Here's everything Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said following his first press conference of the new season, including comments on Will Anderson Jr's extension, thoughts on quarterback C.J. Stroud and the upcoming NFL draft.
Question: On the contract extension given to DE Will Anderson Jr.
DeMeco Ryans: “Will, as you all know, is an outstanding young man, outstanding player. He shows up every single day, working how we expect guys to work and doing all the things a leader does. He’s a guy that you want guys following. He embodies everything that it means to be a Texan and he’s definitely deserving of the contract situation that he’s gotten. He’s earned it and he’s done an outstanding job of leading.”
Q: On if he felt like it was important to get the contract extension done this offseason and if he played a role in getting the extension done
Ryans: “I didn’t play any role. It’s all Will Anderson Jr. I do not play a role in the contracts. That’s all Will and Nick [Caserio] doing a good job of getting those things handled and done.”
Ryans: “The Draft, as we all know, can go a lot of different ways. We will examine the board, see where we are and we’ll just make smart decisions for our football team to put us in the best position possible to add quality young men to our team, quality football players who can add value to our team.”
Q: On if he feels like there are certain areas that he wants to improve the team
Ryans: “We’re looking to improve in all areas. That’s how we keep it open for the draft. I don’t think there is just one particular area where we’re going in saying, ‘Hey, we have to do a certain thing.’ You see how everything shapes out. The draft, as we know, there’ll be a lot of movement. A lot of things happen throughout draft weekend. It’s hard to predict where you’re going to be. We just have to be ready. I want to give credit to our scouting department, Nick [Caserio], for all the prep and all the work that they’ve done leading up to the draft to make sure that we have as much information as possible on all of the guys. Our team has done an outstanding job of just diving in, getting the information that we need to make the best decision possible. The draft doesn’t happen without all the work that our road scouts do. Those guys are on the road the entire year trying to gain as much information, as much insight on players to come back and deliver that information to us as coaches so we can digest it, look at the film and see which way we want to go. My hats are off to those guys because they don’t get the spotlight a lot, but there’s a lot of work that goes behind the scenes with the draft that those guys definitely deserve a ton of credit for.”
Q: On how potential playing time availability factors into a player’s evaluation in the draft process
Ryans: “I always tell guys this when I meet them, ‘It all starts after the draft.’ There’s a lot of hype. There’s a lot of momentum going into the draft. Where are you going? When are you selected? To me, I always tell guys, it really doesn’t matter where you’re selected and I truly believe that. Whether you’re a first-rounder or you’re an undrafted free agent, it’s what do you do when you get here. How are you taking advantage of the reps that you’re given? How are you taking things and owning them in the classroom? How are you being accountable for those things, remembering what you need to remember and going out and executing those things? If you come in and you do those things very well, to me it doesn’t matter where you’re selected. If you can help our team win, if you can improve our situation, you’re going to play. That’s all I want. That’s all I expect from the guys. They come in, do their best, grow each day, if they can help us, they’ll help us and they’ll play right away.”
Q: On if there is a different approach to Day 1 versus Day 2 of the NFL Draft
Ryans: “You take it as it comes. Day 1, Day 2, you take it as it comes. Again, you just have to be prepared. When your opportunity comes to pick, you just have to be prepared and, again, we’ve done the work so we’re ready for whatever happens on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. We’re prepared. We’re ready to go.”
Q: On what he recalls about the 2023 NFL Draft and trading up to select DE Will Anderson Jr.
Ryans: “The 2023 Draft is probably one of the most exciting drafts that I’ve been a part of, and I would say one of the most exciting drafts in Texans history. Besides 2006, that was a good one too, right? It was exciting just to know what we were doing. We pick C.J. [Stroud] at the second pick and to know we’re back on the phones trying to trade up to get Will [Anderson Jr.]. It was just an exciting moment, a tense moment. The adrenaline is pumping in the room. It was awesome. Nick [Caserio] executed the trade. It was about the guy we were getting. As we all see, fast forward to where we are now, it was well worth the move. We knew the type of man that Will was, and it was worth moving up to get him and it has paid off big time for us.”
Q: On the amount of prospects he loves in a typical draft
Ryans: “As I go through the draft process, there are definitely a lot of guys that I would like to have that I know I may not get. I have my list of guys that I like. You have to be ready. You can’t have a small list because guys can get picked, people can jump ahead of you, a lot of things can move and change. You just have to be ready to roll. As you go throughout this, as I’ve gone throughout this process, meeting guys for the first time at the combine and you have [Top] 30 visits and you meet with guys. You have guys our coaches are zooming and talking to. There’s a ton of information that I’m able to get on these guys. In any draft there are some guys you like over others, not to say those guys will not be good players but I definitely have a handful of guys that I like.”
Q: Is there anything that’s changed on the way he approaches what he’s looking for in a player
Ryans: “It hasn’t changed much for what I look for in a player. My first and foremost thing is, ‘Does the guy love football?’ I think if I start there with a guy who loves football and that guy wants to be coached, then we can help get him better. That’s always a starting point for me. We want smart, tough, dependable guys and that’s what sticks in the league. When you get into crunch time, who can you depend on? Is it the flashy guy who is inconsistent or is it the guy who has shown time and time again throughout his college career that he is a consistent, dependable guy, a guy of high character, a guy you can count on? That’s the guy I know is going to be a really great teammate. He’s going to fit into our locker room really well. Those are the guys I want to go to battle with. That hasn’t changed for me.”
Q: On how he determines if a player would be a good fit and loves football
Ryans: “We determine that based on all of those different factors. It's a meeting with the guy; it's watching the film. First off, the film for me, he has to be a really good player that I see on film or I see some traits that I like that we can work with and develop. It starts there for me, and then you get the background information from our scouts. The character information, talking to their college coaches, talking to their teammates. You just pull all the information together to see how consistent the information is that you've gotten over the course of this draft process.”