Tag: Texans 2024 Season

Texans training camp: John Metchie shining bright on offense

John Metchie III might transform into one of the top options in the Texans’ passing attack for the 2024 season.

Two years ago, John Metchie III looked like an ideal complementary piece opposite Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins for the Houston Texans‘ passing game.

Fast-forward 24 months and the former second-round pick is now competing for a spot on the roster behind Collins, breakout rookie Tank Dell and Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs.

The expectation is for Collins, Dell and Diggs to start as part of the ‘five-headed monster’ in C.J. Stroud’s arsenal. After that, the final three receiver spots are up for grabs between seven potential options.

That number might be down to two since Metchie continues to turn heads in the early stages of training camp. One could argue he’s been the Texans’ most consistent pass-catcher through three practices.

“He’s been dealing with a lot,” Collins said Thursday. “He’s coming in every day and is working on himself, working on his body, the things he needs to improve on and it’s showing on the field.”

The former Alabama star mostly has been running with the second-team offense, but he rotates from time to time with the projected starters. On Saturday, he caught two balls during team drills, including a 50-yard touchdown pass from second-string quarterback Davis Mills.

The concept was simple: go deep and get open. Metchie, who totaled over 1,000 yards during his final season with the Crimson Tide, pulled a double move at the line of scrimmage and sprinted vertically past Mike Ford in coverage.

The offense celebrated, including Stroud, perhaps Metchie’s top supporter since the start of the offseason.

“[He’s] just another great guy that we have,” Stroud said earlier this offseason. “I’m just excited to see him just show his value that we all have known, and now he’s putting it on the field. He’s going to continue to go and he is going to be very pivotal and important to this football team for a lot of games to win.”

Metchie is essentially entering his second season of professional football. As a rookie, he was diagnosed with leukemia just before the start of training camp and missed the entire year while in treatment. Last season, he moved rotated in with Robert Woods and Noah Brown as the No. 3 option.

The Texans still envision a future with Metchie. Entering the off day, he looks to be in good standing, both on the field and in health.

“He’s in much better football shape,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Saturday. “And that’s to be expected. What he went through — two years, he couldn’t do a football workout — and then he all of a sudden rolls on the field last year, and has to go roll? That’s really, really difficult. I think that’s credit to him as a person.”

Can the Texans expect a breakout season from TE Brevin Jordan in 2024?

Brevin Jordan could be in for a dominant season this upcoming fall for the Houston Texans.

Since being drafted out of Miami in 2021, Brevin Jordan has been a reliable No. 2 tight end for the Houston Texans.

As a rookie, he stepped up down the stretch and scored three touchdowns as Davis Mills’ security blanket. A year later, he finished second among tight ends in receptions and averaged 10 yards per catch en route to a three-win season.

Even last season while backing up Dalton Schultz Jordan showed his value. His production decreased during the regular season, but he made up for it with a 76-yard touchdown in the wild-card round win over the Browns.

Entering a contract year, Jordan hopes to make the most of his time with the intent of signing a new deal. The Texans believe Jordan could be in for quality numbers as C.J. Stroud builds off his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign.

Pro Football Network believes it too, naming him their breakout candidate for the Texans this season.

The Texans’ offense has a lot of mouths to feed, but Jordan may command attention in an already-loaded pass-catching room. Despite the Texans adding Diggs, bringing Dalton Schultz back in free agency, and drafting Cade Stover, the 23-year-old Jordan will still figure into the offensive game plan with a real chance to break out. – Tony Catalina

Stover’s addition shows that Houston might be willing to let Jordan walk in free agency this offseason. Stroud already has a budding relationship with ‘Famer Gronk’ from his final season at Ohio State, and was influential in helping Houston land him in the draft.

That doesn’t mean Jordan’s numbers will decrease. The Texans could view Stover as a project while Jordan is the proven commodity. Even if the 6-foot-4 rookie seems meaningful reps, Jordan’s also proven his value as an H-back when asked to run more 13-personnel.

