Here's everything Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday in Indianapolis, including an update on the fifth-year options for C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr., a Joe Mixon update, draft needs and more.
Question: On DE Will Anderson Jr., QB C.J. Stroud and other potential contract extensions
Nick Caserio: “We haven't typically talked publicly about contracts in anybody's particular situation. I would say those two players are really good players. They've helped our program win a number of football games. So, we take it one day at a time and just try to piece the team together and try to do, ultimately, what we feel makes the most sense for our team and the organization. No timetable on anything, but we'll handle business as business is being done.”
Q: On the team’s recent history of using trades to draft multiple players
Caserio: “I'd say those two [WR Jaylin Noel and WR Jayden Higgins], it's probably more happenstance more than anything else. We don't go into the draft and say we're going to draft X, Y and Z. We try to grade the players. Try to take them off the board as they come. In that particular situation, those are two players that we really liked. So, this program's not about one player. It's not about helping one position group. It's not about helping one individual. It's about, ‘How do we put together a good, consistent team on a year-to-year basis?’ We feel that we've been able to do that, and that'll be the goal here this offseason as well. So, those two guys are going to be two pretty good young players in ‘J. Noel’ and ‘Higgs’. I'm sure there's some other players that are here this week that we're going to have an opportunity to bring in our building, and hopefully they can help our program in some capacity.”
Q: On if the focus will be on the offensive line or the best available player
Caserio: “We're typically taking the best players. I would say, as it pertains to the offensive line, honestly, it's probably one of the best years we had since I've been there. I think we gave up the least amount of sacks, or second [fewest] in the history of the organization. We had the most improvement in sack production from one year to the next. I think it was the [Chicago] Bears. Honestly, our offensive line actually played pretty well last year, so maybe I was looking at a different film. But we're going to look at who we feel are the best players that we think are going to help us and try to put together a good team.”
Q: On the Jacksonville Jaguars
Caserio: “I'd say they [the Jacksonville Jaguars] got a great program. What Liam [Coen] and [General Manager] James [Gladstone] and honestly [Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Tony Boselli have done building the program. Going into the season, we felt that this was going to be a much-improved team, or at least I thought that, and it came to fruition. They're tough. They're physical. They play the right way. They're well coached. They're disciplined. Anytime you win 13 games in this league, it says a lot about where your program is. They earned the AFC South this year with their performance. I think our division overall is going to be probably as competitive as any in the league next year. You mentioned the Jaguars. They're defending division champs and made the playoffs. The [Indianapolis] Colts, they're a good team. I think Tennessee [Titans] is going to be much improved. But we got a lot of respect for Jacksonville and their program and what they did. We understand the challenges that it's going to take. You're going to have to play a good brand of football on a weekly basis to beat the Jaguars. So, a lot of credit to them and a lot of respect for their program.”
Q: On how he evaluates tackling in prospects and if he sees players improve their tackling in the NFL
Caserio: “The short answer is yes. I'll give you one illustrative example. So, we drafted [Jalen] Pitre in 2022, a really good player. His rookie year, it wasn't great, and he'll tell you that. I think he led the league in missed tackles. I think he had 150-some-odd tackles, but he also led the league in missed tackles. I'd say fast forward; he's probably one of the best tacklers that we have on the team. So, it's a skill that you can improve. I think it goes back to coaching. Our defensive staff does a great job of focusing on certain fundamentals and techniques, and then you see that transfer over into our play. It absolutely is a skill that you can improve. Tackling is really about a mindset. Tackling can be taught in a lot of different ways. You can approach the ball carrier, break down, you can shoot your shot, go to the near hip. It all depends on what your philosophy is. But as long as you have the right mentality and the right mindset, you can improve any skill that you're deficient in, which I would say tackling certainly qualifies.”
