John Metchie Continues to Make Progress at Texans OTAs

Former Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III was drafted No. 44 overall by the Houston Texans in round two of this year’s NFL draft and has already received praises from former NFL legends.

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In an interview with DAZN Canada, former Texans legend Andre Johnson was asked about the rookie wide receiver. “I watched him a lot at Alabama…I was super excited when we drafted him. He’s a great player, a great route-runner.”

 A former four-star recruit, Metchie III joined the Crimson Tide in 2019 after being ranked the No. 40 receiver in the nation. Born in Taiwan, Metchie lived in Ghana and Canada before moving to New Jersey to attend high school.

 Metchie appeared in just four games his freshman year before receiving an elevated role in the Crimson Tide’s national championship run in 2020. Playing behind players like Jaylen Waddle and Heisman winner Devonta Smith, Metchie learned much from his eventual first-round teammates.

In 2021, Metchie would become one of Alabama’s leading receivers alongside future Detroit Lion’s first-round pick, Jameson Williams. Recording over 1,000 yards receiving with 96 receptions and eight touchdowns, Metchie would put an exclamation point on his junior season with a walk-off two-point conversion attempt against Auburn that took the Tide four overtimes to avoid the upset.

This past season came to a sudden end for Metchie when he tore his ACL on a non-contact play in the SEC title game against Georgia. He had recorded six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown before the injury. Alabama went on to win 41-24 and would eventually reach its second consecutive title game, but the Tide’s receiving core had taken a significant blow.

John Metchie’s career at Alabama would end with 156 catches on 212 targets recording 2,078 yards and 14 touchdowns.

While Metchie’s injury initially caused NFL scouts to fear about his draft stock, the Houston Texans took an early chance on the 21-year-old and if any of the recent OTA footage is a sign of what’s to come, they hope to get him on the field this season.