Tag: Xavier Hutchinson

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says C-G Juice Scruggs ‘seems like a vet already’

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans says that interior offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, their second-round pick, “seems like a vet already.”

The Houston Texans’ rookie class will draw attention throughout 2023 for many reasons.

Notably the Texans’ rookies will draw interest is due to their first-rounders in quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Third-round receiver Tank Dell will also be a fascinating topic as he continues his football career in Clutch City.

While coach DeMeco Ryans sprinkled the aforementioned with “excellent job” and “really good job” June 6 at organized team activities, there was one rookie who prompted more detail in second-round center Juice Scruggs.

“Juice has done a great job with just being consistent in there — seems like a vet already with the consistency that he operates at,” Ryans said.

The Texans could use consistency at their center position as they seek the final piece to a productive and cohesive offensive line. Three-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil has left tackle, and former 2019 first-rounder Tytus Howard has been solid at right tackle. Kenyon Green has left guard as Shaq Mason mans the right side. Center has been the question mark, although the Texans are cobbling together an answer with Scott Quessenberry, Michael Deiter, Jimmy Morrissey, and sixth-rounder Jarrett Patterson.

Overall Ryans is pleased with the work the rookies have demonstrated throughout the offseason program.

“All around, we have a really good group of rookies and I’m excited to see them come back training camp when we put the pads on and actually get the opportunity to play some real football,” said Ryans. “I’m excited to see their growth.”

If Scruggs is able to maintain his veteran-like consistency, the Texans should be able to solve their issue at starting center.

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WR Nico Collins loves the Texans’ new offensive approach

Houston Texans WR Nico Collins is enthused by the way the offense seeks to put the ball in everyone’s hands.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are in their final week of organized team activities, and one group is starting to develop the type of chemistry you want to see heading into training camp later this summer.

Veterans Robert Woods, Nico Collins, and Noah Brown are making sure they are getting accustomed to the offensive playbook of coordinator Bobby Slowik while trying to help rookie Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson get acclimated to the position at the NFL level.

Although many NFL analysts do not believe that they have a strong core of receivers, Collins is ready to take on that challenge to prove the naysayers wrong.

“It is another year,” Collins said during his press conference on Tuesday. “New year. I have to reload and stay healthy. Keep my head down and keep grinding and keep your foot on the gas.”

Collins, who is in his third year with the Texans, only played in 10 games in 2022, finishing with 37 catches for 481 yards and two scores, before being held out for the rest of the year with a foot injury he sustained against the Cleveland Browns. He looks forward to competing this upcoming season in a new offense that will help utilize his 6-foot-4-inch frame and massive catch radius.

“I feel like this offense will find ways for everyone to touch the ball,” said Collins. “Make plays; whenever your number is called, you make a play. Coach Bobby keeps telling us, ‘Man, you get that ball in your hands; just go score.’ Just have that mindset. He wants that dog about you, and that is what I love about his offense. I can’t wait for the season.”

Two other players ready to contribute on the offensive side of the ball are Dell and Hutchinson, who have been finding ways to become more productive in the system. Collins and Woods have spoken highly of their work ethic on and off the field.

“Those two young guys coming into the league, they were just like me,” Collins said about the rookies finding their niche on the team. “I feel like I was just in their shoes two years ago. It flew by.

“So, I feel where they’re coming from. They’re asking for help, so I’m just helping them out as much as I can. I’m still learning just as [much as] them. So, we’re all kind of in the same boat. Just coming in every day and getting better.”

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Why the Texans should avoid adding veteran receivers to the roster

The Houston Texans shouldn’t be too quick to add veteran receivers to the roster at this particular juncture of the offseason.

The Houston Texans could stand to add a veteran receiver to their offseason roster.

So says to Marc Sessler from NFL.com. The “Around The NFL Podcast” co-host pointed out that one of the areas where the Texans could use additional improvement, despite all of their offseason efforts, is at receiver.

I have DeMeco Ryans atop my candidates for Coach of the Year. I expect new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to become a household name in time, as his Shanahan-inspired offense takes hold in Houston. Arrow up for C.J. Stroud and the Texans, but the rookie passer’s progress will take time unless the front office finds more help around him. After trading away Brandin Cooks, Houston’s cast of wideouts looms as suspect. Nico Collins is a promising third-year building block. Hope surrounds John Metchie III‘s return from acute promyelocytic leukemia. From there, though, Robert Woods, Noah Brown and a whole bunch of inexperience round out the cast. General manager Nick Caserio isn’t afraid to churn the roster, so expect the Texans to find veteran assistance in time.

No one should fault Sessler for not listing all 13 receivers on the Texans’ offseason roster. However, there is faulty logic in adding a veteran receiver in May.

The Texans need to see what they have in third-rounder Tank Dell and sixth-rounder Xavier Hutchinson. Can they learn the offense? They are the future of the position, even if the Texans were defending Super Bowl champions and not a rebuild. Houston has to get a sense of their return on investment. Adding veterans would help with the “win now” premise, but the Texans would have progress-stoppers that would get in the way of developing younger talent.

