‘Rat poison,’ smiles, bullets dodged: Why this Texans hype feels real

No AFC team will generate buzz up to Week 1 quite like these Houston Texans. Teams past have succumbed to the burden of Super Bowl expectations. This group, however, has the right mix.

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HOUSTON — On the NFL equivalent to the last week of school at NRG Stadium, Christian Harris sounds like a man who knows exactly what’s coming the next 1 ½ months. Outside of this building, the hype will build. And build. And build to unhealthy extremes. Supply simply does not meet demand. This chunk of the NFL calendar is devoid of real news, which triggers a cesspool of power rankings, lists and takes. Endless takes.

Houston Texans hysteria will be deafening.

This is the professional football team bound to generate oodles of headlines as the official 2024 NFL darlings.

So, at the tail end of OTAs and minicamp, the linebacker Harris intercepts the question before it’s asked. Does he ignore the hype or speak it into…

“Rat poison.”

…existence?

“It ain’t nothing but rat poison,” Harris continued. “It’s a blessing to be in this position to have a great team that we have and we know we have a great opportunity. But another part of that is knowing we have to put the work in. So listening to everybody's predictions on the outside? We got to put the work in.”

The term may sound familiar. Harris’ head coach at Alabama used it often.

Publicly, Nick Saban would chastise the media for feeding his team “rat poison.” Privately, he’d repeat those two words to players. Through his 17 years as the head coach of the Crimson Tide, Saban posted an absurd 206-29 record and won six national titles. Alabama was the Goliath of a college football generation. Alabama was expected to crush the competition. A large part of the coach’s day-to-day job was convincing a cycle of 18-, 19-, and 20-year-old kids that anybody could beat them any game.

Everybody expects you to win every game.

But think this way, Harris said, and a team will “smack you in the face.” That’s why Saban was as hard on players the week they played Mercer in 2021 (a 48-14 win) as the week they played Auburn in the “Iron Bowl” (a four-OT win).

The Texans do not plan on being smacked in the face.

True substance fuels the hype.

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The NFL has been a Patrick Mahomes World since 2018. Naturally, most of the country gravitates toward a fresh challenger each summer because dynasties are only fun for the participants of that dynasty. Now, here comes C.J. Stroud and the Texans. For good reason. Despite an NFL-high 19 players landing on injured reserve, the 2023 Texans became the first team in league history to win its division with a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach.

DeMeco Ryans and GM Nick Caserio are living the NFL dream.

Not only are they spending freely around that beloved rookie quarterback contract… that rookie quarterback is already one of the best in the business. In 15 starts, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns with only five interceptions. In comes Danielle Hunter (two years, $49 million), Stefon Diggs (one year, 22.5M, via trade), Joe Mixon (three years, $25.5M), Azeez Al-Shaair (three years, $34M) and Denico Autry (two years, $20M).

Thinking back to hyped teams past, you may be rolling your eyes. Five years ago, most of the country got drunk on the Cleveland Browns. (Guilty as charged. I basically hurdled the bar and poured my own bourbon.) Those Browns, like these Texans, were piloted by a promising second-year passer. Those Browns, like these Texans, pulled off an offseason stunner of a trade for a polarizing wide receiver. They, too, were full of star power on defense.

Cleveland was then slugged in the jaw by the Tennessee Titans in the season opener, 43-13, and never recovered. Freddie Kitchens’ gang finished 6-10.

A few strokes of the pen can pack a locker room with talent. But football, with its 22 moving parts 60+ snaps a game, is forever unique. We’ve seen this script play out before. Teams ingest the rat poison. Teams fail to understand that winning in the NFL requires all of the stuff the Sabans of the world preach on: chemistry, work ethic, mental fortitude. Those Browns — and so many darlings past — lacked direction.

In this respect? The 2024 Texans are not in the same galaxy.

Go Long flew to Texas last week for a profile that’ll roll out next month. But this minicamp visit also supplied a cross-section view of this team in totality. It’s a talented bunch. But psychologically, this looks and sounds like a group mentally equipped for the August-to-January slog.

Start with the player Texan skeptics will cite as poison: Stefon Diggs.

