Stefon Diggs Leadership With Texans Has Been Impressive So Far
With the drama that's followed wide receiver Stefon Diggs at his previous NFL stops, it was a relevant question as to how he would mesh in the Texans' locker room. So far, he's been a model citizen and a leader. Clint Stoerner and Ron Hughley discussed it here on The Drive.
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00:00I got to say, man, I am, I was really, really interested in maybe one of the most interesting
00:08things to start training camp and start the off season was to me on how Stefan Diggs was
00:14going to, to fit in how that situation was going to go about because yes, as I said,
00:21when they brought him in, I think this move now, when you add him to the weapons, they
00:25had makes them a, a Superbowl contender and a top four AFC team at the very least, uh,
00:34once they got him.
00:35But obviously there was not fake, very real.
00:39We've seen it and witnessed it baggage, uh, that, that came with him on the field with
00:45teammates, particular quarterbacks.
00:47And it was a wonder how that was going to fit.
00:50As of now on August 8th, Clint, uh, I I've got to say one, not just, not just not that
00:59I thought fireworks was going to start here, but even more surprised to me that it's not
01:04just fireworks that this dude has become one of the most important guys in the, in the
01:10locker room to this team, not just on the field, but just the leadership thing.
01:15Like it's not just that he is had nothing pop up.
01:20It is Clint that he is like, he's one of the top three leaders on the team.
01:24It feels like he's been more than what they bargained for more than what that second round
01:30pick has been worth, at least up to this point.
01:33So I got to tip my hat to Stefan digs as his, his, him being brought over is, is more than
01:42just, you know, on the field stuff.
01:44It has become, boy, I, I would potentially look at this team differently if, if he weren't
01:48in there working with a lot of these kids.
01:50Well, look, there, there's so many layers here that it's, it's awfully convincing, right?
01:54I mean, you made a comment early on and you and I kind of went back and forth on it because,
01:58cause I just, I think it's the toughest kind of manager, the kind that do right 99% of
02:03the time and then cause distractions when it matters the most on the sideline.
02:07Right.
02:08And your, your response consistently was well, you know, it seems like it's a, it's a, any
02:14eruption that stems from caring too much ultimately, having too much invested in wanting to win
02:20too bad.
02:21And, and you know, that's that very well could be true.
02:26In fact, it probably is more likely that is the case with, with digs after we, there's
02:31so many layers to this dude in a sense of, of like what he brings to the table.
02:35You want to talk about a guy that's worth every penny you pay him, I think $22 million
02:38this year, uh, worth every single penny without a doubt.
02:42And, uh, you know, w we've talked about the mentoring, um, the really towards, it seems
02:49like tank Dale and it seems like John Meche early in camp, uh, him going out of his way
02:54to mentor those guys.
02:56We've talked about just, you know, my, my old, my old, you know, thought of if I were
03:02a coach or if I were scouting or recruiting, you know, I'd want to sit a guy in a cafeteria
03:08by himself, watch everybody else come in.
03:11And if he doesn't have five or six or 10 guys sitting around him rather quickly, then I
03:15know that that guy's not my guy.
03:17That guy's not the leader that everybody thinks he is.
03:19That guy's not as well-liked and that genuinely and sincerely as everybody thinks he is.
03:24Stefan digs is a guy where wherever you set him on a practice field in a break, there's
03:28that's where the crowd goes to.
03:30He didn't that everybody naturally gravitates to Stefan digs.
03:35We talk about how hard he works in practice.
03:37I mean, he is, he is a hundred percent every rep.
03:41I mean, he is a quarterback's best friend as it pertains to that.
03:44And then, you know, we hear yesterday, he he's out of practice.
03:48Um, now I don't know how much it had to do with getting, getting, you know, hit by, by,
03:53um, by Jimmy, Jimmy Ward or not.
03:55I don't know how much they said he worked, walked off gingerly, but he came back in the
03:59game or into practice.
04:00Right.
04:01I don't know how that, how much that had to do with it, but, but I mean, I know that we've
04:05got to be, man, it's gotta be, we gotta be 15 practices in.
04:11And that's the first time that I've heard digs is taking a veteran day or taking a day
04:15off regardless of why.
04:16And this guy's taking them.
04:17I mean, this is another layer, man.
04:19I mean, it is easy to lead.
04:22It is easy to lead when all of those things are true.
04:25People naturally gravitate to you.
