September 11, 2026 • 11 mins
Friday on The Dan Mathews Show, Aaron Wilson joined Dan and Josh to break down the biggest factors that could shape the Texans’ matchup with Josh Allen and the Bills. Wilson discussed the potential impact of Kayshon Boutte and Jaylin Noel on the offense, how the Texans will look to contain Allen, provided a health update on defensive lineman Kayden McDonald, and much more.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of course, we're talking Texans. We're catching up with our
Sports Talk 790 Texans insider, Aaron Wilson, joining us here
live from Texans practice over there at Reliant Stadium. Aaron,
appreciate the time as always, man. Always great to catch
up with you. Health-wise, heading into this game, how do
you think the Texans are going to look?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I think they'll look good. I think the Texans are
ready for this game. They're pretty healthy. They have a
pretty talented roster, especially on defense, where they're absolutely loaded
and they're starting to wonder where this defense might rank
in the pantheon of great defenses maybe one day, see
if they can put something together that's a little bit historic.
(00:37):
And then offense, we're all watching to see, you know,
have they improved? How have they improved? I think there's
going to be a little more tempo, a little more
emphasis on running the football, and I think C.J. Stroud
should be a little more accurate and know the offense
a lot better and have a little more command in
(00:58):
the sense that in the collaboration with him and Nick Haley,
I talked to Nick Haley yesterday, actually for a good while. And,
you know, they're running stuff that CJ likes. And I
think that's important for a quarterback like CJ.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
And I mean, speaking of Nick Haley, cause we'll get
to Matt Burke here in a second. I know y'all
caught up with the coordinators yesterday, but one thing that
I really liked that he talked about was eliminating all
the pre-snap motion, all of the other things that kind
of can just get in the way and really put
them up against the play clock. I mean, how, how
refreshing do you think that is to hear for not
only guys in the offense, but also for CJ Stroud
(01:35):
to just say, okay, we're going to know what we're
going to do. We'll get up to the line and
we'll be able to actually run it.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Right. And even down to the basics of having enough
time to survey the defense and make the mic call.
That means everything not microphone, but Mike linebacker, middle linebacker. Okay.
Where is he? You know, call that out. And that's
part of it. You have a new center. You have,
I think a pretty good center quarterback exchange, but more
so getting to the line sooner, breaking the huddle. And
(02:03):
also that means Nick Cayley calling the play faster, not
letting the play clock take down too far. And I
think it, the more time you have as an offensive player,
especially at the quarterback position to know, okay, this is
where we're running. let me take a look at the
defense and if I need to check out of it,
of course he has the green light to do that.
He doesn't audible a ton, but he does have the
power to do so. I think that it doesn't necessarily
(02:26):
mean they're going to always change plays, but to me,
it just gives the players a little more comfort level
as they get into their stance and you're not just rushing.
And I think a lot of things we do, heck
all of us, when we're hurrying, that's when mistakes sometimes happen.
So to me, it's a, good situation to have where
you're having a little more sense of urgency, a little
(02:47):
more tempo. And I think that you can keep the defense,
you know, on their heels a little bit. There's nothing
wrong with not using all the play clock. And then
I'm not talking about a no huddle or a total
hurry up, but how about just a little more tempo,
a little more urgency, a little more speed.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Again, Aaron Wilson, Sports Talk 790 Texans Insider, joining us
for his weekly visit right here on the Dan Matthews Show,
Sports Talk 790. As far as CJ himself, I mean,
have you noticed a difference in him? I mean, just
from the few times that you've talked with him, and
then also, too, I mean, as we've talked about before,
going through training camp, I mean, does this look like
a guy that seemingly has been able to put last
(03:24):
year's postseason struggles behind him?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I do. I think based on what I watched on
the field, but also just you know, talking with him
a couple of times, being around him, being around his
family and just kind of getting a feel for, you know,
where they stand. I think that he's good with everything.
I think that he's comfortable with, you know, going to
the season, obviously with an unresolved contract and we're not
expecting like a last minute deal here for sources. And
(03:50):
what we expect is for them to negotiate after this
season and to, If it goes well, yes, it'll cost more,
but the Texans would gladly pay him more if he
has the kind of season they hope he will. I
think that he's in a good place. I really do.
