SCOUT'S EYE
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
SCOUT'S EYE
DeMeco Ryans has experienced the NFL scouting combine as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
He values the opportunity to meet draft prospects this week.
“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,” Ryans said. “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.”
A second-round pick by Houston in 2006, Ryans was a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker in six seasons with the Texans and four with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his coaching career as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers from in 2017 before going back to Houston to serve as head coach.
A total of 329 college players were invited to the combine to showcase their skills in front of general managers, coaches, scouts and other team personnel. They’ll endure medical evaluations and rounds of interviews with various teams.
For Ryans and many coaches, those conversations are vital. Scouts will dissect the 40-yard dash times, the vertical jump and all the other measurables.
But the interviews determine the intangibles like heart, character, leadership ability.
“I can’t replace that face-to-face energy and human element that is so important,” Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’m hard-pressed with how important the decisions are for the fabric of your team when it comes to the NFL draft. Everybody can do it a different way. I need to see people in person for me to kind of complete the whole picture of what I’m seeing on film.”
Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay again are skipping the combine this year, relying instead on their scouting department. But they’ll still get a chance to interview players on formal visits.
The nature of interviews has been scrutinized over the years because there were instances where players were questioned about their sexual preference or whether their mother worked as a prostitute.
NFL executive Troy Vincent sharply criticized the process a few years ago and the league has warned teams they could be fined and forfeit draft picks for any conduct that is “ disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional” during an interview.
Ryans makes sure prospects have a pleasant experience because he knows what it’s like going through all of these interviews.
“A meeting with the Texans here at the combine, we hope it comes off as very loose,” he said. “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.”
The combine has evolved from when it launched inside a hotel in 1982 mainly to bring prospects to one location so teams could gather medical information. It’s become a moneymaking machine for the league and a television spectacle with several days of live coverage.
“The No. 1 thing would be having a chance to visit these guys in person,” Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “Remember the beginning of the combine was to combine medical information. That was the purpose of it. As a league, all the teams were going to see these guys and asking them to basically get looked at multiple times. Then they ran them on a 40 and then we had some other drills and then we said, ‘Let’s interview them.’ It’s grown. I would say for me, it’s having a conversation in a 20-minute time frame. Maybe an informal conversation, but putting a face with the name and film we are going to study. We will get this all on video, but that is one part of it. Then (No.) 2, seeing them in person.”
Defensive backs and tight ends kicked off the workouts Thursday after first meeting with the media. Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, spoke to reporters but will wait to do drills at his pro day. Hunter had the largest group surrounding him when he spoke in the morning, saying he plans to play cornerback and wide receiver.
As for his personality, Hunter said: “Everybody knows that I can light up a room just by walking in it. I always have a smile on face. I bring the excitement.”
The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.
OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.
LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.
Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.
It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.
Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.
Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.
Win Super Bowl: 35-1.