Houston Texans vs New York Jets: Which Receiver Will Step Up?

With the recent news that wide receiver Stefon Diggs suffered a season (career?) ending ACL tear last weekend, the Houston Texans are in need of healthy pass catchers.

WR1 Nico Collins is still on IR, with rumors he may return for week 10.

That elevates Tank Dell to the starter position. Unfortunately this season’s version of Tank Dell isn’t nearly as potent as the rookie edition.

That means backups Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie III are pressed into service today against the New York Jets.

The Texans have a long history of backup wide receivers who are ripe with exciting potential. Unfortunately, the majority never seem to live up to the hope and hype.

Names like Wendall Williams, Vincent Smith, DeVier Posey, Jaelen Strong, Keshawn Martin, Keke Coutee and Braxton Miller litter the Texans history books with dreams unrealized.

Can Hutchinson and Metchie rise above those “peers”? If so, tonight’s the night to start doing so.

Unfortunately for the Texans passing game, the otherwise hapless Jets are actually proving to have a somewhat potent pass defense. They’ve currently surrendered only 1440 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns through the air in 2024.

Their rushing D is 18th.

NFL Communications

Houston Texans (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6) (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Jets rank second in the NFL in pass defense (161.1 pass yards per game allowed) while the Texans rank third (164.3) this season. The last time two teams met in Week 9 or later that were each allowing fewer than 165 passing yards per game was Nov. 13, 2005 [Baltimore (163.9) at Jacksonville (162.2)].

Texans running back Joe Mixon rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown in Week 8 and became the first player in NFL history with 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in four of his first five games with a team.

But the Texans can’t just count on riding Joe Mixon to glory because a 1-dimensional offense is easy for any defense to thwart. Without a threat of the pass, Mixon will face stacked boxes all game, decreasing his effectiveness and increasing his risk of injury.

C.J. Stroud has proven very adept at spreading the ball around, having completed passes to 13 teammates so far this year.

Of those, Hutchinson has caught 5 for 64 yards, a 12.8 yard per catch average and 22 yards after the catch.

Metchie has contributed 4 catches for 36 yards, a 9.0 yard per catch average and 18 yards after the catch.

Neither has seen the end zone so far this year.

Over his brief NFL career, Metchie has overcome acute promyelocytic leukemia and participated in 2 seasons so far. The former Alabama pass catcher has snagged 20 passes for 194 yards of 30 targets, a 9.7 yard per catch average and no touchdowns in that span. His receiving success rate is a meager 42.9%

Hutchinson has also participated in 2 seasons. Since the Texans drafted Him out of Iowa State, Hutch has 13 catches for 154 yards of 29 targets, a 11.8 yard per catch average and no scores. His receiving success rate: 24.1%.

Ouch.

Are these seemingly anemic stats due to lack of opportunity? Not getting enough reps in practice with the starters? Not garnering enough time with coaches and Stroud to build chemistry and familiarity with the system? Playing in the shadow of Collins, Diggs and Dell might certainly explain a lack of passes coming their way.

However, Collins didn’t light the world on fire until Stroud came along. He did, however, outperform both Metchie and Hutchinson combined before Stroud, and most of the league after.

The NFL’s window of opportunity is only open for the blink of an eye in a player’s life. Tonight may signal that window shutting for either, or both, of these young receivers. But, it may also be the game that one (or both) put their name(s) on the map of star NFL receivers and rise above the list of Texans’ also-rans.

In the meantime:

#InDemecoWeTrust