I think in terms of confidence, liking the personnel, and
feeling like, hey, as soon as they lost a receiver,
(04:11):
they went and got another one in case Sean Booty,
and wouldn't the Patriots like to have him now after
losing A.J. Brown to a high ankle sprain and being
a really lackluster, really troubling performance from Romeo Dobbs. So, yeah,
I mean... I look at it like this. I think CJ,
does he have the most loaded go personnel? No, but
(04:31):
is it better than last year? Yeah. It's a lot
better than last year. I think it looks pretty good overall,
especially tight end and the offensive line on paper is better.
And yeah, they didn't pay the, you know, they paid
these guys and they're not playing them. Obviously Braden Smith's hurt,
but he wasn't going to beat out Trent Brown anyway.
Some of those things happen, but yeah, I think with
(04:53):
having Rumledge, Keelan Rumledge, Big Red, that gives you a
much better left guard situation than they've had in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Hey, Aaron, I'm really curious about Jalen Knoll this year.
With Stephon Diggs, he was so effective in the slot
before he got hurt. What kind of role do you
anticipate for Jalen, and do you think he could take
a step this season?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I do. I think that they will have some vertical
slot plays for him. I also think that beyond his returning,
and they talk about that a lot, I'm kind of
wondering if they were sandbagging a little bit about what
he's going to be doing at receiver and if it's
more than maybe D'Amico Ryan's led people to believe just
because he kept talking about returns, but he's going to
be doing a lot more than returns. He's one of
(05:33):
their top receivers. So expect that. Also expect the package
of plays right away for Kayshaun Booty.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Again, Aaron Wilson joining us here on the Dan Matthews Show,
Sports Talk 790. And you just mentioned Kayshaun Booty there,
and I think it was you that pointed out They
don't expect any limitations. I mean, has this been much
of a ramp-up period for him, or has it been
pretty much hand-in-glove in terms of learning the system, seeing
as his position coach is brothers with the guy that
(06:02):
was his offensive coordinator there?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Right. I think the overlap is extensive. And you think
about beyond the siblings, it's the teachings of Josh McDaniels
to Nick Cayley, to Cole Popovich, their Bill Belichick roots.
Those guys, everything that they were brought up on is
New England, and that's what Josh McDaniels is all about.
(06:25):
And so everything that Kayshaun was running there, the biggest
difference is they call some things differently. You know, verbiage,
everybody's got nicknames for plays, but I think for Kayshaun,
and talking with him the other day, I got a
chance to stay after a little bit with him, talk
a little more, and I said, you know, how happy
are you? And he says, this is what I asked for.
(06:45):
They granted my wish. This is the team I wanted
to play for. And he's thrilled to be here. And
he said, it's going really well so far. He's spending
a lot of time. He says, that's just work with
the quarterback. And they put a lot of time into it,
him and CJ to build some timing. Do I think
he'll play as extensively as he will later in the season? No,
I think that it'll be like a package of plays.
(07:07):
I don't think I'm not expecting him to play like,
you know, 80, 90% of the snaps in his first game.
I think they'll ramp that up, but I don't expect
them to play like a couple of plays and get
like one pass thrown to him. No, I'd be very
surprised if he didn't have a couple of shots thrown
to him, him a chance to make a play.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
And then defensively, I mean, you've got one of the
best quarterbacks in the league and Josh Allen going on
Sunday and last year, it seemed like the Texans really
made a concerted effort to limit James Cook. Do you
expect a similar type of defensive game plan for them
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yes, and I think one thing they're going to do,
because of the success James Cook had, I think they're
going to be following him around everywhere, and I would
imagine that would be as he's all shyer. They got
out of their gaps on that big touchdown. Other than that,
they did an okay job on him, but I think
that he's going to be a big point of emphasis.
The pass rush kind of takes care of itself. Their
(08:05):
offensive line is arguably worse than last year. They've lost
some people like David Edwards. It was good of them
to get Conor McGovern back, and Deion Dawkins has always
been solid, but he's not fast enough to stay with
these guys. I think either tackle position, they could have
some issues. It's going to be on Josh Allen to
get the ball out of his hands. He can't hold
(08:25):
the ball as long as he has against other teams.
It's just he has to start playing differently. At some point,
he's had a lot of struggles, especially here at Reliant
Stadium against the Texans' defense. He's got to switch it up,
and Joe Brady's got to make things... Easier for him.
