are in aposition to win right away. Okay,
So in that vein, I guessit's kind of how you want to perceive
this whole situation. You know,who's camp are you believing? And from
this Stefan Diggs's camp that side ofthings, it's well, he just didn't
(05:45):
feel like the players around him wereas competitive or wanted to win as much
as he did. Do you believesomething like that, because again, when
you go back to the diva tag, like Wex said, I think it's
overblown a lot of time. Youcan probably name on one hand how many
times an actual diva where it's effectedthe team like a Terrell owens like it
actually became a distraction relative to theamount of talent they bring to the table.
(06:09):
So where does Stefon Diggs fall intothat category? And do you believe
that line of thinking, Well,he just he didn't feel like the people
around him wanted to win as muchas he did. Yeah, you know,
I don't know. I think that'sthat's a good question. I mean,
I do think that the situation aroundStefan Diggs last year certainly had somewhat
of an effect on the Bills becausethat was all anyone wanted to talk about
(06:32):
it, and that had to becertainly be a distraction. But his teammates
could potentially tell you differently, maybeit didn't. I personally don't believe that
they had enough, even if StephonDiigs was happy. I don't think think
the Bills had enough to beat theChiefs or the Ravens. I think those
teams were clearly better than the Billshad some deficits, But you know,
(06:56):
I don't think I wouldn't say thathe was a soul reason why they struggle,
and I don't think he could helpimplode what the Texans are building.
Yes, Stefan Diggs went somewhere.We're talking with John Alexander, the Houston
Chronicle beat writer for the Texans.If Diggs went somewhere where he was clearly
the guy that they wanted to getthe ball to as often as possible,
(07:16):
which was always the case in Buffalo. I think we understand what he would
be doing in the future, buthe's coming here to Houston, where,
at least last year, and Ithink for the long term future, Nico
Collins was clearly a the guy,a number one, a red zone receiver,
a downfield receiver, a throw theball to him, twelve targets,
a game receiver, and Tank Dellwas not far off when he was healthy,
and they were playing together. SoDiggs joins them, and they're gonna
(07:41):
be on the field a lot asa trio, I would imagine, And
I know Diggs can line up inmultiple spots. Same thing for Tank.
How do you think they will fittogether as an actual three headed wide receiver
monster, which is the best infootball here in Houston? Yeah, I
mean, I think they'll figure itout, similar to how you know San
Francisco is able to deploy Deebo Samuels, Brandon and uh And and George Kittle
(08:07):
and and all of those receivers andChristian McCaffrey as well. You know,
Bobby Slows was looking for in upgradeUH in his receivers Corse and he got
it. And and the good thingabout guys like Nico Collins and so far
Tank Dell is Nico Collins for sureis proven to be a low maintenance wide
receiver, a guy who hasn't complainedin the three years that he was here,
(08:31):
even when he might not have beengetting the ball in his first two
years. And and Tank Dell,you know when he had to split with
I know that was just his firstseason, but so far he's shown to
be a low maintenance guy. Ithink I think those guys, I think
there's gonna be enough ball go around. It's good to have multiple options and
it will only make the texts strongerbecause you can't key in on one particular
(08:52):
receiver. All right, John,this is a is a good going off
the air with us question the lastone for you and you got it all
the time in the world. Youneed to think about it. Stefan Diggs
is pretty active on social media.His last three visits to the platform,
I'll come over the last handful ofdays. On March twenty eighth, he
said, ketchup goes in the fridge, by the way, not the cabinet.
(09:15):
At the March twenty ninth he said, all that hating don't make you
no extra money. And this month, the first two days of the month,
April Fool's Day, he said,win the day. Yesterday he said,
keep the main thing, the mainthing. You have been given access
to Stefan diggs X platform. Whatis your next post today? Right now
you're Stefan Diggs. Today is agood day in quotes my ice cube,
(09:43):
because it certainly is a good daywith Stefan Diggs. Is a good day
for the Texans strong I like that. I like the ice cube reference.
That's very strong. Appreciate your time, looking forward to what else comes our
way the next three weeks, evenbefore the draft, and look forward to
everything you got coming in the Ronicleas well. I appreciate you having me.
You got it. Jonathan m Alexanderof the Houston Chronicle, the Texans
(10:05):
beat writer. The Houston Texans havehad and are continuing to have quite the
offseason. They are taking notice nationally. They're taking notice in the locker rooms
around the NFL, certainly his ownnew locker room here in Houston. And
you might want to take a peekat this schedule for the Texans if you
haven't. The Bills are on itand a host of other excellent football teams
(10:30):
that there's no question the national TVaudience is going to want and going to
get when the Texans schedule comes outin the not too distant future
Let's do it. Let's talk somemore about the new look Houston Texans.