The addition of another multi-purpose weapon that can win at the catch point in the red zone and flats could do wonders for Stroud when under pressure. And with Schultz just signed a three-year, $36 million extension this offseason, Stroud made it clear he’s getting the ball to the open receiver.

“You’re open, you get the ball,” Stroud said earlier this offseason. “My thinking is you’ve got to pick your poison playing us. Who are you going to double? Who are you going to cater to? You’ve got five dogs who are able to get the ball in each given play.”

Texans running back unit ranked No. 23 in NFL by PFF

The Houston Texans might have upgraded the running back room on paper, but Pro Football Focus still isn’t too keen about their overall status entering 2024.

Fans will be the first to admit that the Houston Texans needed an upgrade at running back this offseason. Even if they loved Devin Singletary and Dameon Pierce, those from the outside knew that duo wouldn’t cut it to win a Super Bowl. 

The Texans often relied on Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud to play hero ball when the ground game became ineffective. Houston ranked 28th overall in rushing and mustered up just 10 rushing touchdowns en route to a division title. 

Outside of Singletary, no one averaged over 2.9 yards per attempt. Stroud and fullback Andrew Beck were responsible for half of Houston’s rushing scores as well. 

The hope is new running back Joe Mixon will provide stability on the ground as the Texans look to build off a 10-7 record while competing for an AFC title. Pro Football Focus, however, isn’t much higher on Houston’s new ground-and-pound attack, ranking it 23rd entering July. 

The Texans will implement a three-pronged punch of Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale in 2024.

Mixon will likely take the early-down work as a still-reliable running back, although his overall production has been more volume-based than efficiency-based.

Pierce can handle the reserve and short-yardage situations, and Ogunbowale is a solid third-down back. It’s a solid rotation, but one that seems to have a limited ceiling.

Based on leading rushers, Mixon should be considered an upgrade. A Pro Bowler back in 2021, the former second-round pick out of Oklahoma posted four 1,000-yard campaigns during his time in Cincinnati, including last season where he averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. 

He’s also improved as a pass-catching threat on second and third down. With Joe Burrow missing the second half of last season, backup quarterback Jake Browning relied heavily on the dump passes, leading to Mixon finishing with over 50 catches and nearly 400 receiving yards. 

Outside of him, there are reasons for skepticism. Pierce, who nearly eclipsed 1,000 yards during his rookie season under Pep Hamilton’s gap-style approach, never found a rhythm in Bobby Slowik’s offensive design. Ogunbowale has the potential to be a decent runner in spurts, but he’s better used as a situational option on specific downs.

It’s a fair assessment going into the year. Teams like Cincinnati, New York, and Las Vegas, who all lost 1,000-yard runners this offseason, were ranked below Houston, so at least there’s a conciseness to the rankings. 

Mixon, Pierce, Ogunbowale, and the rest of the Texans return for the start of training camp at NRG Stadium on July 18.

Sports Illustrated come up with bold prediction for Texans’ 2024 season

While the Houston Texans were aggressive this offseason in adding talent, one publication thinks another 10-7 is on the horizon.

It’s the offseason, meaning bold predictions are running a muck around websites entering July. Some are lukewarm at best. Others feel like they’re so far out of context that it’s laughable at best.

Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr recently shared his 100 bold predictions for the 2024 NFL season, with each team being mentioned at least once. They ranged from Caleb Williams finishing with more touchdowns as a rookie than Peyton Manning to a coach being traded to a franchise this offseason.

As for the Houston Texans? Orr thinks the defending AFC South champions will remain competitive under DeMeco Ryans in Year 2, but they won’t improve their 10-7 win total.