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After trading for the Buffalo Bills wide receiver, the Texans were able to tear his contract into a one-year, prove-it pact. Diggs has every financial reason to be a force of positivity in the locker room. This is a golden opportunity to set himself up for a payday next March and a golden opportunity to win a ring. He’s come close, repeatedly, through his decade in the NFL.

“I believe in this team. I believe in this quarterback. I came here to win,” Diggs said. “Of course, you want a ring. But it takes a lot of effort and a lot of consistency. For me, I’m going to take it one day at a time. It starts in practice. It starts in walkthrough. It starts in the meeting room. Winning is always in the forefront of my brain with everything.”

The Texans are already armed with a pair of rising stars at receiver. There isn’t another 6-foot-4 wideout in the league with the fluidity and explosion of Nico Collins. He caught 80 balls for 1,297 yards with eight touchdowns in 15 games last season to earn a three-year, $72.75 million extension. Meanwhile, rookie Tank Dell was in the midst of his own breakout season — 709 yards, seven scores — before breaking his leg after 11 games. There’s also tight end Dalton Schultz and receivers Noah Brown, Robert Woods and John Metchie III. Houston made Mixon the league’s sixth-richest back, too.

Everyone’s happy in June. No skill-position player knows how they’ll react to their role.

Before he even stepped a foot in the facility, however, Diggs knew there are many mouths to feed in Houston.

“It’s not my job to sling the pill around or my job to call the plays,” Diggs said. “I have to get open and catch it. So for me, it’s not anything I worry about considering you do your job, you get the ball. I feel like this offense is one of those offenses that’s got a lot of horses in the stable. Let them all loose. We’ll figure the rest out.”

Diggs left Western New York with a trail of questions. Brandon Beane was asked if the wide receiver requested a trade and the Bills GM danced around the question. Multiple sources told us he wanted out, pointing to a schism with the head coach. Diggs obviously reached a boiling point and the Bills — a team going younger — was much obliged to move the receiver for a second-round pick, even if it meant absorbing $31.096 million in dead cap.

Maybe the Texans extend the partnership beyond this season. Maybe not.

For now? This season? Houston gets Stefon Diggs at the right time. Here’s thinking tales of his physical decline are vastly overblown. Before the Bills’ hard shift on offense, Diggs had 834 yards and seven touchdowns through nine games. There’s always a chance something happened behind the scenes. Perhaps there is a smoking gun, an act of insubordination that gave the Bills no choice but to move on. If Diggs’ indiscretions are limited to liking tweets and gesticulating toward his quarterback on the sideline, fine. The Texans can live with it.

They’re not tied to Diggs long term. He is objectively rejuvenated.

Several Bills players have cited Diggs as one of the most intense competitors they’ve ever seen. His presence helped Buffalo believe in 2020. (“He’s tough as shit. He’s mean as shit, said ex-WR coach Chad Hall. “I’m a military guy and I’d want him in my foxhole.”) Diggs plans to bring the same emotional ferocity to the Texans.  

“I’ve seen a lot,” Diggs said. “I know what it takes to be successful on the field. I know what it takes to win. So, I’m trying to bring that mindset each and every day.”

This was his first press conference — a very public forum, a perfect opportunity to paint himself as anything he pleases. Yet when one local reporter brought up the fact that Diggs is being labeled a “diva,” he barely raised an eyebrow. He was not interested in re-litigating his reputation and trying to change anybody’s mind. The 30-year-old simply said he doesn’t take anything personal from people who don’t know him personally, adding that not many people know him on that level.

Diggs admitted a Bills split felt inevitable during the 2023 season, pointing to the new scheme under OC Joe Brady. (“You kind of feel it in the air a little bit.”) He praised his former QB Josh Allen as a major reason his career reached another level. He cited the Texans as a team on his “radar.” Now, he’s a very happy man.

First, Diggs said he lost track of how many times he has smiled since the trade.

Diggs then brought up his smile again.

“For me, when I got traded, I was happy. I was in a good place,” Diggs said. “When I say I’ve been smiling, I’ve been smiling.”

Nosebleed tickets for the Oct. 6 game between the Bills and Texans are going for north of $200 apiece on StubHub. Both teams can get exactly what they want out of this trade and accelerate toward the same destination. It’d be no surprise if they met again in the playoffs.