The bill said it's done, They'vealready tweeted it out. It is official.
The Texans have added Stefan Diggs somedraft considerations swapping spots. Texans actually
add a couple of picks in thedeal, as well as the contract and
services of Stefan Diggs. To thatend, Houston Chronicle Texans beat writer Jonathan
(00:23):
Alexander joining us now another visit herethis offseason from you, Jonathan must mean
trader. Nick is back at workabout three weeks out from the NFL Draft,
where the Texans can't wait until Fridaymaybe to get started with their efforts,
so instead he has been putting togethera group of established, significant,
(00:44):
disruptive and explosive players to try tomake a go of it in year two.
For CJ. Stroud, First,you're surprised that they were able to
get a deal like this done,And second, how's the fit with Stefan
Diggs and Bobby Sloak's offense led byc J. Stroud. No, I'm
not surprised, especially when you lookat what they try to do earlier when
(01:07):
they try to trade for Keenan Allen, and at that point earlier in Seas
when they offered to the Chargers,at that point it became clear that they
were going to swing for the fenceswhenever possible, and they certainly did that
with Stepan Diggs. And it wasapparent ever since last year that Diggs wanted
(01:30):
out. So it makes a lotof sense that this deal came to be
considering what the Texans were looking for. They were looking for a separator,
they were looking for somebody who couldhelp them out in the fast game and
continue they they feel that it's importantthat they surround CJ. Straaler with pieces
so he can continue to flourish,so he doesn't have a step back,
and adding Diggs here to go alongwith Nico Collins and Tank Dell definitely gives
(01:56):
them that and they don't necessarily havethat drop off anymore that they had before
in case one of those guys goesdown with the injury. It's obvious that's
what's the case. I mean it, and this is what we've talked about,
and obviously the Texans are being proactiveabout it. But with regards to
you mentioned a potential Allen deal,with what you know about what that deal
might have looked like versus what thisdeal does involve. Which one is or
(02:23):
was better? I think this oneis better. You look at what the
Texans gave up. They got that. They gave up the pick that they
got from the Vikings, that twentytwenty five second round pick, and they
really essentially what they did was theygot that pick in the Vikings, they
moved down to a spot where theythought they could get a guy of the
(02:46):
same caliber that they could get attwenty three. And you look at what
they could have potentially given up forin the Charges trade. I think that
was also a future third round pick. I think Stefan is a little bit
more of a better receiver than Keenanallen Is. Keen Now is certainly a
Hall of Famer, but I thinkStefan Diggis has continuously and consistently has been
(03:10):
a little bit more consistently. Allencontinue has been a top ten receiver in
this league, in top five mostyears. So you add that along with
Nico Collins, as long as theycan manage, you know, the ups
and downs of his you know emotions, I think they're good. And you
have a course like Demico Rance anda guy with the temperament like see this
(03:30):
child. I think that should befine. Figured it would come up at
some point, and I briefly mentionedit in the opening two segments. It's
been a common theme with elite passreceivers. Keishawn Johnson even wrote a book
about it. I think he askedfor the football. Do you believe in
any of this stuff? Because Buffalowon a lot of games, he was
really productive, Josh Allen was supersuccessful. The same thing is true in
(03:53):
Minnesota for many of his years there, especially since he had the all time
greatest play in Minnesota Vikings history thanksto case Keenum. But the stupid diva
tag, the nonsense mouthy, whateveryou want to call it, Does any
of this really matter? Did itreally impact the Bills in a negative way?
It impacted the negative perception of Digsquite clearly. And obviously, how
(04:15):
do you think, if at allit plays now that he's in Houston.
Yeah. I read a lot ofreports from the Bills about their situation.
It seemed like it did have aneffect. You know, it can I
think since when you're losing, Ithink it's magnified, and it seems like
that's what happened. A little bit. I think they could have the Bills
(04:38):
could have managed it a little bitbetter. It seemed like they started going
away from Diggs as well. Butas far as the textives go, I
think as long as the technicians win, you know, they'll be fine.
I think, you know, mosttop right with you to have a little
deepening, But I think that's okay. I don't think that's totally bad.
