The Houston Texans’ receiving corps are like “Space Cowboys.”
No, not the MiLB team in Sugar Land, but the 2000 movie staring Clint Eastwood and an ensemble cast. It’s a bunch of old guys from Danny Amendola to Brandin Cooks to Chris Moore to Phillip Dorsett. Aside from 2021 third-rounder Nico Collins, the Texans’ receiving corps is a highly veteran group.
If the Texans are looking to add young blood to the group to complement Collins’ youth, a name to consider is North Dakota State’s Christian Watson.
According to Mike Renner from Pro Football Focus, Watson was a player who benefited from Senior Bowl as it allowed him the chance to go against comparable talent, despite having his collegiate career curtailed in the past two seasons.
Watson needed the Senior Bowl purely from a tape perspective. He hailed from a North Dakota State offense that had him run a grand total of 348 routes over the last two seasons. For context, 130 FBS wide receivers ran more routes than that in 2021 alone. Watson showed an ability to defeat press coverage that you rarely see from a 6-foot-4 wide receiver. His performance throughout the week wasn’t too far off from South Alabama’s Jalen Tolbert, but Tolbert already checked in at 58 on the PFF draft board heading into the week.
the full rep pic.twitter.com/fRoSiG2c9q
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) February 4, 2022
If the Texans were to take Watson, he wouldn’t be able to beat out Cooks or even Amendola for a starting job. However, if he could challenge Moore and Dorsett for playing time, a spot on the roster, it would help the Texans get younger in addition to better — the key aspect to any successful rebuild.
The Senior Bowl is one of the first checkpoints of the predraft process. As the rest of the receivers rise and fall, it could determine Watson’s value. If Watson is available anywhere from Round 4 on, Houston has to consider turning in his card.