Just think from the bill standpoint, how do you strategize
against this defense? It's an absolute terror. You got to
(08:46):
go quick game. Sometimes you got to hand off more.
You got to kind of make things a little simpler
for him. You have to respect the deep start. They
haven't DJ more. That's an upgrade, but it's not like
they're playing against Randy Moss or something. I mean, I
think that the defense should be fine. I would be
surprised if they're having problems with Josh Allen, but you know,
(09:06):
logic says that Joe Brady will, adjust that he has to.
I just don't think they can run the same old thing,
even though, yeah, he was the OC and now he's
the head coach. It's still OC slash head coach. I
just think that he knows, I mean, they've been working
on this game for a while. I can't see them
running the same thing. I'd be surprised. I think, I
(09:27):
think Joe's smarter than that. You gotta at least try
something different against this defense.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Get you out the door on this. What individual matchup
are you going to be keeping the closest eye on
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
We just talked about the pass rush, so let's go
to the other side. And I'm watching Nico Collins against
Bill's corner, Christian Benford. And he's a solid corner, but
I think that Nico, look for Nico in some high,
heavy targets and kind of establish him right away. He
is the go-to guy. We talk a lot about other players.
(09:58):
I think sometimes we forget. it's about Nico. And I
was imagining that would be a good matchup to watch
on the other side of the football because we've talked
so much about defense. But on offense, I'm watching number
12 and recently had a good one-on-one with Nico and
talked about a lot of things. And he's feeling really,
really good about his role and where he is as
(10:21):
a player and looks like he's really healthy and energized
for the season. So let's see what Nico can do.
And even though it's not a contract here, I think
they get back to the table. You know, they kind
of just put sort of a financial bandaid on that thing,
but at some point I think they extend it with
more years.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Again, he's Aaron Wilson, our Sports Talk 790 Texans insider.
He joins us every single week here on the Dan
Matthews Show. You can find him on Twitter at AaronWilson
underscore NFL. Aaron, it's always great, man. Appreciate your time.
Appreciate your coverage. And see you at the stadium on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Fast note, Kaden McDonald did not practice the past two
days as a rookie defensive tackle, trending toward being out
against the Bills due to an ankle injury.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
There you go. Well, we'll have to wait and see,
I guess, on Caden McDonald.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Appreciate it, buddy.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
We'll catch up soon.
Of course, we're talking Texans. We're catching up with our
Sports Talk 790 Texans insider, Aaron Wilson, joining us here
live from Texans practice over there at Reliant Stadium. Aaron,
appreciate the time as always, man. Always great to catch
up with you. Health-wise, heading into this game, how do
you think the Texans are going to look?
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I think they'll look good. I think the Texans are
ready for this game. They're pretty healthy. They have a
pretty talented roster, especially on defense, where they're absolutely loaded
and they're starting to wonder where this defense might rank
in the pantheon of great defenses maybe one day, see
if they can put something together that's a little bit historic.
(00:37):
And then offense, we're all watching to see, you know,
have they improved? How have they improved? I think there's
going to be a little more tempo, a little more
emphasis on running the football, and I think C.J. Stroud
should be a little more accurate and know the offense
a lot better and have a little more command in
(00:58):
the sense that in the collaboration with him and Nick Haley,
I talked to Nick Haley yesterday, actually for a good while. And,
you know, they're running stuff that CJ likes. And I
think that's important for a quarterback like CJ.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
And I mean, speaking of Nick Haley, cause we'll get
to Matt Burke here in a second. I know y'all
caught up with the coordinators yesterday, but one thing that
I really liked that he talked about was eliminating all
the pre-snap motion, all of the other things that kind
of can just get in the way and really put
them up against the play clock. I mean, how, how
refreshing do you think that is to hear for not
only guys in the offense, but also for CJ Stroud
(01:35):
to just say, okay, we're going to know what we're
going to do. We'll get up to the line and
we'll be able to actually run it.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Right. And even down to the basics of having enough
time to survey the defense and make the mic call.
That means everything not microphone, but Mike linebacker, middle linebacker. Okay.
