Fantasy Football Daily - 2022 Franchise Focus: Houston Texans

Episode Date: July 16, 2022

Joe Dolan (@FG_Dolan) invites ESPN Houston's Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) to discuss the upcoming season for the Houston Texans. The Franchise Focus Podcast series is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy (@UnderdogFantasy). New users can sign up to Underdog using promo code FANTASYPTS for up to $100 in bonus cash on their first deposit. Visit fantasypoints.com/underdog for more info. The podcast series is also sponsored by Evan's Sports Cards & Collectibles (@evanscards). Follow @EvansCards on Twitter for weekly updates and card releases, Like on Facebook, and head to evanssportsnj.com for more info, including the always-updated eBay store. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fantasypoints.com and the 2022 franchise focus series is sponsored by Underdog Fantasy, the best and easiest way to play fantasy sports, with no waivers, trades, or lineup setting for season-long drafts. New users can sign up to Underdog Fantasy Fantasy. For up to $100 in bonus cash on their first deposit. That's promo code FantasyPTS. Head to FantasyPoint.com slash Underdog for more information. Now let's get to the show. It's time for the Fantasy Points podcast brought to you by FantasyPoints.com.

Top level fantasy football and NFL betting analysis from every perspective and angle, from numbers to the film room with a single goal to help you score more fantasy points. Welcome back to the franchise focus podcast series here at FantasyPoint.com. As I creep ever closer to 100% in my recovery from COVID-19. My name is Joe Dolan. I feel like I can actually talk today. It's fantastic news for me. If you've been listening to this series, you've followed my journey of just not really feeling bad at all, but also not being able to talk, which is probably good news for my wife and all who surround me. But I digress because we still have many NFL teams to get to. And today I'm excited to talk Houston Texans. And we're going to talk Houston Texans with a man who, well, he talks about the Houston Texans.

and he talks about them a lot because he's the host of the wheelhouse on ESPN Houston, 97-5 weekdays from 3 p.m to 7 p.m. Central. His name is Cody Stutes. You could follow him on Twitter at Cody underscore Stutes. That's S-T-O-O-O-T-T-S. Cody, welcome to the franchise-focused podcast series. By the way, my name's Joe Dolan, if you all didn't know. Welcome to the franchise-focused podcast series. Thanks for doing this. I'm excited to talk Texans with you. Joe, I appreciate you having me. and nothing, nothing will make you feel better than talking about the numerous, really impressive options that the Houston Texans present for people in fantasy football. Nothing will make you feel better than that.

You know, Cody, you know what's funny is like, when I was comparing this roster after the NFL draft to like rosters like the Bears, I was like, you know, the Texans, they actually do kind of have some pieces. Like, I'm not saying they're going to go to the playoffs this year, but you know, you can start to see the pieces coming together, though, a little bit, quite frankly. This is a much better team than a year ago when they had a chaotic offseason and Nick Casario couldn't really do what he wanted to do as general manager of the team. It's a much better team.

It may not look that way on paper, but most people never even found the paper for last year's Houston Texans team, but this is overall a much better team. I don't know if that's going to necessarily translate immediately or translate into the fantasy world. There's some options on here. There's some deep cuts on here. And if certain things break certain ways, you're going to have an opportunity to, you know, have some impressive players on your squad. Well, we're going to talk about that team. But first, I got to let you know that the franchise focus series of podcast is brought to you by Evans, sports cards, and collectibles, the best place for cards, collectibles, autographs, and more. When we do a memorabilia giveaway on our fantasy points,

Twitter at Fantasy PTS. It's from Evans, and Evans always has the latest boxes and releases from Upper Deck, Panini, Tops, and more, all the top brands. It's a family-owned small business, so you feel good about supporting it when you go for an in-person visit if you're in the Philadelphia area. But if you're not in the Philadelphia area, it's just as good to visit the eBay store. And follow at Evans cards on Twitter for weekly updates and card releases. You can also get those on Facebook by liking Evans and heading to Evans SportsNJ.com for

info, including that always updated eBay store. That's Evansportsnj.com online and at Evans cards on Twitter. And when you go to Evans, tell them what the guys from FantasyPoints.com sent you. Okay, Cody, so first and foremost, I want to nip something in the bud. If you're willing to nip it in the bud, we're recording this podcast on July 12th. So just as a disclaimer, I have to record these ahead of time. So maybe something will happen. but I've heard chatter on the Twitter machine.