Q: On how difficult it is to evaluate a college quarterback given the changes in the sport
Caserio: “The big thing is what are they being coached to do, what are they being asked to do and how much of the system with which they play in can transfer over into our league. This league is really… The situational element is probably more magnified and more pronounced. Third down, red area, end-of-game, end-of-half situations, those happen more in our league than they do in college football. You can go look for them in college football, but a quarterback a lot of times isn't really put in those situations. But if you have the ability to evaluate them through that lens, then that's certainly valuable. But there's a certain level of retraining how you play the position. Look, the reality is the quarterbacks are going to play under center in our league. In college, I don't know what the percentages are, I'm sure there's a bunch of data out there, but the majority of them are not playing under center. They're playing from the shotgun. So, there's a little bit of a transition there that takes place. Some can handle that. Again, there's technique. There's footwork that's involved. How do you position your feet, your stance? How do you get away from center? Those are all relevant. It might seem like minor things, but those are absolutely relevant to playing quarterback in this league. There's an adjustment period. Look, I've said this publicly. It's the hardest position to play in sports. It's not like, ‘Well, what you did in college is automatically going to translate over.’ There are certain skills that are going to translate over. But it's not always one for one.”
Q: On the decreasing number of prospects competing in on-field workouts at the combine
Caserio: “You'll probably get a different answer from everybody. It doesn't matter to me, honestly. Whatever they do here, they do. It doesn't really matter. So, eventually, you'd like to have a [40-yard dash] time. Okay, how relevant is that time? Let's go back to [Kamari] Lassiter however many years ago. He ran, what was his time? I don't know, 4.65 [seconds]? He's not a 4.65 guy. The guy plays 4.5 or below. He's a football player. He's one of our best players. So, if we're so caught up in, ‘Well, the guy ran this.’ Okay, well, it's a data point. Does it affect their play if they choose not to do something here? Ultimately, it's the player's prerogative. Our job is to understand the thought process, the rationale behind why they do or not do something and then figure out, ‘All right, does this player fit in our building or not?’ Ultimately, when they walk in our building, they're all starting from scratch. So, we're going to teach them and train them and provide them with the resources that [they] need to be successful. So, whatever they decide to do here… Now, I'd say sometimes they listen to the wrong people because they're getting misinformation. So, you have to balance that off here a little bit. Our job is to understand it, not to make a judgment about it, and ultimately make a good decision that we feel is in the best interest of our team and organization.”
Q: On what matters to him at the combine as more teams elect not to attend
Caserio: “I think the timing and the scheduling lead to these wide gaps. So, I think everybody has to look at it. How can we be most efficient with our time? I think when you look at the league, there are 10 new head coaches. Separate from that, there are another 10 to 12 coordinators who have turned over. So, you're talking about massive coaching turnover. This is probably a good opportunity for those teams to spend time together as a staff and go through self-scout, look at the team, what happened this year, and who are the players coming back. So, it's all about resources and time allocation. I'd say specifically for the Texans, we try to maximize our opportunities to spend one-on-one time with the players. A lot of times, it's our first introduction with the player, meeting them on a personal level. We're trying to get to know them personally. Then the more time and the more touch points that we have for them; it's just going to help us make a good decision. I think everybody, every team, has to go about their business however they see fit. You certainly understand why some teams are here, why some teams are not here. In the end, you've got to do what they feel is best for themselves. We try to be as efficient with our time and resources as possible, which is why DeMeco [Ryans] and I are here. I'll speak for both of us. None of us are going to be here starting Friday when the workouts actually start. We can watch them on TV, and to go into the question a little bit earlier, if we watch them, we watch them. If we don't, we don't. Eventually, you're going to get the information. But I think that interpersonal element, I'd say that's a big thing for us here over these next three to four days.”
Q: On the reason teams haven’t found success in spending around a young quarterback to win during their rookie contract
Caserio: “I think that whole concept gets a little bit overblown. Again, everybody's got a salary cap. Everybody has parameters that they have to operate in. You have to look at your team, and you're going to allocate resources across the team. Where's that money going? Some positions are going to have a little bit more money than others. Then eventually it's going to shift to a different position. So, I think the most important thing is how do you put together the best team? Let's go back and look at the Super Bowl. I would say when you look at the teams that were in the Super Bowl [the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots], or even the teams in the championship games [the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams], and what are the things that stand out? Run defense, taking the ball away, playing good situational football. So, quarterback's a part of that. But that's why those teams won, or that's why those teams were in that position. So, again, I think you see different trends throughout the league, and the league goes a little bit in cycles. I think that whole concept, I think it gets talked about a lot. Honestly, I think it gets overblown because I'm not sure any of us really understand what it really means. You draft players, you add them to the team, at some point you're going to keep certain players, other players are going to move on. So, how do we put together the best team? The goal is to try to keep it as consistent and competitive as possible over a long period of time so you don't have any lapses.”