Where is he? You know, call that out. And that's
part of it. You have a new center. You have,
I think a pretty good center quarterback exchange, but more
so getting to the line sooner, breaking the huddle. And
(02:03):
also that means Nick Cayley calling the play faster, not
letting the play clock take down too far. And I
think it, the more time you have as an offensive player,
especially at the quarterback position to know, okay, this is
where we're running. let me take a look at the
defense and if I need to check out of it,
of course he has the green light to do that.
He doesn't audible a ton, but he does have the
power to do so. I think that it doesn't necessarily
(02:26):
mean they're going to always change plays, but to me,
it just gives the players a little more comfort level
as they get into their stance and you're not just rushing.
And I think a lot of things we do, heck
all of us, when we're hurrying, that's when mistakes sometimes happen.
So to me, it's a, good situation to have where
you're having a little more sense of urgency, a little
(02:47):
more tempo. And I think that you can keep the defense,
you know, on their heels a little bit. There's nothing
wrong with not using all the play clock. And then
I'm not talking about a no huddle or a total
hurry up, but how about just a little more tempo,
a little more urgency, a little more speed.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Again, Aaron Wilson, Sports Talk 790 Texans Insider, joining us
for his weekly visit right here on the Dan Matthews Show,
Sports Talk 790. As far as CJ himself, I mean,
have you noticed a difference in him? I mean, just
from the few times that you've talked with him, and
then also, too, I mean, as we've talked about before,
going through training camp, I mean, does this look like
a guy that seemingly has been able to put last
(03:24):
year's postseason struggles behind him?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I do. I think based on what I watched on
the field, but also just you know, talking with him
a couple of times, being around him, being around his
family and just kind of getting a feel for, you know,
where they stand. I think that he's good with everything.
I think that he's comfortable with, you know, going to
the season, obviously with an unresolved contract and we're not
expecting like a last minute deal here for sources. And
(03:50):
what we expect is for them to negotiate after this
season and to, If it goes well, yes, it'll cost more,
but the Texans would gladly pay him more if he
has the kind of season they hope he will. I
think that he's in a good place. I really do.
I think in terms of confidence, liking the personnel, and
feeling like, hey, as soon as they lost a receiver,
(04:11):
they went and got another one in case Sean Booty,
and wouldn't the Patriots like to have him now after
losing A.J. Brown to a high ankle sprain and being
a really lackluster, really troubling performance from Romeo Dobbs. So, yeah,
I mean... I look at it like this. I think CJ,
does he have the most loaded go personnel? No, but
(04:31):
is it better than last year? Yeah. It's a lot
better than last year. I think it looks pretty good overall,
especially tight end and the offensive line on paper is better.
And yeah, they didn't pay the, you know, they paid
these guys and they're not playing them. Obviously Braden Smith's hurt,
but he wasn't going to beat out Trent Brown anyway.
Some of those things happen, but yeah, I think with
(04:53):
having Rumledge, Keelan Rumledge, Big Red, that gives you a
much better left guard situation than they've had in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Hey, Aaron, I'm really curious about Jalen Knoll this year.
With Stephon Diggs, he was so effective in the slot
before he got hurt. What kind of role do you
anticipate for Jalen, and do you think he could take
a step this season?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I do. I think that they will have some vertical
slot plays for him. I also think that beyond his returning,
and they talk about that a lot, I'm kind of
wondering if they were sandbagging a little bit about what
he's going to be doing at receiver and if it's
more than maybe D'Amico Ryan's led people to believe just
because he kept talking about returns, but he's going to
be doing a lot more than returns. He's one of
(05:33):
their top receivers. So expect that. Also expect the package
of plays right away for Kayshaun Booty.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Again, Aaron Wilson joining us here on the Dan Matthews Show,
Sports Talk 790. And you just mentioned Kayshaun Booty there,
and I think it was you that pointed out They
don't expect any limitations. I mean, has this been much
of a ramp-up period for him, or has it been
pretty much hand-in-glove in terms of learning the system, seeing
as his position coach is brothers with the guy that
(06:02):
was his offensive coordinator there?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Right. I think the overlap is extensive. And you think
about beyond the siblings, it's the teachings of Josh McDaniels
to Nick Cayley, to Cole Popovich, their Bill Belichick roots.
Those guys, everything that they were brought up on is
New England, and that's what Josh McDaniels is all about.
