11 Observations from Day Five of Texans Training Camp

The pads were on for the first time much to the delight of the defense

The Houston Texans continued training camp with a padded practice on Monday. It was the first time this season for pads. Plenty of players, and the head coach, explained how excited they were to get this type of work in.

Here are 11 observations from the workout on July 31.

1. C.J. Stroud had his worst day of work so far with the Monday practice. Stroud’s struggles started early as he tried to loft a ball over the head of linebacker Blake Cashman. Cashman jumped and picked off Stroud. It was a learning opportunity for Stroud who didn’t put enough on the pass to beat the defender.

2. C.J. Stroud usually bounces back after a bad play or two, but early he didn’t. After the interception to Cashman in team drills the Texans offense ran the ball. On the ensuing play, the officials present called a delay of game on Stroud. It was a very rocky and wonky start for the rookie quarterback. Stroud would bounce back slightly on his next opportunity with some work over the middle.

3. Derek Stingley got in on C.J. Stroud’s tough day later. Stroud was trying to hit a strike to the sideline to one of his wideouts but Stingley saw what was happening. Stingley raced towards the throwing lane, picked the ball off, and took off for the endzone. Pick six. DeMeco Ryans after practice praised Derek Stingley for his practices to this point in training camp.

4. Davis Mills had more than a solid day. Mills operated the offense well. Didn’t make a ton of mistakes with the decisions. It wasn’t amazing, none of the offense was really, but it moved better today than with C.J. Stroud at the helm. It was the first day I can say Davis Mills was ahead of Stroud. For those keeping track at home, the Stroud leads Mills 2-1-2 with two practices being a draw.

5. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson had another big play in practice. Davis Mills, with all sorts of pressure bearing down on him, uncorked a pass that landed in Hutchinson’s hands behind the defense. The rookie has played well the past two days. Mills made a really nice throw with his feet dealing with some of that pressure.

6. The above-mentioned play never should have happened. I say never should have happened because Will Anderson dominated his blocker and would have annihilated Davis Mills. Anderson was, again, a monster. Some poor team is going to try to block him with a tight end and that will end poorly nearly every time. Anderson also frequently was affecting passing lanes with his rush getting into the line of sight of the quarterbacks. After practice, Anderson explained he has seen a lot of improvement occur in watching the film of his workouts. He said he stays up at night dissecting little aspects of his game and really improves his game by watching the film with the coaches.

7. The running backs made a few nice plays on Monday. Dameon Pierce doesn’t let you get any cheap licks in on him. He will make you pay as he did on a touchdown run. The running backs had a solid day catching the ball too. With some of the pressure bearing down on the offense, the running backs became a safety valve a time or two. Veteran running back Mike Boone had a long run for a score in one of the team sessions.

8. The linebackers are a bit deeper than I imagined they would be initially. Blake Cashman has channeled Brian Urlacher the past couple of practices. Henry To'oTo'o has been on the field a lot and doesn’t look out of place. Christian Harris met more than a few running backs at the line of scrimmage. There could be some tough cuts at the linebacker position.

9. The tight ends are struggling right now. Dalton Schultz and Brevin Jordan were out on Monday. DeMeco Ryans didn’t seem to think Schultz’s absence was anything too serious. Mason Schreck, Eric Tomlinson, and Andrew Beck combine for 43 career NFL receptions. There aren’t a lot of options right now with the players missing time. It was not crisp watching the tight ends in drills or teams on Monday.

10. Rookie center Juice Scruggs was shouted out after practice by DeMeco Ryans. When asked about the rookie center Ryans revealed he was highlighted in a recent team meeting for his execution of the offense. Scruggs also has guard versatility in addition to playing center. Ryans also said Scruggs has picked up the offense well.

11. With the offense struggling it led to a funky day for the wideouts. It felt like players were getting open, but sometimes the ball was late or not coming to them. Nico Collins got open in some nasty traffic in one team session. The wideouts did a really good job in red zone drills, but there weren’t many standout moments from the pass catchers as a whole on Monday. John Metchie worked with Derek Stingley individually after practice. Stingley said those conversations help because he learns what beat him and he can impart his approach to the wide receivers.

The Texans will be back on the practice field tomorrow.

Yesterday I analyzed some comments Jerry Hughes and DeMeco Ryans made about Will Anderson. Check those out below.