I think as long as the Tectiansare winning, and they'll find a way
(05:00):
to get Digs involved heavily. Ithink Bobby Slack has shown that he knows
how to get his best weapons involvedand get them involved in offense, and
I think that'll happen here. Idon't foresee it being a problem at least
in year one. Now. Ifwe start talking about you know, the
years go on and the numbers ofplayers start dwindling and then they start losing,
(05:25):
then you might have to worry aboutit. But I don't think right
now they have to worry about it. I think Biggs will be happy because
I think the Texans are in aposition to win right away. Okay,
So in that vein, I guessit's kind of how you want to perceive
this whole situation. You know,who's camp are you believing? And from
this Stefan Diggs's camp that side ofthings, it's well, he just didn't
(05:45):
feel like the players around him wereas competitive or wanted to win as much
as he did. Do you believesomething like that, because again, when
you go back to the diva tag, like Wex said, I think it's
overblown a lot of time. Youcan probably name on one hand how many
times an actual diva where it's effectedthe team like a Terrell owens like it
actually became a distraction relative to theamount of talent they bring to the table.
(06:09):
So where does Stefon Diggs fall intothat category? And do you believe
that line of thinking, Well,he just he didn't feel like the people
around him wanted to win as muchas he did. Yeah, you know,
I don't know. I think that'sthat's a good question. I mean,
I do think that the situation aroundStefan Diggs last year certainly had somewhat
of an effect on the Bills becausethat was all anyone wanted to talk about
(06:32):
it, and that had to becertainly be a distraction. But his teammates
could potentially tell you differently, maybeit didn't. I personally don't believe that
they had enough, even if StephonDiigs was happy. I don't think think
the Bills had enough to beat theChiefs or the Ravens. I think those
teams were clearly better than the Billshad some deficits, But you know,
(06:56):
I don't think I wouldn't say thathe was a soul reason why they struggle,
and I don't think he could helpimplode what the Texans are building.
Yes, Stefan Diggs went somewhere.We're talking with John Alexander, the Houston
Chronicle beat writer for the Texans.If Diggs went somewhere where he was clearly
the guy that they wanted to getthe ball to as often as possible,
(07:16):
which was always the case in Buffalo. I think we understand what he would
be doing in the future, buthe's coming here to Houston, where,
at least last year, and Ithink for the long term future, Nico
Collins was clearly a the guy,a number one, a red zone receiver,
a downfield receiver, a throw theball to him, twelve targets,
a game receiver, and Tank Dellwas not far off when he was healthy,
and they were playing together. SoDiggs joins them, and they're gonna
(07:41):
be on the field a lot asa trio, I would imagine, And
I know Diggs can line up inmultiple spots. Same thing for Tank.
How do you think they will fittogether as an actual three headed wide receiver
monster, which is the best infootball here in Houston? Yeah, I
mean, I think they'll figure itout, similar to how you know San
Francisco is able to deploy Deebo Samuels, Brandon and uh And and George Kittle
(08:07):
and and all of those receivers andChristian McCaffrey as well. You know,
Bobby Slows was looking for in upgradeUH in his receivers Corse and he got
it. And and the good thingabout guys like Nico Collins and so far
Tank Dell is Nico Collins for sureis proven to be a low maintenance wide
receiver, a guy who hasn't complainedin the three years that he was here,
(08:31):
even when he might not have beengetting the ball in his first two
years. And and Tank Dell,you know when he had to split with
I know that was just his firstseason, but so far he's shown to
be a low maintenance guy. Ithink I think those guys, I think
there's gonna be enough ball go around. It's good to have multiple options and
it will only make the texts strongerbecause you can't key in on one particular
(08:52):
receiver. All right, John,this is a is a good going off
the air with us question the lastone for you and you got it all
the time in the world. Youneed to think about it. Stefan Diggs
is pretty active on social media.His last three visits to the platform,
I'll come over the last handful ofdays. On March twenty eighth, he
said, ketchup goes in the fridge, by the way, not the cabinet.
(09:15):
At the March twenty ninth he said, all that hating don't make you
no extra money. And this month, the first two days of the month,
April Fool's Day, he said,win the day. Yesterday he said,
keep the main thing, the mainthing. You have been given access
to Stefan diggs X platform. Whatis your next post today? Right now
you're Stefan Diggs. Today is agood day in quotes my ice cube,
(09:43):
because it certainly is a good daywith Stefan Diggs. Is a good day
for the Texans strong I like that. I like the ice cube reference.
That's very strong. Appreciate your time, looking forward to what else comes our
way the next three weeks, evenbefore the draft, and look forward to
everything you got coming in the Ronicleas well. I appreciate you having me.
You got it. Jonathan m Alexanderof the Houston Chronicle, the Texans
(10:05):
beat writer. The Houston Texans havehad and are continuing to have quite the
offseason. They are taking notice nationally. They're taking notice in the locker rooms
around the NFL, certainly his ownnew locker room here in Houston. And
you might want to take a peekat this schedule for the Texans if you
haven't. The Bills are on itand a host of other excellent football teams
(10:30):
that there's no question the national TVaudience is going to want and going to
get when the Texans schedule comes outin the not too distant future
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