The Houston Texans committed resources to receiver in the 2023 NFL draft.
The Texans spent a third-round pick on former Houston Cougar Tank Dell, and then fortified the position with sixth-rounder Xavier Hutchinson from Iowa State.
Prior to the draft, Houston also signed veteran wideout Noah Brown in free agency along with Robert Woods to inject experience among the corps.
Through a month and a half’s worth of the offseason program, Brown has seen enough from Dell and Hutchinson to assess their helpfulness to the offense.
“They’ve come in and really put themselves to work,” Brown told reporters June 13. “They’re a lot more polished than you would expect for a rookie coming in.
“Tank, and the way he plays much bigger than his size. Hutch [Hutchinson] is a big guy who plays big. I think they can help us in a lot of ways.”
Dell has the prospect of filling a Wes Welker type of role in the offense. The 5-8, 165-pounder caught 109 passes for 1,398 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Cougars last season.
Hutchinson reportedly fell due to substandard workouts, not necessarily on-field production. The former Cyclone caught 107 passes for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns last year.
Brown’s advice for the younger receivers on the roster is to mind the “little things,” as a former basketball coach told Brown during his formative years.
“I had a basketball coach when I was younger tell me to be great at the things that happen often in the game,” said Brown. “That was basketball-wise, but it applies to football, too. There’s only one rock, one person to carry it — be good at running your route to get the other person open, block, special teams, things like that. Little things that can sneak you on the field so now you’re playing meaningful reps.”
Brown caught 43 passes for 555 yards and three touchdowns through 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys last season, 13 of which he started. The on-field work was welcomed after the former 2017 seventh-round pick spent the first five seasons of his career being great at blocking and special teams.
