Jon Metchie III is the talk of the preseason right now. The third-year receiver has an uphill battle to make the Houston Texans with Xavier Hutchinson, Robert Woods, and Noah Brown all pretty settled in ahead of him on the depth chart. Not to mention guys like Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell, and Nico Collins. A guy like Metchie, who has shown very little so far in his career, is not a guy who you're going to give the keys to the city.
He's got so much to prove, and the Texans are no longer a team waiting for guys to prove their worth. This is a win-now team and so it's not surprising that Metchie may be on the outs with the team. The young receiver has been unable to find his spot on this team due to injuries and illness, and of course, improved talent around him. He's not been bad in the limited time we've seen him but he hasn't truly impressed.
The guys ahead of him have. So trade speculation has begun for Metchie and rightfully so. While it makes little sense to trade a high-caliber backup like a Davis Mills, it does make sense to trade Metchie. Several reasons make sense for trading the young wide receiver.
1. He has not proven what his talent level can be
We don't know what John Metchie III can be. He's had barely any time to prove that. So of course it makes sense to trade him when the team is getting ready for a Super Bowl push. He could be great, he could be a bust. So why risk it? For those who believe he's the "replacement" for Stefon Diggs in waiting, there is no real sign of that being true. He's done very little to suggest he could replace Noah Brown or Robert Woods, let alone an All-Pro like Diggs.
2. His value may never be higher
Metchie might be awful. He might be great. We have no idea of truly know. What we do know is that the entire NFL seems to want a shot at developing this guy, and he's not going to find that time right now. A receiver-hungry team may trade away a big pick to land him. A fourth-rounder is certainly possible and at this point in his career, a fourth-rounder may prove to be more productive for the Texans than Metchie.
3. There are comparable talents on the roster already
When looking at a guy like Mills, there is only one of him as a backup on the team. He's valuable because of his exclusiveness in that regard. Metchie isn't the best backup at receiver, he isn't even the best young backup at the position. Xavier Hutchinson has already proven himself to be on the level of Metchie at this point, and if we're talking about their upside, it looks like the two seem to be evenly matched.
Considering that guys like Tank Dell and Nico Collins aren't going anywhere, and the fact that each season brings new opportunities to load up on talent, it does seem silly to put so much emphasis on Metchie.