Well, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo hasn't been traded yet. The Texans make sense to me. And there's been multiple places where I have said that to me personally, the Texans do not make sense. This is not a team that is probably competing for a playoff spot. I thought Davis Mills was certainly impressive enough as a rookie to try to give them another year and see if there's something there. What do you make of the, I don't even know if they're rumors,

but what do you make of the speculation? that Jimmy G. Jimmy Garapolo could be traded to the Houston, Texas. It would destroy all the faith that I have in general manager, Nick Casario, because there's been nothing, nothing that this organization has done that lends you to believe they would be interested in Jimmy Garoppolo. Nothing that they have done in the offseason, no way that they have operated makes you think that Jimmy Garapolo is a likely scenario for this organization. It goes back, I think Albert Breer had this conversation. He sat down with Davis Mills. He sat down with the Houston Texans organization. Shortly after

Lovey Smith was named the head coach, he sat down with Davis Mills and said, this is your team, you're the guy, you're getting the opportunity to prove that you are a starting quarterback in the National Football League. And every moment since Lovie Smith has become the head coach of this team, everything that they have done has pointed towards Davis Mills being the unquestioned starter for the Houston Texans for as long as he's healthy and as long as he plays solid level of football. Every single thing they've done this offseason has pointed to that they had opportunities to draft quarterbacks as they started to fall. They had opportunities to go sign different veterans than what they did. But everything this organization has

done has pointed to Davis Mills being the unquestioned starter. So the addition of Jimmy Garapolo would be totally out of left field. It would go against everything that they've done for this franchise this entire offseason. So what's the internal feeling on Davis Mills? Because I think both the team and fans in Houston, and obviously you have your pulse on the fan base, or have the pulse of the fan base, rather, you can be skeptical of his long-term future as the Texans quarterback while still acknowledging the right move is to go into 2022 with him as the starter. But what's the pulse of the organization and what's the pulse of the fan base as it comes to Davis Mills? From a fan base perspective, there's a lot of skepticism on Davis Mills because this guy put

together some really bad football on tape early on. Now, he was thrust into the starting role in the middle of a Cleveland game in week two when Tyrod Taylor got hurt. And then he played okay on a short week against Carolina. He was awful against the Bills. And then there was signs of hope here or there from Davis Mills. He had a fantastic game against the New England Patriots and one of the best performances that a rookie has ever had against a Bill Belichick coach defense. We know how much Belichick beats up on rookie quarterbacks. Mills had one of the best performances. And if it wasn't for David Cully being a bumbling idiot at head coach, they might have defeated New England Patriots in week five of last year's season. Now Mills played some pretty bad football. He

patted his stats a little bit against the Rams when the game was already out of hand. But once he got benched and came back as the starter, it was a much better quarterback. So from a fan-based perspective, I certainly understand the skepticism for Davis Mills because he's a third round pick. If you're a really bad football team, you're going to have an opportunity at a top quarterback. Here's how I believe the Texans look at Davis Mills. They look like they stole, they feel like they stole a quarterback out from under everybody's nose. They feel like they're going to have a cheap, reliable starter at the quarterback spot for the next few years. But they also have the understanding that if Davis Mills does not play well in 2022,

the Davis Mills is not going to be the starter. So he's getting the opportunity. He's going to have the chance to be the guy for this team. and the Texans, I believe, have made that clear to him with the understanding that that if you're not the guy, you're not going to have the opportunity at this job in 2023. It's going to be a highly drafted quarterback that's going to have this opportunity. And you're going to be a part of the backup situation or maybe you're on another football team. But they have to think, at least in the slightest with some of the performances that Mills had down the year and the progression that he showed over the course of the year,

they have to feel like they got a potential steal in the third round from Nick Asario's first draft class. So one of the things that's obviously going to play a significant part in whether or not Davis Mills succeeds this year is this receiving core. And while I don't think anybody would say this is one of the best groups in the NFL, it's certainly looking a little bit better than it has in recent years. Brandon Koch's has recently extended. Nico Collins is a second year player who flashed a little bit last year.

And then, of course, second round picked John Metchie at Alabama, potentially a guy who might have snuck into the first round, had he not been recently injured. What do you feel about this receiving group and how do you see some of this production shaking out? The receiving group is solid, but they have zero margin for error or injuries. That's the tough part about this receiver group. Mecci, I believe, will be the starting slot receiver as soon as he's healthy. He said he's going to be healthy in July. Nick Casario has told everybody pumped the brakes on when to expect to see John Mechie, but he was at training camp. He did not do any drills, but he was catching balls from Davis Mills in a couple of situations here or there.