Q: On how NIL has impacted the NFL Draft
Caserio: “It's a great question. I think what the college kids are going through… Some that put their names in for an evaluation, let's say they come back as a fourth to sixth round pick. Then they look and say, here's a signing bonus and the contract associated with that. If they have the opportunity to maybe receive that same amount in college, maybe they feel the best thing for them is to go back and to play more football. I think one of the areas where it's probably helped is you've seen some players play a lot of football. They're more prepared to come into our league and potentially make a contribution. You have some players with 45, 50, 60 games played. The more you play, the more you do something, the better you're going to get. It works both ways. To an earlier question, whatever they decide, they decide. We don't penalize a player because he received X amount of dollars in NIL. What’s the rationale, what's the understanding? Our job is to understand it, not to pass judgment. I think you've seen a shift from the number of underclassmen. I think going back however many years, it was like 125, almost 130. Now we're at 65 or 70, so it got cut in half. A lot of those players are choosing to stay and that's okay. We can evaluate who's available and then we've probably evaluated the player going back to school. Maybe a year later, we're ahead in our process because we've done the work.”
Q: On if you can judge players from a character and maturity standpoint now that they make money from NIL
Caserio: “For sure. Now, what are they all doing with that money? That's another way to look at it. Does the guy have eight cars or does he actually have a financial advisor, and he puts it into an S&P stock index because he's trying to grow his portfolio? You've got probably a different thought process that goes into it. I know what I would do. Nobody was giving me any NIL money and I wasn't good enough. But, again, it's just understanding their thought process. I think you do see a certain level of maturity and there's a number of players… We're talking to players that are 24, 25, 26 years old and then it's like, ‘Are they too far along? You're not going to be able to develop them and you're worried about the second contract.” We don't care about any of that. What's the player? What's their profile? How does he fit? Is this a player that we think is going to be an asset to our program? Great, then we'll add him to the team. If he's not, then we'll move on to another one.”
Q: On WR Jaylin Noel
Caserio: “He's got a great attitude. He's actually been in the weight room training. We've had probably 10 to 12 guys who haven't stopped working out since the season has ended. ‘J. Noel’s got a great attitude. He's going to be a good player in this league. Our players are going to earn their opportunity with their performance. The better you are, the more opportunities you get. The more you do with them, the more you're going to receive. I love ‘J. Noel.’ Glad he's on the team. He really helped us as a returner. Then, when he had opportunities offensively, he was productive with those touches. I think between him and ‘Higg’ [Jayden Higgins], and we've got another group of young players as well, going from year-one to year-two, the investment that you make in your preparation and the work, getting yourself ready for that second season, that's where you can make a lot of gains.”
Q: On his confidence in QB C.J. Stroud
Caserio: “He's our quarterback. He isn’t going anywhere. We have a lot of confidence, a lot of belief. I'd say the philosophy that DeMeco [Ryans] and I have, we're going to support our players and do everything we can to help them. This league is about ups and downs. Nothing's perfect. There was no team that was undefeated unless I missed something this year, that's not going to happen. By and large, we're probably going to lose five or six games. There's going to be some margin on either side. You’re going to have some good plays. You’re going to have some bad plays. You’re going to have some good games. You’re going to have some bad games. How do you bounce back? How do you handle that? This league is a one-game-at-a-time proposition. How you handle every situation ultimately is going to determine your success and your longevity. No lost confidence. Look, the stock market's been going down for five days. Everybody's probably panic-selling. Really what you need to be doing is investing more. But, anyways, we have a lot of confidence in C.J. We've got a lot of confidence in our players. I'm glad he's our quarterback.”
