If familiarity breeds comfortability, then Houston Texans rookie wide receiver Tank Dell should feel right at home with the Bobby Slowik-led offense and his quarterback, C.J. Stroud. The Florida native felt right at home on Sunday at the Jacksonville Jaguars as he finished the game with a career-high 145 yards receiving on five catches and a touchdown, helping lead the Texans to their first victory of the season.
“Coach ‘Slo’ [Bobby Slowik] has been doing a great job of putting us in position,” said Dell last week exclusively to the Texans Wire about getting acclimated to the offense. “The language is getting familiar, and I am getting familiar with everything, so it’s been going good.”
The former University of Houston superstar wideout showed up big when the team needed him most by scoring on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Stroud midway through the fourth quarter to increase the Texans’ lead. With third-and-3 from Houston’s 32-yard line, Stroud noticed that the Jags were flooding the box with nine players expecting a run play to be called. He immediately made eye contact with Dell before the snap and connected with him as soon as his hands touched the football.
“Tank shows up every week,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said about Dell, who was selected in the third round by Houston. “I know this game meant a lot to him being home and a lot of family attending the game. It was important for him to have a big game. It’s cool to watch Tank just every week. He shows up. He puts the work in. Explosive playmaker since OTAs, and it’s still showing up right now in the season. Happy with where Tank is.”
“Coach ‘Slo’ [Bobby Slowik] has been doing a great job of putting us in position,” said Dell last week exclusively to the TexansWire about getting acclimated to the offense. “The language is getting familiar, and I am getting familiar with everything, so it’s been going good.” pic.twitter.com/5udQejO8uO
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) September 25, 2023
Dell, 23, is becoming one of Stroud’s favorite targets this season. In a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, Dell finished the game with seven receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. During the week, the two rookies spent extensive time getting together, going over the playbook and hot reads to prepare for the Jags.
The preparation was evident early in the game when Stroud dropped a 46-yard pass to Dell in between two defenders midway through the first quarter to put the Texans into the red zone. They scored two plays later on a Dameon Pierce 1-yard run.
“I was super, super happy for Tank,” Stroud said in his postgame press conference. “That was our first time taking a shot and the first time hitting it. I think that just shows the connection me and him actually have. We put in a lot of extra work, and it’s good to see it pay off. Now it’s time to go do it again and be consistent with it. So really, really proud of him.”
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