Houston Texans receiver John Metchie is being overlooked.
It may be for good reason as the former Alabama product is coming off a torn ACL sustained in December 2021 during the SEC Championship Game against Georgia. Although coach Lovie Smith expects the second-round pick to be a full go for training camp, the rehabilitation from a torn ACL makes him a dubious candidate.
However, another receiver from the 2022 NFL draft made the list.
According to Chris Trapasso from CBS Sports, Atlanta Falcons first-round pick Drake London comes in at No. 5 in terms of his ability to make an impact as a rookie.
And he’s on the team that already features a young matchup nightmare in Kyle Pitts, who led the team in targets, catches, and receiving yards last season. London and Pitts together formulates a youthful tandem with immense size and ball skills we haven’t seen in a long time. Atlanta’s defense is far from being fully rebuilt, so the Falcons should find themselves in obvious passing situations more often than not. I just don’t love the idea of either Marcus Mariota or rookie Desmond Ridder firing London the football.
If London gets a pass, why shouldn’t Metchie?
London is coming off a broken ankle that knocked him out for the season after USC’s eighth game. London is also going to a suboptimal quarterback situation and may not get as many chances to breakout as he should.
Consider the Texans. There is no ambiguity as to who will be the starting quarterback. The only way Metchie falters after his insertion into the lineup — even with a conservative estimate of Week 8, pending he starts out on the physically unable to perform list — is if Mills is injured and Kyle Allen, Jeff Driskel, and Kevin Hogan are taking meaningful snaps.
As long as NFL defensive coordinators are similarly sleeping on Metchie, it gives him the opportunity to show why the Texans made the investment to trade up for the former Crimson Tide wideout.
