The Houston Texans are stacked at tight end with Jordan Akins and Darren Fells. The competition between Jordan Thomas and Kahale Warring for the third tight end spot makes for a good problem to have in training camp.
Dylan Stapleton, an undrafted free agent from James Madison, is catching more than passes from backup quarterbacks A.J. McCarron and Alex McGough. The tight end is also catching attention from coach Bill O’Brien.
“He just is smart and takes to coaching very well,” O’Brien told the Housotn Chronicle’s John McClain after Friday’s practice. “He knows how to, when we coach him, how to run a man route versus a zone route and he carries that to the field.”
Stapleton caught 35 passes for 426 yards and a touchdown in his final season with the Dukes. However, what doesn’t show up as a statistic, but nonetheless qualifies when it comes to evaluating the 6-5, 242-pound tight end, is his ability to comprehend and willingness to do the dirty part of his job: block.
“He doesn’t space out and forget what we told him in the meetings, and then he can catch the ball and then he’s a willing blocker,” O’Brien said. “He’s young and he has a long way to go, but he’s willing to do what we’re asking him to do.”
The Texans will have to trim down to a 53-man roster by the end of training camp. Stapleton is making the case for the coaching staff that he should get consideration, though the practice squad would be a more plausible entry point for the Indiana, Pennsylvania, native’s NFL career.
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