After He Endured A Torn ACL And Leukemia, It's Pretty Awesome To See John Metchie Showing Out At Texans Camp
John Metchie was a damn good wide receiver at Alabama. Even though he tore his ACL in his final collegiate game, the Houston Texans thought enough of Metchie to trade up and draft him in the second round.
Beyond that major knee injury, though, Metchie got hit with a devastating diagnosis last year. Missed his entire rookie season recovering from leukemia. We're talking about a world-class athlete who was born in the year 2000. To have the tireless work ethic and perseverance and endure all of that at such a young age is almost unbelievable.
But then yeah, here's John Metchie, at Texans camp cooking a savvy vet in Desmond King II with sheer route-running prowess:
Somebody check that man's ankles. They may be splintered into about a thousand pieces. This is the type of quick-twitch playmaking Metchie brings to Houston's rather uninspiring receiving corps of recent years. Texans fans seem a lot higher on size-speed guy Nico Collins than anyone else in America, but maybe they'll be proven right. Robert Woods is a decent veteran presence. Two rookies in Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson will hopefully contribute sooner rather than later.
I feel like Metchie is the one from that group who has the best chance to develop into CJ Stroud's go-to guy. Well, if Stroud beats out Davis Mills. For some reason, yes, the Texans are having an "open" quarterback competition between their rookie No. 2 overall pick and incumbent Mills, who 4th-and-20-YOLO'd Houston's way out of drafting Bryce Young.
Although Damar Hamlin will be a tough man to beat for Comeback Player of the Year, I feel like Metchie should be in that conversation, especially if he produces like a No. 2-caliber receiver or thereabouts. By all accounts, Metchie has looked excellent in training camp. He had 96 catches in the last full season he played. Dynamic to say the least, if overshadowed a little bit by eventual Lions 12th overall pick Jameson Williams.
Metchie is so decisive in the open field, and for someone who has a slighter frame relative to other skill players, his contact balance and ability to slip tackles are impressive. His acceleration is damn quick, and he loses little speed on sharp cuts. Getting pretty hyped to see him play if the Texans can trot out anything resembling a competently-run offense. We shall see how that goes. Likely all hinges on Stroud's pro-readiness.
You can check out Metchie's full presser from Thursday below.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok