One of the more curious personnel decision when the Houston Texans faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 was their tight end utilization.
Despite making the active roster as the third and final tight end, fifth-round rookie Brevin Jordan was inactive for the contest. Instead, the Texans used one of their two standard elevations to bring tight end Antony Auclair from the practice squad to play 33 snaps in the game, almost 42% of the offensive plays.
Tight end Pharaoh Brown says that Jordan is still learning the finer aspects of the game.
“He has one of the biggest challenges in the room, because he has to know potentially every position as far as the tight end spot, because if any of us have a shoelace, he has to come in and fulfill that position,” said Brown. “I think just helping him get into a routine is big, just helping him and showing him. He’s learning from watching us and how we attack the week and how we prepare, and this is just his first NFL week, so I think that’s the biggest thing is just getting in that routine and just learning how to be a pro.”
Brown had a fabulous game with four catches for 67 yards, including a one-handed grab for 29 yards late in the third quarter. His confidence in Jordan remains high.
Said Brown: “He’s a great kid, he’s open-minded and he’s willing to learn. Every guy in our room helps him out, and I think that goes for both him and Paul Quessenberry.”
The Texans depart Saturday for the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at FirstEnergy Stadium. Another standard elevation of Auclair could provide insight as to how ready the Texans think Jordan is.