Remember Bill O’Brien and his “veteran type of year” approach to 2020? How did that work out?

In order to truly rebuild from what has ailed the Texans, they have to develop a system that cultivates young talent. No better place to start than receiver.

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WATCH: WR Xavier Hutchinson all smiles at Texans’ rookie minicamp

Sixth-round receiver Xavier Hutchinson was a happy camper at the Houston Texans’ rookie minicamp in a video posted to Twitter.

The Houston Texans selected Iowa State receiver Xavier Hutchinson with the 205th pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and with their rookie minicamp officially underway, the team posted a video of his cheery demeanor to Twitter on Saturday.

General manager Nick Caserio was particularly bullish on the selection of Hutchinson and told reporters shortly after the draft that he expects big things from his late-round receiver.

“You go back and look at his production, and I would say, I don’t know, he had 100 catches last year, the year before, whatever it was,” Caserio explained of Hutchinson. “Good size. Good toughness. Really good with the ball in his hands, great practice player. I would say this is a classic example of a guy whose workout didn’t go great, but he’s a good football player, so he falls into that bucket. It’s a player the offensive staff thought highly of.”

Clearly, the Texans’ front office is confident that their newest receiver can play a role in their offense next year, and judging from the video from Twitter, Hutchinson is happy to be in the Lone Star State to begin his NFL career.

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WATCH: Texans rookies introduce their nicknames at minicamp

A few Houston Texans rookies took time to explain their nicknames shortly before minicamp got underway.

The Houston Texans shared a video on their official Twitter account to help fans to more acquainted with the 2023 rookies.

As the players were crossing over the skyway to go to practice Friday morning at Houston Methodist Training Center, they shared with the team’s social media crew their nicknames.

“I was ‘X-Man’ because my name’s Xavier,” sixth-round receiver Xavier Hutchinson explained.

“Growing up, I was ‘Golden Toe Joe,'” punter Joe Doyle said. “My name is Joe and I’m a kicker.”

Fifth-round linebacker Henry To’oTo’o revealed that his nickname is “Hank the Tank,” and the explanation he gave was because, simply, he was a tank.

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Report: Texans sign sixth-round receiver Xavier Hutchinson to rookie contract

The Houston Texans have signed sixth-round receiver Xavier Hutchinson to a standard four-year rookie contract.

The Houston Texans have signed another one of their draft picks ahead of rookie minicamp.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans have signed sixth-round receiver Xavier Hutchinson to a standard four-year rookie contract.

The Texans picked the former Iowa State receiver for his on-field production with 107 catches for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns in his final season.

“I would say this is a classic example of a guy whose workout didn’t go great, but he’s a good football player, so he falls into that bucket,” general manager Nick Caserio said on April 29 after the draft. “It’s a player the offensive staff thought highly of. As we were repositioning at that point, we were trying to see who are players you had decent grades on that you have some affinity for.”

The first rookie Houston signed was sixth-round center Jarrett Patterson.

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Houston Texans have 6 draft picks considered ‘steals’

The Houston Texans had six of their draft picks from the 2023 class considered “steals” by ESPN.

Anyone would believe the Houston Texans had a couple steals in the 2023 NFL draft.

Just look at their first two picks. The Texans were able to address quarterback with C.J. Stroud and then give new coach DeMeco Ryans the dominant edge rusher he needed with Alabama’s Will Anderson.

However, there were seven more selections the Texans made in the draft, and four of them were also considered steals.

According to Matt Miller from ESPN, after Stroud and Anderson, the next steal the Texans had was fourth-round defensive end Dylan Horton. Miller had Horton ranked as the 54th-best steal on his list of 100.

New coach DeMeco Ryans worked magic with versatile pass-rushers in San Francisco and now has one of his own in Horton. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound Horton can crash the edge and wreck backfields — he had four sacks against Michigan last season — but also brings developmental upside. Ryans got exceptional value in a potential starting outside linebacker opposite Will Anderson Jr.

General manager Nick Caserio told reporters after the draft on April 29 that they chose Horton for his versatility playing in multiple fronts thanks to his tenure at TCU.

“He’s kind of played a couple different defensive systems,” Caserio said. “Probably best suited at defensive end. So he’ll probably be a defensive end in our front. Good size, good length, productive season, had a pretty good Senior Bowl week.”

The final three steals for Miller were fifth-round linebacker Henry To’oTo’o, third-round receiver Tank Dell, and sixth-round wideout Xavier Hutchinson.

Houston’s key to turning around the franchise lies with the 2023 class, but not only with the performance of the top-end talent. The Texans need at least half of their draft class to become contributors to the roster in order for Houston to complete the rebuild.

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Which Texans rookie has the highest Pro Football Focus grade?

See which Houston Texans rookie managed to post the highest Pro Football Focus grade during their last season in college.

Smart money would say the Houston Texans’ highest graded rookie would have to be either C.J. Stroud or Will Anderson. After all, the quarterback and defensive lineman went Nos. 2-3 overall in the 2023 NFL draft.

As some football fans now realize, that isn’t how Pro Football Focus grades exactly work.