I think he's a little bit further away than being ready to go to start the year. But once John Metch, he's healthy, I believe he's going to have every opportunity to be the starting slot receiver. Cooks and Nico Collins are going to be the two guys on the outside. Nico Collins as a rookie was starting opposite Brandon Cook's last year. And there was a flash. You're right. I think that's a great way to put it. There's a flash here or there. Collins had had a year off from football. Obviously, that doesn't affect everybody. see Jamar Chase, but it looked like it affected Nico Collins a little bit last year in his rookie year. But with coming into this season, he looks a lot better. It's been just, you know,

it's just been OTAs and mini camps and things like that. But he looks really good from a physical standpoint. He's got go up and get ability on some of these dbs. He showcased that. He's really crisp on the route running. And then from a Brandon Cook's perspective, this team's in a lot of trouble if Brandon Cook's is hurt or can't play for any reason, because he is far and away the most irreplaceable player on this team. There are not any other wide receivers that can do what Brandon Cooks can do for this team. There's not any other skill position player that can do what Brandon Cooks does for this team. He should be a target monster. He should get a lot of yards. He and Davis Mills clicked almost immediately, which I thought was pretty interesting, considering

Tyrod Taylor got a tremendous amount of the snaps last year in the preseason and early on, but he and Mills clicked pretty well. Look, defenses are going to be keying on Brandon Cooks, but that didn't stop them. That didn't stop him last year from being able to produce. Cooks is far and away the most important offensive player, and maybe even the most important player on this team because you just don't have anybody else that can do what Brandon Cook does for this team. So with this wide receiver group, those are the three guys you're going to rely on.

I think there's a name or two that you pay attention to that may play early because METCHI may not be healthy, but there's not anything. notable beyond Brandon Cook's Nico Collins and potentially after he's healthy John Metchy being able to contribute to you on a regular basis. I think Philip Dorset's going to get an opportunity to prove that he can

be in the wide receiver rotation. Chris Conley who was in the rotation last year. He's back this year. But for the most part, it's Cooks, a pretty big gap, Nico Collins, and as soon as he's healthy John Metchie. So obviously you're a fantasy guy. You understand everybody's always trying to unearth

the next running back. for, it doesn't matter if the team's good or bad. You want somebody who's going to get carries. And I think you're not going to be shocked to know that the fantasy community is most excited about the fourth round pick, Damien Pierce out of Florida. You know, you see guys here, Rex Burkhead is older. Marlon Mack hasn't been healthy in a couple of years and hasn't produced in a couple of years. There's a reasonable, it's reasonable that there's buzz on Damien Pierce.

But early in the season, how do you feel like this backfield's going to shake out? This is, this is the past two seasons for the Houston Texans running the football have been the two worst in franchise history outside of the very first year the Texans were in effect. Like the first year the Texans existed, they were really bad at running the football. These two past seasons have been arguably worse. And they didn't do a ton to change the running back room overall from last year. There's still some faces that were a part of last year's team that are here, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman, being the notable aspects of that.

You mentioned the fourth round pick, Damian Pierce, the free agent investment in Marlon Mack. This is a running back room that I'm very skeptical about. The offensive line is going to be better and it's going to be more solidified in front of them. But they can be better than last year's rushing attack and still be one of the worst rushing attacks in all the National Football League. I also feel like from the jump, we're going to get a committee situation. I believe Burkhead's going to play a ton. I believe Marlon Mack's going to play a ton. And then with Damian Pierce, I don't know how to project him just yet because this team's offense and this team is going to prioritize guys that can protect the quarterback.

That's why they use a few more two and three tight-in sets than just about anybody else. So the pass blocking for Damien Pierce, I don't know what to expect because they haven't done anything like that in OTAs and mini camp. Once training camp shows up and you'll kind of see reports pop up about, oh, how's the past blocking look? I think that's probably his biggest hurdle to getting on this team. I mentioned Mack Burkhead and Damian Pierce, but also Royce Freeman is still here. Darya Gubuwale is going to be in the running back room. It feels like they spend a fair amount of money on him. Maybe he's primarily a special teams player, but that's a guy that could muddy the situation up.