Q: On how he evaluates movement skills versus in-game football skills
Caserio: “It's a great question. It's really what are you going to ask that player to do? What's their skill set specific to the position that they play? With cornerbacks, it's not just running in a straight line. It's your awareness, your eyes, your level of instinctiveness, your ability to process information at a high rate of speed, breaking on the ball, breaking on the throw. You've got to be able to delineate between time speed and track speed and game speed. In the end, how fast does the player play? Sometimes guys play at their time speed. Sometimes they don't play at their time speed. Then what's the rationale behind that? Again, it's specific to the position. I've stood up here and said this. The whole offensive line run of 40 [yard dash] times is asinine. They're never going to run 40 yards. They're going to move into short space. Can they bend their knees? Can they move the line of scrimmage? Can they play with good technique? I would say, not a lot of them to play with good technique. So, we have to coach them to play with better technique, to move bodies and move the line of scrimmage. We're going to look at everything. There are certain skills that are going to be transferable based on a position, but we factor everything in. Sometimes there's a correlation between, if the guy has these metrics and these measurables, it potentially could lead to this result. Not all the time. But, again, speed is speed. I'm not going to say it's not important, but it's just one data point. How does that affect… You guys can go back through and look at some of the fastest times in the history of the [NFL] Combine. The list of players that have actually been worth a lick, it's a pretty short list. It doesn't mean that every fast guy is a bad player. It just means you've got to take it sometimes with a grain of salt. There's more to it than what the guy does out there with his shorts on that he's been training basically for six weeks, hasn't done anything else. You've got to take all that into consideration.”
Q :On what makes the NFL Combine so effective
Caserio: “I think the main thing is the location. There's not a better location to have something like this than Indianapolis. It logistically works on a lot of levels. It's centrally located. I know there's been a lot of talk about moving the [NFL] Combine, but what [President of National Football Scouting and Director of the NFL Scouting Combine] Jeff Foster and his staff do is incredible. It's a great location. You've got access. You've got everything you need. You've got the hotels. You've got the dome. You've got the medical center. You've got everything. Logistically, this is a good spot. From a scheduling standpoint and some of the other things, look, it's made for TV. Let's be honest, that's what the focus is. I would say we're less worried about the TV component and more worried about understanding the player, getting to know the players a little bit. Whatever the schedule is… The one thing about football people in general, for the most part, we’re pretty flexible. Whatever it is, we'll adjust, we'll adapt and we'll figure it out and make it work. That's how we approach it. That's how DeMeco and I think. Whatever it is, we'll be there and we'll be ready to go.”
Q: On the attributes he looks for in a player
Caserio “Mindset, selflessness. Our program is about team first and doing the right thing for the team, when maybe everything isn't perfect for you. Our defense is about violence and physicality. So, if you don't have that, you're probably not going to work here. It's just the reality of it. You can go play somewhere else, no problem. But we're looking for players with a certain mentality and a certain mindset, honestly, not just on defense, but offensively as well. We're trying to build a strong, fast, big, physical team that can compete on a week-to-week basis, regardless of the circumstances or conditions. Who are the players that have those qualities that are going to be able to go out there and handle that on a week-to-week basis?”
Q: On how important it is to look at not just the season ahead but multiple seasons down the road
Caserio: “It's two-fold. As you said, we've got a number of them [defensive tackles] that are free agents this year. Probably going to lose some of them, maybe we'll get some of them back. I'd say Tommy Togiai is an example of a player where we felt like, again, that he was going to be competitive, try to get ahead of that a little bit. Again, some of it is what the willingness or openness on the other side. There are two parties that are involved here in negotiation. We'll have dialogue at any point, any time. I think people know how we operate. I'm to the point, get to the bottom line. If it's going to work, it's going to work. If it's not, no problem. We understand that. Then we can plan accordingly. We're never going to rule anything out. But some years it's going to look a little bit different relative to others.”
Q: On G Ed Ingram’s play this year and on if there’s potential to bring him back
Caserio: “Ed had a great year. Honestly, he probably had the best year of his career. For the most part, he was out there. He missed a couple of games there with injuries. But he's a good kid. He's strong. He's physical. He plays violent in the running game. You saw that on tape quite a bit. Pretty good in pass protection. We're working through that [negotiation] process right now. We'll have discussion with him and his representatives. We'll see how far he goes. But I'm glad he was here. He's a player that we feel benefited from our program. Honestly, sometimes a change in scenery is good. It probably worked out for him and worked out for us as well. I'm glad Ed was on the team here this year.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans GM Nick Caserio said at the NFL combine
Login
