11 Observations from Day Two of Texans Training Camp

We go to the judge's scorecard again in this round of the quarterback battle.

The Houston Texans were back on the practice field for their second workout of training camp. It was another day where the defense looked solid but there were some moments the offense succeeded too.

Here are 11 observations from the workout on July 27.

1. Will Anderson is a wrecker. So many of his snaps end up with him just annihilating a large portion of the play. Not to say he makes every play every time, but when he is on the field the offense is straining to slow him down. Anderson made a play that would have been a tackle for a loss in a live rep. Later it felt like more than half the offensive line tried to stop him on one play. I am excitedly awaiting his practices in pads.

2. Will Anderson wasn’t the only rookie defensive lineman who made some plays. Dylan Horton from TCU had a couple of nice plays. In an early teams period, Horton wrecked a play. Later he had a tackle for a loss. He’s not as sudden in his movement as Anderson but there’s something to Horton through a couple of days.

3. The offensive line was mixing and matching today. There were a lot of players making their way in and out with thought-to-be starters. Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green lined up next to each other a few times. Green was flying off the ball blocking on a few rushing reps.

4. Devin Singletary had a nice day. There were a few nice runs from Singletary early in the workout. He went lateral on a jump cut and covered a ton of ground and kept motoring. There are no pads on, but I would love to know what the offense and defense think of one Singletary rep. He took a handoff darted through the left side of the line and turned on the afterburners. A few defensive backs were on the route, but I don’t believe they would have made the play. I say it would have been a rushing attempt that resulted in over 50 yards and a score.

5. I will score Thursday’s workout in favor of C.J. Stroud over Davis Mills. Stroud started a little slow, he missed a throw here or there and the accuracy wasn’t pinpoint. You could see he was annoyed and he quickly dialed back in. Mills was missing some of the throws you’ve come to expect him to miss. Stroud was late on some decisions but also stayed in a messy pocket a time or two to get off a good pass. He also rushed for what would have been a first down when a play fell apart.

6. Davis Mills let it rip over the middle for an interception. Steven Nelson came down with the interception. There is a video board that shows a replay and watching it there seemed to be a crosser Mills could have hit for a safe gain. It is the type of throw you take in practice to see if you can make the throw in a game. Nelson made a nice play too. It wasn’t a gimmie.

7. DeMeco Ryans gave no indication of when the quarterback battle will end. He joked at one point the team will for sure have a starter come time to play the Baltimore Ravens in week one. Ryans declined to offer anything close to a timeline or really even any deep discussion about how the competition would be decided.

8. The three best pass catchers in practice through two days have been wide receivers Nico Collins and Noah Brown along with tight end Dalton Schultz. Collins always performs well in practice. Schultz is going to be a weapon for sure. Brown had some awesome snags Thursday. Brown hauled in a perfectly placed C.J. Stroud pass and tapped his toes on the sideline for a catch. Brown started the day with a drop but was catching it all after that play. Dalton Schultz and C.J. Stroud hooked up for a nice pass out in front of a linebacker and before Jalen Pitre could come down and make a play.

9. Tank Dell had an up-and-down day. There was a rep over the middle where he didn’t get enough separation and the defender was able to get a paw on the pass. A few plays later he was shaking loose for a big gain over the middle. The consistency isn’t there yet, and I worry about when defenders get into him. The flashes of his potential showed today.

10. The secondary had another nice day. Derek Stingley had a pass breakup on a well-thrown pass. Steven Nelson had an interception. The secondary picked off Case Keenum at one point. Jalen Pitre had what would have been a sack on a blitz and a tackle for a loss on another play. Desmond King was very solid Thursday.

11. Dalton Schultz had high praise for offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Schultz explained the volume of information for the offense is immense but Slowik makes it quarterback friendly. Schultz also told SportsRadio 610 after practice he wishes he had learned his early NFL days the way he is learning with Bobby Slowik. Schultz said his base and knowledge would be deeper if he had Slowik’s learning approach early in his career.

The Texans will practice Friday before an off day on Saturday. The first padded practice is next week.

If there are certain things you would like for me to pay attention to at workouts please leave a comment and I will do my best to oblige. I want to be the eyes and ears of anyone who can’t attend these workouts.