The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is underway, and on Tuesday afternoon in Indianapolis, Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans met with the media at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Ryans was one of many head coaches and general managers who spent time at a podium, as more, like Texans Executive Vice President and General Manager Nick Caserio, will do so on Wednesday.
1. Pump up the protection: Ryans and the Texans want to see a marked improvement in pass protection for quarterback C.J. Stroud. In the 2024 regular season, Stroud was sacked 52 times. He was dropped 11 more times in the two playoff games.
"Getting better protection for C.J. is definitely a main point of emphasis for us," Ryans said. "We know when C.J. is protected, he has a clean pocket, he's a pretty good quarterback. I constantly show guys clips in our meeting after a game of plays when we protect well and we should we have a good pocket, I'll show guys explosives, show outstanding throws that C.J. is able to make in the middle of the field, along the sideline. He's capable of making any throw on the football field, but it's just a matter of protecting him and giving him that comfort when he's in the pocket. When we do that, we can move the ball, we can make plays."
Interviews with offensive linemen at the Combine start tomorrow, and their workouts begin on Saturday. The specialists--kickers, punters and long snappers--begin their workouts tomorrow.
2. What's most important?: Ryans and the Texans will spend some time interviewing prospects this week, and he explained how that process is the most important part of the Combine experience for him.
"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."
3. Interviews with the Texans are...: What is one of those meetings with Ryans and the Texans like? The head coach wants the conversations to come off "as very loose", and he's not into making them tense situations.
"I just want to make sure guys are at ease and they're comfortable and we just get to know the person," Ryans said. "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."
4. Injury Updates: Ryans was asked about the health status of wide receiver Tank Dell and safety Jimmie Ward. Both were lost for the season in the December contest at Kansas City, as Dell exited with a leg injury while Ward left with a foot injury. Ryans said Dell is "going along through the process of recovering and healing" and has a positive attitude.
"He's in great spirits," Ryan said. "That's the main thing about Tank. He's got a smile on his face while he's going through the rehab process. So, he's headed there. In due time, he'll be back."
Ward, meanwhile, is also doing well according to Ryans. The team captain picked off a pair of passes, tallied five tackles for loss and finished with 48 total tackles last year in 10 games.
"It will definitely be important to get Jimmie back just while going back and watching the season and seeing some of the plays that Jimmie made," Ryans said. "He's a great leader. He's a playmaker when he's out on the field. Just has to stay healthy and be out there longer for us to impact the game the way that we know Jimmie can impact the game."
