Stefon Diggs left in free agency this offseason and Tank Dell remains in rehab from last season’s gruesome leg injury. But that doesn’t mean the Houston Texans are thin at wide receiver as they prepare for the 2025 NFL season.
“All our receivers did a really nice job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after Houston opened its preseason schedule with a 20-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. “(John) Metchie (III) showed up making plays. You had Braxton (Berrios) making plays. A ton of different guys’re showing up, so they’re still, you know, we got a really full room of guys there who can play in the NFL, so it’s going to be tight competition down to the wire.”
Metchie and Berrios have something in common besides being singled out by their coach: On the Texans’ first depth chart of the preseason, the two wide receivers were listed with the third-team offense. Because most NFL teams carry no more than six wide receivers on their regular-season active rosters, the depth chart indicates they’ve got work to do to stick with Houston in 2025.
Against Minnesota, Metchie led the Texans with five receptions for 45 yards while playing 31 offensive snaps, the most among the nine wide receivers used by Houston on Saturday. Metchie lined up out wide on 19 snaps and in the slot for 12.
Metchie had the Texans’ longest play from scrimmage against the Vikings with an 18-yard reception from quarterback Davis Mills in the first quarter as part of Houston’s only touchdown drive.
“It was good to get out there,” Metchie said. “It was good to play against somebody else. You know, we’re in a new scheme, so it was good to test it out, and now just on to the next. Keep getting better.”
Metchie doesn’t expect to make the team based on his performance in a preseason game.
“It’s more of a process thing rather than just a single day,” Metchie said. “Yeah, of course, on game day, but it’s more of a process thing -- how you show up every day, how consistent you can be.”
The Houston depth chart showed Nico Collins, Christian Kirk and Jayden Higgins as the top-line wide receivers. A former Clay-Chalkville High School star, Collins has 148 receptions for 2,303 yards and 15 touchdowns in the past two seasons and was a Pro Bowler in 2024. Kirk came aboard as an offseason free agent and is a former 1,000-yard receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans picked Higgins in the second round of the NFL Draft on April 25.
The second line of wide receivers listed Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel and Justin Watson. Hutchinson has 20 receptions in two seasons with Houston, Noel was a third-round draft pick on April 25 and Watson was a free-agent addition.
Jared Wayne, the other third-line wide receiver with Metchie and Berrios last week, has been waived.
“Everybody brings their best every day, and we all uplift each other,” Metchie said. “On days you’re not feeling it, the guys will uplift you. On days the guys aren’t feeling it, we’ll all uplift each other. And that’s kind of our culture. You know, we kind of band together.
“You talk about that competition in the room, but, like, it’s not like, you know, edgy. It’s not edgy. Everybody likes each other. Everybody wants to get better. Everybody’s kind of helping each other out.”
Metchie is preparing for a fourth season with the Texans, but he has played in only two.
Metchie joined Houston as a second-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft after catching 151 passes for 2,058 yards and 14 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Alabama. But just before the start of his first training camp, Metchie was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, and he spent his rookie season overcoming cancer instead of playing football.
In his delayed debut, Metchie had 16 receptions for 158 yards in 16 regular-season games and three receptions for 44 yards in two postseason contests in the 2023 campaign.
Last season, Metchie played in 13 regular-season games, including his first three NFL starts, and caught 24 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown. He followed that with six receptions for 63 yards in two playoff games.
The Texans play the second of their three preseason games at noon CDT Saturday, when the Carolina Panthers come to NRG Stadium.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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