Tag: Texans tight ends

Texans TE room embodies ‘next man up’ mindset

The Houston Texans tight ends have done a decent job of showing how to absorb the attrition of training camp and preseason.

HOUSTON — With the hiring of DeMeco Ryans as head coach, the Houston Texans have taken on plenty of mantras such as “S.W.A.R.M.” and “Iron Sharpens Iron.” Another one that they may need to put on a t-shirt is “Next Man Up,” especially with the number of injuries they have sustained during training camp.

The offensive side of the ball has been hit the hardest with starting offensive lineman Scott Quessenberry (ACL, MCL) out for the season and Tytus Howard (hand) out for 4-6 weeks. The tight ends group had to manage without reserve tight ends Brevin Jordan and Teagen Quitoriano for most of the camp but received good news before the start of practice on Saturday when Quitoriano was activated from the physically-unable-to-perform list.

With Dalton Schultz having to miss some practices after taking a vicious blow from safety Jimmie Ward during team drills, tight ends coach Jake Moreland has had to rely on some of the guys looking for an opportunity to get more reps once the regular season starts.

“The room has that next man up mentality,” said tight ends coach Jake Moreland. “Everybody is ready at any given second, so if somebody goes down, obviously it is unfortunate, but when we keep playing, the next guy is ready to step in and do what he can to continue to help the team in that rep.”

One player who has been making the most of his opportunity is Mason Schreck. He has stood out for his reliability when running routes and has shown to be a good blocker which is very important in new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s offense.

The former Cincinnati Bengals player was a reliable target for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud in Schultz’s absence during camp and had two receptions for 17 yards in the Texans’ first preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night.

Houston will be looking for significant production from Dalton Shultz, whom they signed in the offseason after spending his first five years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. Moreland believes that if they can get the production, he had his last three seasons where he amassed 199 receptions and 2,000 yards.

“He has been very productive since he has been in the league,” Moreland said about Schultz at the conclusion of practice. “He is a really good voice in the room.”

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Why are the Texans giving more playing time to rookie TE Brevin Jordan?

The Houston Texans switched up their tight end lineup in Week 11 and gave more playing time to rookie Brevin Jordan. OC Tim Kelly explains why.

There was quite the surprise on Sunday in Week 11 ahead of the Houston Texans’ matchup with the Tennessee Titans when rookie Brevin Jordan was named the starter at the expense of Jordan Akins’ activation.

The fifth-rounder from Miami saw his second start of the season and produced a catch for seven yards.

“He’s put together a few good weeks of practice,” offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. “He shows the ability to separate, shows the ability to get open. It showed up a couple times on third downs, caught one of them, probably had two of them that he should’ve come down with, probably. I think he’d tell you the same thing.”

However, it isn’t Jordan’s prowess in the passing game that has earned him playing time. It is the 6-3, 245-pound tight end’s willingness to block that has garnered him playing time.

“The other thing that’s been encouraging is that he’s not afraid to stick his face in there and to go block, and to try and be physical,” said Kelly. “While he may not be as big as some of the other guys that we have, he goes in there, he competes, he battles and he tries to do everything we ask him to do in the run game, as well as the pass game.”

Jordan may get another chance to start as the Texans take on the equally 2-8 New York Jets Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.