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Here's what Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said from the NFL Scouting Combineplay icon
Houston Texans

Here's what Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said from the NFL Scouting Combine

SportsRadio 610
By SportsRadio 610Feb 26, 2025
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The Texans, at least for now, have the No. 25 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Head coach DeMeco Ryans is at the scouting combine in Indianapolis and spoke with reporters Tuesday.

Here is a transcript of what Ryans said from the combine:

On the best advice he can give to a coach for managing a player who is injured

"Continue to keep that player involved. Involved in all the meetings, practices on the side. Have that player start coaching his players at his position and start to help the guys out. The more you can utilize the players who are out. How can you utilize them to help their peers and help their teammates. I think that goes a long way with keeping that player engaged and keeping them involved in the process because being injured is a lonely road and if you can help guys who are still playing then players respect that a ton."

On how he evaluates players who can stop the run vs players who can disrupt the pocket

"There is a healthy balance. You have to be able to do both. I like guys who are very multi-dimensional. You want guys who can stop the run but also have enough athletic ability to get on the edge and also win versus their one-on-one pass rush attempts. Different guys – we like to roll our guys, so we're not held to just having four guys out there at one time. We like to roll guys – eight deep and all those guys have varying traits that can allow us to be multiple on how we're deploying guys. Whether it's a rush attack or pass attack, guys have to be able to do both."

On the biggest value he gets from being at the combine

"It's being able to sit down across from the player face to face and be able to hear their story, hear their background, their upbringing, but also getting to feel their energy. Feel their passion and love for the game of football. It comes off in those 15 minute interviews and I can feel that energy very instantly."

On how he decided to take C.J. Stroud in his first draft as head coach of the Texans

"For me taking over this franchise, I know that every team that's here, if you want to win games and have a run deep in the playoffs then you have to have a quarterback to do that. That was the main focus for us, so it's easy in the evaluation process of getting C.J. and seeing his talent and seeing the type of guy that he was. Ultimate competitor, true leader, his teammates loved him like he cared about his teammates and that's what stuck out for me.

"Not only getting a quarterback, but getting a guy who the locker room can get behind. Guys that feel his passion and feel his love for the game. He is competitive, he has the leadership and drive to be great and that's what led us to getting C.J., and C.J. has done an outstanding job for us the last two years."

On what went into the decision to draft players like Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock who maybe weren't high on every teams board

"Going back and thinking about Kamari and Calen, when I think about both of those guys. What stuck out to me about Kamari was what his teammates said about him last year being here at the combine. His attention to detail, his intensity in walk throughs and just his mindset and how he loves football stood out to me and that definitely came true throughout the season. Watching Kamari play and watching how physical he was, watching the plays he made and watching how locked in he was each and every snap.

"Kamari felt like a pro the day he stepped into our building and he has been a true pro all throughout his first year still with a lot of improvement ahead of him. Love picking him up and he's been a great addition to our team. The thing that stood out to me about Calen in last year's draft was his ability to track the football. Watching his college tape at USC, there wasn't another player who had the ball skills that Calen had. That showed true coming through this past season. Like watching him make the plays that he made for us on the back end. He had about at least five interceptions and probably dropped about three that he wish he could have back. Both two young talented guys who we saw their traits and we saw the role and where they could fit with our team and it's easy making those selections."

On what a meeting with the Texans is like at the Combine and the main thing he looks for out of players in these meetings

"Yeah, a meeting with the Texans here at the Combine, we hope it comes off as very lose. We want to make sure – we're not trying to grill guys too much. I want to make them at ease because I remember being here at the combine where I had some of those meetings where they were very tense. And so, I just want to make sure guys are at ease and they're comfortable and we just get to know the person.

"That's the main thing. We get a chance to watch as much tape as we can on these guys. But it's really just sit down, helmet off and, 'Let's know your background, let's know why do you love the game of football and what's your why?' Those are the things that we ask our guys and we get a lot of insightful comments from guys from asking those questions."

On the traits they are looking for from wide receivers under 170 pounds

"Receivers under 170 pounds just need to be fast, so a guy like myself can't hit you. But speed is the redeeming quality, I think, for a smaller receiver. It's you having that speed, the quickness, especially those guys who are in that SLOT receiver position. Them being matched up on a lesser-covered player at the nickel position, they can really make a ton of plays in a game just by utilizing their quickness."

On injury updates on WR Tank Dell

"Yeah, Tank is – he's still going along through the process of recovering and healing. He's in great spirits. That's the main thing about Tank. He's got a smile on his face while he's going through the rehab process. So, he's headed there. In due time, he'll be back."

