The Houston Texans have a good problem to have. They have probably eight wide receivers all worthy of getting reps, but space for maybe six of them. Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Noah Brown, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek, Xavier Hutchinson, and John Metchie III are all vying for opportunities in 2024. The Texans may have the most talented and deepest receiver corps in the league. So deep, that two of them are likely to be cut.
Likely, Woods and Hutchinson. Though that's just an educated guess. One name we'd be surprised was let go is that of Metchie, the third-year wide receiver out of Alabama. He's missed most of his first two seasons in Houston due to injuries and illness, but in 2024, he appears to be fully back. So far back, many think he could wreck the plans the Texans have.
Though, not in a bad way. Right now all the talk is about how Diggs has a lot to prove, and what a future contract will look like in Houston. Yet, if the recent reports of Metchie's success are true, Diggs may not be around for that long. ESPN recently wrote about the player who has surprised the most this offseason; for the Texans it was Metchie.
""Metchie is flashing signs of what made him a second-round pick in the 2022 draft...The long layoff showed as he finished with 16 catches for 158 yards. But his explosiveness appears back. He has also been in the rotation with the first-team offense. So even though the receiver room has Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs, Metchie is positioning himself for a rotational role if he has a strong training camp.""
If Metchie is the guy that this ESPN write-up implies, then not only will he be a rotational piece for the Texans this year, but depending on how he plays, he may just be the reason why Diggs is gone after 2024. The Texans have already given Collins big-time money, and Dell, assuming he stays healthy and productive, will likely get a similar deal in two years.
Yet Metchie, who's in year three of a four-year contract, may get a nice extension this season or next if he shows up and shows out. Right now the talk is about how Diggs will affect the team, his contract, and his future in Houston, but if Metchie is as good as his OTA outings seem to suggest, Metchie and not Diggs, will be getting a new contract sooner rather than later.
Metchie has a chance to upend the Texans' potential plans for Diggs, and that wouldn't be a bad thing at all.
