Houston Texans: Don’t Underestimate Nate Washington
The Houston Texans added both age and beauty to their lackluster receiver corpse this offseason, and while fans are eager to distribute praise among the younger, rising stars, wideout Nate Washington may be primed to, come August. The veteran has certainly grown during his 11 year tenure in the league however, this may be his largest step.
Heading into their last week of OTA’s, Washington admitted that although learning the system head coach Bill O’Brien has put in place was difficult at first, it’s firmly in place now among the new group.
"“It was kind of difficult at first for the first couple of weeks but it’s a shoe-in now.” – Washington"
Houston fans went into the offseason this year, hoping to beef up the offense by creating scenarios in which they would discover a quarterback and add some depth for him, in targets. Youth are always welcomed in a pass-heavy league although, wisdom may carry its’ weight this year for the Texans. The two-time Super Bowl winner has strung up only two touchdowns last year however, he ended the season averaging just north of 16 yards per catch. It’s possible that Washington could become a situational receiver for O’Brien, especially in the red zone.
He may not be as exciting as DeAndre Hopkins or Jaelen Strong but fans and teammates alike, can be sure that it seems pretty clear that the Texans’ coaching staff expect to get their money’s worth out of the former Titan and Steeler. His ability to create space and provide safety valve routes will come in handy and compliment Hopkins’ sideline running and Strongs’ over-the-middle threat.
You may not see many Nate Washington jerseys in NRG Stadium, but make no mistake, he will have a part to play, should the Texans seriously contend their first postseason berth since 2012.