On what Year 3 is like in this process with Executive Vice President and General Manager Nick Caserio

"Year 3 for myself and Nick working together and it's been seamless. It's easy because we see football the same. We know the type of players that we want on our team. We know that mindset that we're looking for in players. It's guys who have that relentless mindset, guys who love football. Those guys jump out to us. Guys who are leaders, that jumps out to us. Those characteristics that they don't lose those when they come into the NFL.

"If guys were leaders at colleges, guys played with a certain play style and a demeanor in college, that's going to carry over to the NFL. So, those are the type of players we look for and we want good people. And that's the thing that me and Nick agree on the most. You want to win, but you want to win with great people and we both believe that you can do that and we've shown that by some of the guys that we've drafted in [QB] C.J. [Stroud], [DE] Will [Anderson Jr.], [CB] Kamari [Lassiter], [LB] Henry To'oTo'o. It's just a lot of great people. And it's fun when you're working with people who are talented and they're like-minded and we're all reaching that same goal."

On if he has strong feelings on how the NFL should legislate plays like the QB sneak

"When it comes to that QB sneak play, I think each team is different. When they had Jason Kelce, an old teammate of mine, he was really good at executing that play. And it just – other teams have tried it, some teams have stopped it, so we'll see how those discussions go over the next couple of months. But for me, either way, when you're executing a play, it's just difficult to stop, you keep running that play and the Eagles benefitted from it and they've done an outstanding job."

On updates on S Jimmie Ward and the importance of his leadership

"[S] Jimmie's [Ward] doing is good, along with the rehab process. It will definitely be important to get Jimmie back just while going back and watching the season and seeing some of the plays that Jimmie made. He's a great leader. He's a playmaker when he's out on the field. Just has to stay healthy and be out there longer for us to impact the game the way that we know Jimmie can impact the game."

On thought on why teams excel in the run game compared to others

"I think there are a lot of different reasons for why teams excelled in a run game, starting off with some really good backs, or getting the football. I just think, instantly, of [Eagles RB] Saquon [Barkley] just his season, that he's had, [Ravens RB] Derrick Henry and he had. A lot of good backs, a lot of guys who are tough to tackle. So tackling, is one thing. Is it necessarily guys getting lighter? I don't think that's the case. I think it comes back down to the fundamentals of stopping the run. You got to play good up front, you got to play stout up front, and you got to tackle well on the second level when it comes to the running game."

On thoughts on players opting out of games in the regular season to prepare for the NFL Draft

"Each player has his right to opt out or do whatever he wants to do. Like, we'll evaluate the full process. I don't think it comes down to one particular game. When we are evaluating guys here at the combine, our scouts, they've been watching these guys since they were freshmen, so we have a lot of history with these guys, not just on one decision of a guy opting out."

On how much offensive coordinator Nick Caley is involved with the interview process at the NFL Combine

"With our new Offensive Coordinator, Nick Caley. He's in, looking at the interviews. He is just back, just watching it. He's not here at the Combine, but he's watching. We have him on Zoom, so he's able to watch those."

On the importance of getting better protection for QB C.J. Stroud

"Getting better protection for [QB] C.J. [Stroud] is definitely a main point of emphasis for us. We know when C.J. is protected, he has a clean pocket, he's a pretty good quarterback. I constantly show guys clips in our meeting after a game of plays when we protect well and we should we have a good pocket, I'll show guys explosives, show outstanding throws that C.J. is able to make in the middle of the field, along the sideline. He's capable of making any throw on the football field, but it's just a matter of protecting him and giving him that comfort when he's in the pocket. When we do that, we can move the ball, we can make plays. So that is a point of emphasis for us, of making sure he is protected better."

On how to counter players like Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs from a personnel standpoint

"We would love to have [Lions RB] Jahmyr Gibbs and that speed. Can we get a Jahmyr Gibbs?

On any anticipation of getting a particular linebacker to counter players like him

"No, I don't look for a particular type of linebacker, and I'm not thinking about one player, but you want guys who definitely have the athletic capabilities to be able to, first and foremost, keep up with a guy like Jahmyr, there are not many. So then you go to schematically, how can you, collectively with all 11, kind of minimize Jahmyr's explosive capabilities."

On if he can identify players in the draft that are a day one starter and players that can be upgraded to the roster

"Players come in all different types but I think when you look at a guy and you're taking a guy in that first round, you're looking at guys who you're leaning on being day one starters for you. Second round on three, you're looking for guys who can possibly upgrade the roster to eventually become starters. You want to see a guy and what he's done in college, how many snaps he's played, how effective has he been with the reps that he's been given."

On if he is looking for different traits from offensive linemen with the change in offensive coordinator

"I look at offensive lineman, first and foremost, I'm looking at pass protection, how good is a guy in pass protection. For me, speaking offensive lineman, I want to see that grit. I want to see that toughness, that nastiness of how guys are finishing their blocks, what type of leaders these guys are, how passionate they are about football. That's very important to me when it comes to the offensive linemen."

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