According to Ben Cooper from PFF, the highest graded rookie from Houston’s nine-man class was actually former Iowa State receiver Xavier Hutchinson, who the Texans grabbed in Round 6.

Hutchinson was the second-highest-graded draft-eligible wide receiver in 2022. He saw more targets (161) than any other FBS receiver and hauled in 14 of his 31 contested targets.

The 6-3, 210-pound wideout caught 107 passes for 1,171 and six touchdowns for the Cyclones in 12 games last season.

General manager Nick Caserio told reporters at the end of the draft on April 29 that Hutchinson was a classic case of a player who had forgettable pre-draft workouts, but his production on the field was undeniable.

“Good size, good toughness; really good with the ball in his hands, great practice player,” said Caserio. “I would say this is a classic example of a guy whose workout didn’t go great, but he’s a good football player, so he falls into that bucket. It’s a player the offensive staff thought highly of. As we were repositioning at that point, we were trying to see who are players you had decent grades on that you have some affinity for. That’s why we went ahead and made the pick with Hutch.”

If Hutchinson is able to get up to speed with the Texans’ offense, he could give Houston another big target to go alongside third-year receiver Nico Collins.

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2023 NFL Draft: The best draft steal for every NFL team

Every NFL draft has its selection of steals — those players who could surprise despite their low selections — and here’s one for every NFL team.

One of the many reasons the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII was the job that general manager Brett Veach did outside of the first round of the 2022 draft. Three defensive backs (Bryan Cook in the second round, Joshua Williams in the fourth, and Jaylen Watson in the seventh) were difference-makers all season, and seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco became the team’s bellcow back down the stretch. Also, second-round receiver Skyy Moore joined Pacheco with touchdowns in that Super Bowl victory over the Eagles.

First-round hits are nice, but it’s almost worse to miss in the first round than it is better to win there from an opportunity cost perspective. If you want to refresh your roster at a championship level, you had better get those picks right on the second and third day. Veach and his staff did that, and it was the difference that made all the difference in the end.

Moving to the 2023 NFL draft, we’ve selected one second- or third-day pick for every NFL team who could have a similar impact on their NFL roaters sooner than mater. Each of these players have reasons for their relatively low picks in line with their tape, stats, and talent, but these are the kinds of finds that can turn a team around over time.

Xavier Hutchinson credits Blinn College for trajectory that led to the Texans

Houston Texans WR Xavier Hutchinson is confident he demonstrated a successful path to the NFL, even if it included a detour to Blinn College.

All roads that lead to the NFL are not always smooth. Some have been obstacles that you will have to navigate through in order for you to reach your destination.

For Houston Texans rookie receiver Xavier Hutchinson, his path was a rocky one that sometimes had him wondering if he would even fulfill his dream of being an NFL player. The first-team All-American last season at Iowa State dreamed of becoming an NBA player in high school. All that changed by his senior year when he focused more on football.

Yet, for as much talent and passion Hutchinson displayed on the hardwood and football field, he failed to demonstrate those same characteristics and traits in the classroom. When college football programs showed interest in him, they were quickly discouraged by his grades, that was less than stellar.

Although he had the potential to be a starter in a Power 5 conference, Hutchinson couldn’t meet the academic requirements. His path to the NFL would have to start 941 miles away from home.

After graduation, he left Jacksonville, Florida, and moved to Brenham, Texas, to play football at Blinn College, the same institution where former 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton attended when his route to the league detoured from Florida.

“I wouldn’t be the man I am today; I wouldn’t be the football player I am today without me going to Blinn,” said Hutchinson when asked about his time in Brenham during his draft day interview. “Blinn really made me grow up in a lot of ways. It made me mature way more. It made me realize to take care of the things that are in front of you. To cherish the opportunities that you get.”

After spending two seasons at Blinn, where he amassed 62 catches for 958 yards and seven touchdowns, Hutchinson was offered a new path to fulfill his NFL dreams by Iowa State, where he shined over the next three years.

The 6-3, 205-pound wideout was a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection for the Cyclones. In his final season, he caught 107 passes for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns. He was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, awarded annually to the top receiver in NCAA Division I football.

After a few obstacles along the path, Hutchinson finally made it to his destination. On Saturday, Houston traded up with the Buffalo Bills to select Hutchinson with the No. 205 overall pick in the draft.

“Just to hear that phone call, to be honest, to see that Houston area code pop up, it was a great feeling,” said Hutchinson. “Everything came full circle for me. I was overwhelmed, and I was extremely happy.”

With a new destination placed in Hutchinson’s NFL GPS, which he hopes takes him along the same path as some of the greatest wide receivers to ever play in the league, his goal is to help some other aspiring young men who may face some adversity along the way of fulfilling their dream to play in the NFL one day.

“I know it is not easy, and all they need is one role model who has gone through the same path as them to show them that it can be done,” Hutchinson answered when asked about helping the next generation achieve their goals. “To sit here in front of you guys (media) and to be able to say that it has been done, I hope that can inspire a lot of young JUCO players.

“It is not the immediate path to where they want to be. But it is not a pit either. It is something to be happy and blessed about. It could really forge you into the player that you want to be.”

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