There is no hiding just how loaded the Houston Texans are at wide receiver. The position went from a massive weakness to arguably its greatest strength in just two seasons.
Robert Woods (2), minicamp Texans
Houston has a lethal group of starters at wide receiver. For evidence of this, in a room with Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins, it was the guy on a rookie contract, Tank Dell, who caught a touchdown for the starting offense during last Friday's preseason game.
That is a fantastic position to be loaded at, especially with a young quarterback like C.J. Stroud calling the shots on offense. However, that likely means that some of the amazing players at the position will not make the 53-man roster come roster cut-down day on August 27. The reason for this is so the Texans have enough depth at other positions on the roster.
Not only do the Texans have the three previously mentioned playmakers, but the squad also has Steven Sims (returner) and, likely, 2022 second-round draft pick John Metchie making the roster. That is five players for the wide receiver room. With one of them being a special teams specialist, the Texans could opt to carry six pass catchers on the opening-day roster, which leaves room for another veteran presence in the form of either Robert Woods or Noah Brown.
What reason is there for believing these two are competing for the final wide receiver spot on the roster? The amount of time Woods played on Friday is an indicator. Veterans, typically, do not play for over a quarter in the preseason if they are not on the roster bubble.
That said, Woods had a terrific outing in his preseason debut last week. The 11-year pro led the team in receiving yards on Friday. He is doing his job to try to win this competition.
Brown, however, is Woods' competitor this offseason, and has been on rocky ground so far. The 7-year veteran has dealt with a shoulder injury that has kept him out of much of training camp and preseason thus far.
Without being at practice, Brown has not had an opportunity to impress or show why he should make the team over anyone else. As a result, he was far behind the metaphorical 8-ball. However, Brown was recently cleared to return and could prove why he belongs on the roster this week if he is fit enough to play in the preseason game on Saturday.
Both Woods and Brown are terrific players, but the fact of the matter is there might not be enough room on the team for both of them. The possibility remains that whoever does not make the roster, could be on the practice squad in case there are any injuries to this loaded position group.
