Houston Texans WR John Metchie III has received the best news someone with a leukemia diagnosis can get … he has been declared as being in remission.
After facing that battle, along with rehabbing from a torn ACL, his rookie season was essentially a redshirt year. What will his return to the football field look like in 2023? And what is Metchie’s fantasy football outlook in 2023?
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John Metchie III’s 2023 Fantasy Outlook
Few WRs have faced more adversity than Metchie coming into the NFL. While battling leukemia, it would be easy to forget that Metchie was also rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered in the final game of his college career.
Coming out of the University of Alabama, Metchie was on the radar as another WR expected to contribute to an NFL offense, but after working through leukemia and fully rehabilitating his injured knee, he returns to a WR group that has the leading role completely up for grabs.
When looking at the current depth chart for the Texans, there isn’t a consensus candidate for us to project to slide right into the leading receiver role and see 100+ targets this season.
Nico Collins is a quality outside WR who projects as a capable contested-catch weapon in the red zone. The disappointing 2022 campaign for Robert Woods in Tennessee doesn’t suggest he should be the most-targeted WR in this offense.
Tank Dell is a twitchy rookie WR who could be Metchie’s biggest threat to winning the slot role in Houston, but Dell didn’t exactly register his college production against the same level of competition Metchie faced in the SEC.
And while fellow rookie WR Xavier Hutchinson is having a solid training camp and was productive at Iowa State, he had some issues with drops and route-running inconsistencies, which make me question his ability to consistently separate in the NFL.
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No matter how this competition ends up playing out, it’s great to see Metchie back on the field playing the game he loves.
John Metchie hasn't missed a beat 💪
(🎥 via @HoustonTexans) pic.twitter.com/hw0K2JLAym
— Touchdown Alabama (@TDAlabamaMag)
Should You Draft John Metchie III at His Current ADP?
Currently, Metchie is flying under the radar at 186 overall in the 16th round as the WR72 off the board.
If rookie QB C.J. Stroud can provide even slighter better QB play than what we’ve seen from the Texans over the past two seasons, then Metchie is more than worth a dart throw to see if he can recapture the success he experienced his final season in Tuscaloosa.
