With wide receiver Will Fuller out with a groin injury, the Houston Texans will enter the postseason after Week 17’s bout with the Tennessee Titans with Kenny Stills as their No. 2 receiver.
Though perhaps not as dynamic as Fuller, Stills can fill-in adequately for him. He has similar speed (4.38-second 40-time compared to 4.33), veteran experience (107 career games) and, perhaps most importantly, the Texans are familiar with him.
Before acquiring Stills in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31, the Texans examined the 27-year-old receiver’s game tape. Coach Bill O’Brien says he’s been watching him for quite some time.
“I’ve been watching Kenny for a long time,” O’Brien said on Thursday. “Kenny’s got really good speed, he’s tough, really good route-runner. He’s a sharp route-runner. He’s smart. He was here last year, played against us when he was in Miami, we played out here on Thursday night last year. So, we studied him for that game.”
Initially a fifth-round pick from the Oklahoma Sooners (2013), Stills spent his first two years with the New Orleans Saints before the Dolphins acquired him in a trade. He played in South Beach for four seasons.
“We’ve been watching Kenny for a long time so we knew that he could add something to what we were looking for at that position,” O’Brien concluded.
In his first year as a Texan, Stills has 40 receptions for 561 yards and four touchdowns. He missed two games due to a hamstring injury early in the season but has stayed in good health since. According to Seth Walder of ESPN, he is fifth in the NFL in completed air yards over expectation, indicating his productivity as a deep threat.
The Texans know Stills. Now, heading into the postseason, he will need to back up O’Brien’s lauding of him to keep Houston’s pass offense productive.