Houston Texans GM dishes on 5 exciting takeaways from minicamp, offseason
STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE
11 June 2024
Nick Caserio reveals his impressions from minicamp. Composite Getty Image.
Now that Houston Texans minicamps are in the rearview, we play the waiting game until training camp begins. In the meantime, we have some nuggets to chew on, as Texans GM Nick Caserio discussed some of his takeaways from minicamp and the offseason in general on the team's flagship station.
1. This could be the year Texans guard Kenyon Green lives up to being drafted in the first round. According to Caserio, Green is healthy, has a great attitude, “and has put himself in a good position to compete for a spot.” It would be a huge boost to the offensive line if Green can develop into a quality player. They could really use his help in the running game, an area the team struggled with last season. Of course pass protection will be critical as well, he must protect the franchise (Stroud) at all costs. Reports from camp have commented on his high level of fitness heading into this season. Let's hope it translates.
2. Nico Collins is now a very wealthy man, can he live up to his new contract? Caserio praised Collins' route running ability, ball tracking, and hands. But he said Nico's physicality after the catch is what really elevated his game last season. At 6'4, 215 pounds, Collins should continue to rack up yards after the catch against smaller defenders.
3. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is already showing his leadership abilities. Caserio revisited the story of Al-Shaair telling Texans Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson to move on to the next play after jumping offsides at practice. If Anderson is already responding to Al-Shaair's leadership, that tells us everything we need to know. “You can't say enough good things about Azeez,” said Caserio.
4. Kamari Lassister might be the answer at corner opposite Derek Stingley Jr. Lassiter received positive reviews at camp from head coach DeMeco Ryans. And ESPN's Texans reporter DJ Bien-Aime was also impressed with the rookie. Caserio confirmed some of those assertions saying, “Kamari is about what we thought we were going to get.” It appears he's living up to the team's expectations when they drafted him. He's also shown the ability to lineup at nickel and outside. So his position flexibility could be key as the season progresses.
5. The Texans' interest in tight end Cade Stover goes back a couple of years. Caserio was intrigued by Stover when he was scouting CJ Stroud before the 2023 NFL Draft. Before this year's draft, Nick heard some positive things about the Ohio State TE from Stroud and Texans linebacker coach Billy Davis, that confirmed some of his thoughts. Caserio said Stover was among a handful of players that the team targeted on Day 3 of the draft. Nick also acknowledged, with Stover being new to the tight end position, he has some work to do when it comes to run blocking. But they're clearly very high on the player.
How Houston Rockets hold the cards for a franchise-changing summer
May 8, 2025, 5:45 pm
It’s been a slog on the treadmill of mediocrity for the Astros thus far in 2025. Their 18-18 record heading into a weekend series at Daikin Park vs. the Reds is appropriate. Plenty of good teams will have similar stretches this season. The Astros have to prove that this year’s edition is a good team. Plenty of time for that remains. Reminder that the breakout 2017 Astros had a 74-game stretch over which they went 37-37. 162 games allow for a lot of ebb and flow. Of course, the 2025 Astros’ roster is not close in quality to that of the 2017 squad. The point isn’t that this team could be a 101-game winner but that the 88 victories good enough for a playoff spot last year are still quite plausible this year.
The Rockets achieved mediocrity last season after three seasons as a laughingstock. This season they made the leap to good. While curling up and succumbing to Golden State in the decisive game seven of their first-round playoff series was a disappointment, the Rockets are in excellent position moving forward. Where they go from here should be quite interesting,
OF COURSE the Rockets are going to explore trading Jalen Green. He is obviously their most physically gifted player, but his consistent inconsistency is exasperating. Green’s series against the Warriors was basically an embarrassment with the exception of his 38-point game two outburst. The other six games, a meager nine-point-two points per game. That Green is still just 23 years old means it is not near obligatory they move on from him as Green starts a three-year 105 million dollar contract extension. However, the state of his game and comparison to a few specific players cast enough doubt about Green’s ceiling that declaring him “untouchable” would be ridiculous. During the Golden State series, an NBA play-by-play guy who I think is very good overall once referred to Green as the “Rockets’ superstar.” Anyone, including Green himself, who calls him a superstar either misspoke, was caught up in a moment, or is clueless.
Jalen Green just finished his fourth NBA season. Fairness requires noting that his first two seasons were compromised by being on atrocious Rockets’ squads. That said, Green was on 41-41 and 52-30 teams the past two seasons. In neither of him did he shoot a league average percentage either overall or from behind the three-point line. He did approach the three-point league average of 36 percentage made with his 35.4. That Green is an 80 percent career free throw shooter gives hope the three-point shooting can further develop. Better shot selection sure would help.
Green was the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, one year removed from high school. The player taken ahead of him was Cade Cunningham who also played just one year out of high school before going NBA. Cunningham joined a joke Detroit Pistons team. Cunningham is a much better player than Green at this point.
Other shooting guards who played one year after high school then jumped to the NBA, who were markedly ahead of Green after four NBA seasons include Anthony Edwards (first pick in his draft class), and Shae Gilgeous-Alexander (11th), and Devin Booker (13th). In comparison to each Green is a disappointment, though certainly not a bust.
What is head coach Ime Udoka’s bottom-line belief in Green fulfilling his potential? My guess is that cup is not overflowing. The Rockets’ half-court offense simply is not of championship caliber. Can it evolve there with Green, or is he better used as a piece in a trade offer with other players plus draft picks for a Booker or Kevin Duran? The Phoenix Suns are a near assets-less mess of a franchise in dire need of a reset. Durant will be 37 years old when next season starts, but is still a tremendous offensive player who would be a gargantuan half-court offense upgrade for the Rockets. The Rockets have so much draft capital that offering two or three first round picks plus Green, Cam Whitmore, and another player or two to make the salary cap math work would A: not empty out the Rockets’ flexibility going forward and B: have to get the Suns’ attention. If I’m Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone, I’m making the call.
Courtesy of the Suns, the Rockets hold what is currently the ninth pick in the NBA Draft. The draft lottery is Monday night. The Rockets’ have a three-point-eight percent chance of winning it and the right to make Duke freshman superstar (and Final Four loser to UH) Cooper Flagg the number one pick. There is a 13.5 percent chance the Rockets move up to pick two, three, or four. Otherwise, it’s ninth, or lower if another team or teams vault up the lottery board.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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