Oh, yeah. The playoffs. Since his Minneapolis Miracle TD, football in January has been a horror show for the wide receiver.

In 2020, Diggs famously stayed on the field to watch the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate an AFC Championship. In 2021, after “13 Seconds,” players remember Diggs yelling, “Every f--king time! Every single f--king time!” inside the locker room. In 2022, the world saw Diggs give Allen grief in the snow vs. Cincinnati. In 2023, an Allen bomb slipped right through his hands at Highmark Stadium vs. KC.

All heartbreak that should only sharpen the Texans’ perspective.

With Stroud entrenched as the quarterback for the next 10 to 15 seasons, it’ll be easy for teammates to take playoff games for granted. Most players on this roster have hardly tasted the postseason. The delivery won’t be perfect. Diggs was often moody and ornery and pissed off in Western New York — Isaiah McKenzie used to joke that he’d served as a babysitter. But Diggs can also be a needed voice for naïve 22-, 23-, and 24-year-olds on the roster because he knows how unapologetically a season comes crashing down.

He’ll be the veteran eviscerating all Happy To Be Here vibes.

Second-year wideout Tank Dell claimed Diggs has “been nothing short of amazing,” adding that the vet “still has that ‘it’ factor.” With all these weapons? “It’s going to be special.” (Diggs described Dell as a little brother, too.)

Perspective will come from many different sources for these Texans. We’ve shared a few of their stories. Collins would go a week-plus without hot water as a kid and never enjoyed a true Christmas. Center Juice Scruggs hit black ice on I-79 in April 2019 and was ejected through the driver’s side window. He’s lucky to be alive.

And after this offseason? Dell knows he’s lucky to be alive, too.

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About three weeks after the Diggs trade, on April 27, Dell took a bullet in the leg. He had no ties to the shooter, a 16-year-old named Christopher Bouie. This incident at Cabana Live in Sanford, Fla., was the definition of “wrong place, wrong time.” As the chilling video reveals, Dell was quite literally caught in the middle of gunfire. He very easily could’ve been shot and killed.

His head coach, GM and wide receivers coach all reached out immediately.

Inside the hospital, the only thing on Dell’s mind was if he’d be able to play football. Once the doctor said the bullet was a “through-and-through” and left no lingering damage behind, Dell felt a rush of relief. “I was ready to go,” said Dell, with a thumb’s up.

Ten people were shot. All survived. But the wide receiver knows just how fortunate he was to escape mostly unscathed. The damage for everyone at the party could’ve been worse if not for a brave security guard tackling Bouie mid-shooting.

Speaking at Texans minicamp, Dell clearly appreciated a new lease on life.

“It’s definitely scary,” Dell said. “Not only for myself but for my family. I don’t want to put myself in that type of position, and especially my family. I’ve got a little brother. My Mom. I know how they were feeling at that time. It’s a traumatic experience.”

He’s been going to church every Tuesday, praying each morning, praying each night and his grandmother now texts him every day.

He’ll never be able to forget that night in Florida. Dell plans to maximize every second of life.

“My mental’s right. I’m ready to get back to work,” he said.  “I’ve got some big goals. I’m looking forward to stepping into that light and achieving them.”

It didn’t take long for Dell to hit the field again with Stroud. After the shooting, Dell finds himself valuing such relationships more than ever. They’ve worked out in both L.A. and Houston. The receiver called their relationship a “brotherhood” — they first bonded as rookies over TNF and MNF games. Dell realized Stroud’s upbringing was strikingly similar to his. Both were doubted; both had trouble inside their childhood homes.

Now, they’re exceptionally close. With that closeness comes respect.

Everyone listens when Stroud speaks up. The quarterback has not been shy.

When the offense was sputtering during one minicamp practice last week, Stroud stopped everything to tell the unit, in so many words, that they needed to get their shit together.  

“He’s definitely stepping up into that leadership role way more than he did last year,” Dell said. “Don’t get me wrong. He was a great leader. But any miscues in practice, he’s on us. Like, ‘Alright, bro. C’mon.’ But he’s definitely stepping up into the leadership role. He knows we have a target on our back now. Last year was a prove-it year. We still haven’t proven it to ourselves, don’t get me wrong. But we know people are looking forward to watching the Texans play football this year. So he’s not taking it lightly. He wants to give the fans a show. So, he’s been on us like crazy.”

