C.J. Stroud gives vote of confidence to WR lost on Texans depth chart

Houston Texans wide receiver John Metchie III (8)

The Texans wide receiver room has quickly become one of the best units in the league.

This offseason, Houston added four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a group that already included Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods, Noah Brown and John Metchie III.

That doesn’t bode well for players like Metchie on the back of the depth chart, but quarterback C.J. Stroud still believes he can be “special.”

“I think last year was good to get his feet back in the water coming off of an injury, then something so traumatic like being sick how he was,” Stroud said via NFL.com. “His mindset is that he’s just ready to come back and ball. … Metchie is looking amazing. Everything that he will put on this field will be no surprise, but I think everybody in this room knows how special he can be, and he’ll put that on the field.”

Metchie missed his rookie season in 2022 after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia while working his way back from a torn ACL at Alabama.

The former second-round pick then entered last season with a hamstring injury and was only able to finish the year with 16 catches for 158 yards.

Those numbers don’t jump off the screen by any means, but Stroud seems to think that Metchie heading into 2024 fully healthy will pay dividends in his third season in the league.

Metchie, who is still only 23, has plenty of time to prove he can be the elite receiver he was at Alabama. In 2021, he posted 96 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns before declaring for the NFL Draft.

It won’t be easy for Metchie, but Stroud, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, seems willing to give him all of the opportunities he needs to prove that.

Plus, it’s never a bad thing to have too much talent surrounding a young quarterback. Houston, we don’t have a problem.

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