This is my first truly hot take of this piece. I am very excited to argue with a still-nascent fan base that just logged onto football for the first time in four years in 2024 to fight about how I don’t understand the game (true, I’ll admit it), or that I’m irrelevant and my predictions don’t matter (also true!) or that I’m the same clown who loudly projected the Patriots would win the AFC East last year (how am I still working?). I love the Texans, but their schedule rips this year and it’s going to be hard to replicate previous success even through the clear and obvious upgrades they made this offseason. This is not an anti–C.J. Stroud or DeMeco Ryans take. It is a pro-parity take, though, and when a team upshifts into a schedule that, after Week 7, becomes a bit of a minefield, there’s no telling what might happen.

It’s not that Orr thinks Houston will regress. He still thinks double-digit wins are on the table as Stroud builds off his historic rookie campaign that awarded him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

But an improved record doesn’t necessarily mean a better franchise. The Texans played a fourth-place schedule and faced off against the NFC South as their NFC counterpart en route to the first division title in four years.

The four franchises combined for a 27-41 overall season, while Houston also dropped games to Cleveland and Baltimore during the regular season. And sure, while the Texans managed to two of the league’s top passers, they also collapsed in MetLife Stadium against the Zach Wilson-led Jets and Carolina amid a 2-15 season.

Houston is trading out matchups with the NFC South for the NFC North. Chicago and Minnesota look improved following free agency and the draft. Green Bay seems to have its franchise quarterback in Jordan Love after his breakout season. And remember that Detriot was a handful of plays away from making the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.

The Texans also take on the AFC East instead of the North. That division features a three-headed monster atop in Miami, New York and Buffalo. And given that Houston fell apart on the road against a rookie passer on a lackluster squad, dropping a game against New England isn’t far-fetched.

Yes, the Texans are still a playoff team despite upgrading their level of competition, but Orr isn’t wrong to think talks of a 13-win season feel extreme for the time being. The good news is someone will be incorrect at the end of the year.

Will it be Orr? The Texans start their question to 11-plus wins once training camp begins on July 18.

Former Texans CB Steven Nelson takes shrouded shot at DeMeco Ryans

Steven Nelson did not hold back when taking a shot at Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans over the weekend.

Steven Nelson spent two seasons with the Houston Texans as the team’s No. 2 cornerback. It seems as if a reunion isn’t in the works anytime soon.

The 31-year-old defensive back took shots at the local sports franchises on his X account after Thursday’s storm killed at least seven people and left nearly 1 million residents without power. On Saturday, Nelson took an apparent veiled shot at Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, posting to his Instagram story:  “Let’s go milk dud man. It’s your time to shine. Damn all that meathead persona. Time to get your hands dirty for the city.”

In another post that later was deleted, Nelson directly called out the second-year head coach, stating it’s, “Milk Dud Ryans’ time to show up for the city.”

This isn’t the first time Nelson has dabbled in beef with the Texans’ personnel. Last offseason, he called out general manager Nick Caserio after the two sides couldn’t agree on a contract extension, taking a jab at his iconic vest look by tweeting, “Can’t trust a MF that wears these for every day of the week. Clown freak.”

Caserio later laughed off the comment after Nelson reported to camp, stating that Nelson isn’t a fan of his wardrobe collection. 

Nelson, who also hosts ‘The Corner Suite’ podcast, later posted and deleted a comment on why he called out Ryans, stating that, “(I) talk heavy bc I can.”  

A former standout at Oregon State, Nelson joined the Texans in 2022 after spending a season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Signed a two-year deal worth $9 million, Nelson was consistent, breaking out with five interceptions in 2023 en route to helping Houston secure its first division title since 2019. 

While Nelson remains a free agent, he claimed in a previous tweet that he wouldn’t sign for less than his asking price. Entering OTAs, he remains a free agent. 

Recently, Nelson gave back to Houston residents, donating water, canned goods, potatoes and rice in Atascocita off FM1960. 

Returning to the Texans already seemed far-fetched for Nelson after Houston agreed to terms with former first-round picks Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson. In the draft, the Texans used their first selection on Georgia standout Kamari Lassiter, who should compete for first-team reps both on the outside and in the nickel.Â