All AFC challengers need a quarterback wired this way because all roads go through Patrick Mahomes.

With Joe Burrow, the Bengals certainly feel confident they can dethrone the champs. They’ve done it before.

With Allen, the Bills have come within inches.

The Texans hit the jackpot in the 2023 draft and are now prepared to give the Chiefs their best punch. In practice, there are more subtle signs — vulgar signs — that hint toward hype being justified.

Second-year defensive end Will Anderson Jr. assured Stroud’s energy exists on the other side of the ball. Through all of his years playing the sport, no linebacker has ever dared to utter a word when he screws up. Anderson doesn’t want to hear it. He calls himself “self-aware.” Al-Shaair, however, is not the sort of teammate to stay silent. The ex-49er and ex-Titan didn’t waste any time calling out teammates during OTAs and minicamp.

After jumping offsides, Anderson was visibly mad at himself.

Al-Shaair spoke up.

“He was like, ‘Stop f--king pouting!’” Anderson said. “And it’s kind of like, ‘Hold on! Who are you talking to?’ I respected that. I respect that because as a man and as a player, bro, we all need that. I looked at him different, but I really look at him totally different now because that’s the type of mentality that we have to have if we’re going to go far in this league and if we’re going to win a lot of games. Somebody that’s not scared to get on people when they do the wrong thing.”

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July darlings are usually well-intentioned. Those 2019 Browns tried to guard against ego by bringing in renowned stoic Ryan Holiday to speak at camp. Holiday authored the bestselling, “Ego is the Enemy,” and it’s true that his message resonated with players. The Browns were sincerely interested in the ancient philosophy, fully in-tune with the pitfalls that could destroy their championship dreams.

When I chatted with Holiday that summer for the aforementioned Bleacher Report feature, he brought up a quote from Epictetus: “It’s impossible to learn what you think you already know.”

“So if you think you’re a flawless athlete,” Holiday said, “you’re not going to learn the plays, you’re not going to learn the schemes, you’re not going to hustle hard enough, and the talent’s not going to come together. … You can see how quickly an entitled attitude would spiral out of control. The guy who doesn't think he needs to pick up after himself is the guy who doesn’t hustle back on the drill, is the guy who doesn’t lift as much as he can.”

The gross miscalculation in Cleveland was that Kitchens was the coach capable of overseeing a room with so many different personalities. He was in over his head. That’s not a problem in Houston where DeMeco Ryans, a former Texans linebacker himself, has been a natural taking over a team that won only 13 games the previous three seasons.

There’s A-level talent here. Hunter, who grew up 30 miles west, is fresh off a career-high 16.5 sacks in Minnesota. Harassing opposing quarterbacks is a prerequisite in the AFC. Collins, a true WR1, is ascending. Harris, too. The Alabama linebacker with 4.44 speed broke out in Ryans’ defensive scheme with 101 tackles (seven for loss), two sacks, seven pass breakups and a forced fumble. He’s an all-gas, no-brakes downhill player on the field who’ll echo Sabanisms off it.

If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that talent alone cannot withstand the rigors of an NFL season.

Back when Saban was treating Mercer with the seriousness of an SEC powerhouse, players did not chuckle. This was the first time guys were playing college ball, Harris explained, so this is all they knew. There was no coach, no program, no opponent they could use as a comparison.

“We’re thinking that’s the norm,” Harris said.

It wasn’t until Harris got to the NFL and heard the college experiences of others that he realized this week-to-week intensity was rare. Treating 2024 with the same intensity won’t be a problem in Houston. He’ll speak up. As will his former Crimson Tide running mate, Anderson Jr.

Diggs will be loud.

Stroud, bold.

And nobody should be surprised if a new AFC heavyweight is able to go the distance with Mahomes.

Father’s Day is around the corner. You can share Go Long with a loved one:

Texans stories past, icymi:

A star is born: Nico Collins

‘You only get one life:’ The Juice Scruggs vantage point

Quarterbacks of the Future

The Houston Texans represent the clearest path to a Super Bowl