It's going to be a committee unless somebody separates themselves. I don't anticipate that being Damien Pierce early on or Damian Pierce really this season. Could long term he be the guy that's going to be the guy that's going to be. getting the majority of the early down carries, sure, but it's going to be really messy. It's going to be very messy early on figuring out exactly who's getting the bulk of the carries for the Texans. So, Cody, one of the things that I've been doing to wrap up these podcasts with everybody is asking for maybe a low, low end sleeper or two who can maybe produce who might not be

getting drafted for fantasy. And you understood, I talked to you before we went on air. And you didn't even think about Nico Collins because you knew that people, sickos like us, are drafting Nico Collins. but who are some of the low-end guys? You wouldn't be surprised to see, maybe put up numbers. It might be maybe a target off the waiver wire at some point during the season. Look, I think that there's going to be a moment throughout the course of this season

where Anthony A'Clair, who is primarily the blocking tight-in for this team, but he's changed his body. He looks a lot different than he did last year. It's another year with the quarterback. It's another year with the organization for him. You've probably never heard of him. but would it shock me if there's like, I don't know, a two or three weeks stretch where he has two, three, four touchdowns over the course of that and he's like a streamer option one or two weeks.

No, it wouldn't shock me just because he's the blocking tight end. Guys don't really key on him from a defensive perspective. And the next thing you know, he's leaking out after he's shoved a linebacker to the ground and Davis Mills is checking down to him for a touchdown in the red zone. Mills is really, really good in the red zone. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. And part of that is because he finds the guy that is the most open and doesn't try to force the football. That could be maybe A Claire. And look, everything about this running

back room tells you that Rex Burkhead's going to get carries. I don't know how long that's going to last. I don't know if they're going to also throw the ball to Rex Burkett. He showcased that before, but Burk had had the best game of his football life almost last year for this team. Now, the tough part about old players is when an old player has a performance like that, you wonder if it's the last time he's ever going to have a performance like that. Whereas when young guys do that, you're like, oh, he'll just do that next week. So with Burkhead, there's a little skepticism there. But I suppose if you were getting real deep and you were getting real desperate, he's going to get opportunities because, A, the team is most familiar with him from a running back standpoint on a

guy that they've put on the field. And B, they clearly trust him to be out there. They extended him before the year was over last year. So they knew he was going to be a factor in the running back room. And if you want to get real, real deep cut, I have no. no clue if this guy's even going to make the team. But if he does, he should see an opportunity early on, especially from that slot spot until John Metchy is healthy. But Philip Dorset, this is a guy they brought in last year, had a little bit of success right away, got hurt, but they extended Philip Dorset as well before the season was over or shortly thereafter. So they knew Dorset was going to have an opportunity to be a part of this team and a part of

this organization. And I would think that he may get some of those early slot reps or when they do that Brandon Cook's bump down to the slot thing that they've do sometimes. Maybe Dorset is that other outside guy with Nico Collins. Now again, that's a super deep cut. And if you're drafting Philip Dorset, you're probably not feeling very great about your wide receiver room. But in a pinch, if he makes the team, he should see opportunity. You know, it's funny. You're like, you probably never heard of Anthony A'Clair. And I actually have fantasy stories about both A'Clair and Rex Burkhead, believe it or not. Wow. So the Rex Burkhead game, I distinctly remember, because I

host the game day show on Sirius XM Fantasy with my co-host Paul Kelly. And I remember he picked up Rex Burkhead in one of his leagues for that game against the Chargers. And I mean, all like, you want to talk about a fantasy home run picking up Rex Burkhead when he's going off for 149 yards and two touchdowns in that game. Like, I mean, like what a ridiculous performance from a fantasy perspective. The problem was his opponent picked up Justin Jackson, who was the running back for the Chargers in that game, who I think had like close to 100 yards receiving in two touchdowns. So there is that story about Rex Burk. So I remember that game distinctly. And I also remember Alclair because on our, that program,

we have a little like a goofy segment we call sick of this when a guy who's completely irrelevant for fantasy scores a touchdown, which means that somebody who is relevant didn't get it. And just because we were talking for six hours, I talk Anthony O'Claire, like, you know, French, I learned how to say sick of this in French, Jean-A-Madeza. And that is because of Anthony Alclair. So there you go, Cody. I bet you you didn't realize I was going to have an Anthony Alclair story, but I do have one. He would love to hear that story because I don't know that many people know who Anthony Alclair is, even in the fine city of Houston. So actually, the talk about Alclair, actually, if you please indulge me one more question.