04:28You genuinely and sincerely want to help the younger dudes or help other guys at your position.
04:32You understand like what it takes to have true chemistry with your quarterback.
04:36Like you gotta, you gotta invest, you gotta, you gotta have sweat equity.
04:40And now all of a sudden you're a dude that's accomplished more than anybody on his football
04:44team.
04:45He's accomplished more than anybody on his football team and working and working harder
04:48than anybody else.
04:4915 straight days, man.
04:51It's easy to lead from the front boys.
04:53It's easy to lead, um, when, when you're out there in pads and you're grinding and you
04:58genuinely and sincerely care.
05:00So yeah, not only is Stefan Diggs impressing the hell out of everybody and worth every
05:05penny, he just continues to add layers.
05:09He continues to add layers to what, you know, what he's bringing to this football team.
05:13Yeah, man.
05:14I listen and I listen, you're, it was off on that and it's one of those things, Clint,
05:20you don't realize until you get to see it on a daily basis.
05:25That's right.
05:26You don't, you don't, you don't get to see that.
05:28And, and, and is it, isn't it odd?
05:31I think you said this and I agree like for what he gives every day, it, it, it does seem
05:38like you're able to potentially handle some of the, some of the potential meltdowns or
05:44blow ups a little differently just because like you're seeing this on a daily basis,
05:49you're saying now, now I don't, I think it does wear thin after a while.
05:54If it, if it's a continual, continually happening, but the way that he goes at it every day,
06:00it feels like it's, it's something that's, that's more manageable and more, more able
06:05to, to, to accept.
06:06Because as I said, you know, mostly where it's coming from.
06:09Yeah, look, I mean, you, you just did not just not a habit, you give benefit of the
06:14doubt and, and guys can get away with things when they grind like they do.
06:22And nobody even questions whether winning is, is priority number one for them.
06:29Like we, like, it's, it's kind of like Brady, not, not putting digs in the same category
06:32Brady, but just, I think from this, the context of this conversation, I think it's fair.
06:36Like Brady blowing up on the sideline, right?
06:41The way he does, like that's acceptable because of the way dude grinds, the way that he leads,
06:48the way that he, he overworks the way that he's always looking for an advantage and all
06:52of his teammates and all of his coaches understand that.
06:54And so that's acceptable.
06:56And it's totally different than some Jack leg blowing up on the sideline because he's
06:59not getting the football or because something's not right around him.
07:02And that's why, I mean, you look at Stefan digs now and you go, and I don't know if he
07:07had the same, I don't know if he was doing the same things in terms of helping the youngsters
07:12and all that kind of stuff.
07:13I don't know if he had the same relationship with the head coach and the quarterback that
07:16he seems to have here.
07:17I have no idea, but you look at the work he's putting in right now.
07:22I mean, he has earned the privilege, not that I encourage it or want it to ever happen,
07:26but he's earning the privilege to be on the sideline and throw a damn helmet and say,
07:32damn it, we got to be better.
07:34Yeah.
07:35Right.
07:36I mean, he's earned the privilege to do that based on what everybody's seen at practice
07:40and what kind of value he brings to this team.
07:43So it's definitely a different animal when you, when you see it every day.
07:47Yeah.
07:48And I do, I do, I do think when digs kind of goes off, I, I, I'd be surprised to hear
07:58it be like, Hey, give it to me.
08:01I think it is probably more as you just said, we got to do, we got to do this.
08:06Right.
08:07I get the sense that it's not a deal.
08:08Like if tank is getting a ball or Nico is getting a ball and they putting up points
08:13in every, and I believe he said it in a press conference and everything is looking right
08:16and going right.
08:17I think he's good with it.
08:19I don't think he's like, I don't think he's Keyshawn in this thing.
08:22Right.
08:23Throw me the damn ball.
08:24All like all the, I don't think that's where it's go off is.
08:26I think it's go off potentially is, is like this offense is not, it's not running the
08:31way it should be.
08:32Which makes sense again, watching the way he invests for days and days and days and
08:39reps and reps and reps, you should be pissed off if something's not working.
08:43I think there are some guys and you probably run into guys in the league that I know we
08:47put up 35 today, but I mean, this ball ain't coming.
08:50It ain't coming my way.
08:51Yeah.
08:52There's more of those guys than not.
08:53I don't know.
08:54I don't feel that digs is that way.
08:55It doesn't seem like that.
08:56At least from what we're seeing right now, it does not seem like it a lot of times.