​The Houston Texans’ preseason games were a night-and-day difference within the first quarter. In the first game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Texans could not do much on either side of the ball.When facing the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday evening, the defense found a lot of success in the first half and especially in the first quarter.One of the highlights of the game was a pick-six from rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz. The fourth-round pick out of Clemson intercepted a pass from No. 1 overall pick and Heisman-winning Fernando Mendoza. He returned it 80 yards for the score. Head coach DeMeco Ryans was pleased with Woodaz’s performance on that play, saying it was the result of him being where he was supposed to be.“For Wade, he just has to be disciplined with what we’re asking him to do,” Ryans said. “That pick came from him just being where he’s supposed to be, finding a way to catch the football and go score. He just has to continue to improve. Rookie that we’re trying to get a ton of reps. He’s done a good job of what we’ve given him.”TEXANS PICK-6 ALERT 🚨LVvsHOU on ESPNStream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/li2QM4hEah— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2026The pick was a good rebound for Woodaz, who was not satisfied with his performance against the Chargers. He should still make the final 53-man roster since he appears to have cemented his role as a solid backup linebacker and special teams contributor. Still, Ryans is going to review the tape on Woodaz to see what he needs to improve on and if he is making all of the improvements the coaching staff has asked of him.DeMeco Ryans on Wade Woodaz:“He just has to be disciplined with what we’re asking him to do. That pick came from him being where he’s supposed to be, finding a way to catch the football & go score. He just had to continue to improve, roookie, we’re trying to get him a ton of… pic.twitter.com/cWk8UrsKaY— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) August 21, 2026“I’ll go back and assess the performance when I watch the tape and watch it in detail,” Ryans said. “I like the way he said that he’s hungry to get better; last week wasn’t good enough. We showed him what he needs to improve upon. He did some good things in practice. Getting a pick is one play, a big play in the game, but there are more plays you have to watch to see if he’s really taking all the improvements that we’ve asked him to do.”Woodaz will have another opportunity to put his talents on display in Houston’s final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Fri. Aug. 28.This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: ‘Right where he was supposed to be’: Texans HC DeMeco Ryans says Wade Woodaz’s pick-six