It reminded me I probably should have asked because the tight end position is so thin for fantasy probably should have asked about Brevin Jordan, who showed some flashes late in his rookie season last year. This is one of the worst Texans tied-in groups I've ever seen in my entire life. I made the joke during minicamp and during OTAs that when those guys are catching passes from the quarterback, the music that they're playing on the speakers should be juvenile because it looks like they're going in slow motion. Slow motion. Gotcha. Brevin Jordan is the only guy that I would trust to throw the football to from a past catching

perspective in that tight-end room. He showcased a little bit of a little bit. bit late in the year where you're like, why is it taking so long for this guy to get on the field? And then you realize, well, he's a rookie. He couldn't block initially. The blocking got a little bit better. Pep Hamilton's going to use two tight-in sets. He's going to have those guys block a lot of times. And that's where Claire being on the field, Farrow Brown being a much larger player on the field is going to maybe limit what Brevin Jordan can bring to the table. But it's not going to be surprising to me if Jordan is the best past catching tightest. end that they have. I just don't know that the volume overall from the Texans throwing the ball

to the tight ends is going to be worthwhile on Brevin Jordan. Is he a great late round flyer? Just maybe it works. Maybe they start finding him a lot. Sure, absolutely. But if there's anybody who's a little bit more established in their room, heck, I'd even probably, I'd look at probably Jono Smith before I look at Brevin Jordan. Just because, you know, look, Smith's done it before. And look, Brevin Jordan's second year player probably shouldn't have been a fifth round pick when he was drafted in 2021. Probably should have gone a little bit earlier. I understand that they just don't focus on the tight ends. But it goes back to that thing I told you about Davis Mills. He's really good in the red zone and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes in the red zone.

So that's where Brevin Jordan could eat a little bit is if they're getting in the red zone. Obviously, the defenses are going to be dialed in on cooks. Neco Collins is a big guy. They're going to try to keep him out of the corner of the end zone. that's where the slot receivers and those tight ends who kind of chip and leak out could be useful. I just don't know that the volume is there overall. And look, I told you the team's improved. I think overall, if I have my numbers correct, this team scored 29 touchdowns on offense last year. I don't know how they're getting significantly more than 29 touchdowns.

And I would tell you that if they are doing that, that's primarily a factor of them running the football better. and Brandon Cook's having a few more opportunities. And Nico Collins have a few more opportunities, not necessarily because they've spread the ball out a lot and the tight ends have gotten real involved. He is Cody Stoots. He is the host of the wheelhouse on ESPN 975 Houston, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Central. That's 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern for you guys.

I'm not sure occupying a significant amount of your brain power. Knowing about the Houston Texans is exactly an efficient move. So he does it so you don't have to, folks. Cody, you are awesome here talking Texas. kind of a team I'm going to be interested to follow during training camp. And I expect that you are going to have those Damien Pierce pass protection updates on your Twitter feed at Cody underscore Stutes. I am going to be looking for them.

You bet and we'll have the updates. I mean, we'll have you covered over at ESPN Houston. For everything you need to know, we'll have a much clearer picture of what this Texas team is going to look like from a fantasy perspective. I always keep that in mind what I'm doing my training cam updates is can a fantasy person use a little bit of this info. Let's stick it in there. Let's let them find out. Cody, I know it's July 12th. We're releasing this on the 16th. I know I'm taking up too much of your time. You've got to go analyze those new battle red Texans helmets that just got

dropped today, which are actually kind of, to borrow from the kids, kind of fire looking, in my opinion. I like them. I'm going to call them the red alert helmets because I like that video game back in the day. It's going to be pretty interesting to see if maybe over the next couple years we finally get some significant changes and updates to the Texans uniform. One year they teased that they were going to have a significant change to the uniform, and fans got very excited. And that significant change was simply a logo on the back of the neck of the jersey. That was it.

It was just the Texans logo on the back of the neck. And so this is maybe the signs that in the next couple of years you may see a different looking Houston Texans, but this is a, the battle red helmet, the red alert helmet, whatever you want to call it. It looks awesome. And I'm excited to see it in November on Thursday night football. Well, well, we will see Damien Pierce and Anthony O'Cla on Thursday night football as well. He's Cody Stutes. I'm Joe Dolan. This has been the Houston Texans version of the franchise focus podcast series at FantasyPoints.com. Make sure you go to that website to check out the accompanying article where there's even more information and fantasy takes for all the relevant players

here. Thanks for joining me, everybody, and we'll talk to you next week. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of the Fantasy Points podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite platform. And come join the roster at FantasyPoint.com.