(06:25):
And so everything that Kayshaun was running there, the biggest
difference is they call some things differently. You know, verbiage,
everybody's got nicknames for plays, but I think for Kayshaun,
and talking with him the other day, I got a
chance to stay after a little bit with him, talk
a little more, and I said, you know, how happy
are you? And he says, this is what I asked for.
(06:45):
They granted my wish. This is the team I wanted
to play for. And he's thrilled to be here. And
he said, it's going really well so far. He's spending
a lot of time. He says, that's just work with
the quarterback. And they put a lot of time into it,
him and CJ to build some timing. Do I think
he'll play as extensively as he will later in the season? No,
I think that it'll be like a package of plays.
(07:07):
I don't think I'm not expecting him to play like,
you know, 80, 90% of the snaps in his first game.
I think they'll ramp that up, but I don't expect
them to play like a couple of plays and get
like one pass thrown to him. No, I'd be very
surprised if he didn't have a couple of shots thrown
to him, him a chance to make a play.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
And then defensively, I mean, you've got one of the
best quarterbacks in the league and Josh Allen going on
Sunday and last year, it seemed like the Texans really
made a concerted effort to limit James Cook. Do you
expect a similar type of defensive game plan for them
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yes, and I think one thing they're going to do,
because of the success James Cook had, I think they're
going to be following him around everywhere, and I would
imagine that would be as he's all shyer. They got
out of their gaps on that big touchdown. Other than that,
they did an okay job on him, but I think
that he's going to be a big point of emphasis.
The pass rush kind of takes care of itself. Their
(08:05):
offensive line is arguably worse than last year. They've lost
some people like David Edwards. It was good of them
to get Conor McGovern back, and Deion Dawkins has always
been solid, but he's not fast enough to stay with
these guys. I think either tackle position, they could have
some issues. It's going to be on Josh Allen to
get the ball out of his hands. He can't hold
(08:25):
the ball as long as he has against other teams.
It's just he has to start playing differently. At some point,
he's had a lot of struggles, especially here at Reliant
Stadium against the Texans' defense. He's got to switch it up,
and Joe Brady's got to make things... Easier for him.
Just think from the bill standpoint, how do you strategize
against this defense? It's an absolute terror. You got to
(08:46):
go quick game. Sometimes you got to hand off more.
You got to kind of make things a little simpler
for him. You have to respect the deep start. They
haven't DJ more. That's an upgrade, but it's not like
they're playing against Randy Moss or something. I mean, I
think that the defense should be fine. I would be
surprised if they're having problems with Josh Allen, but you know,
(09:06):
logic says that Joe Brady will, adjust that he has to.
I just don't think they can run the same old thing,
even though, yeah, he was the OC and now he's
the head coach. It's still OC slash head coach. I
just think that he knows, I mean, they've been working
on this game for a while. I can't see them
running the same thing. I'd be surprised. I think, I
(09:27):
think Joe's smarter than that. You gotta at least try
something different against this defense.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Get you out the door on this. What individual matchup
are you going to be keeping the closest eye on
on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
We just talked about the pass rush, so let's go
to the other side. And I'm watching Nico Collins against
Bill's corner, Christian Benford. And he's a solid corner, but
I think that Nico, look for Nico in some high,
heavy targets and kind of establish him right away. He
is the go-to guy. We talk a lot about other players.
(09:58):
I think sometimes we forget. it's about Nico. And I
was imagining that would be a good matchup to watch
on the other side of the football because we've talked
so much about defense. But on offense, I'm watching number
12 and recently had a good one-on-one with Nico and
talked about a lot of things. And he's feeling really,
really good about his role and where he is as
(10:21):
a player and looks like he's really healthy and energized
for the season. So let's see what Nico can do.
And even though it's not a contract here, I think
they get back to the table. You know, they kind
of just put sort of a financial bandaid on that thing,
but at some point I think they extend it with
more years.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Again, he's Aaron Wilson, our Sports Talk 790 Texans insider.
He joins us every single week here on the Dan
Matthews Show. You can find him on Twitter at AaronWilson
underscore NFL. Aaron, it's always great, man. Appreciate your time.
Appreciate your coverage. And see you at the stadium on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Fast note, Kaden McDonald did not practice the past two
days as a rookie defensive tackle, trending toward being out
against the Bills due to an ankle injury.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
There you go. Well, we'll have to wait and see,
I guess, on Caden McDonald.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Appreciate it, buddy.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
We'll catch up soon.
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