Houston Texans: Good news for Keke Coutee at OTAs

The Houston Texans have began their OTAs for 2019, and it is said Keke Coutee is doing well, which is great news for the franchise.

As all of us wait-and-wait for the 2019 NFL season to arrive, there is still a lot of work being put in by the Houston Texans this offseason. News being reported out of the offseason OTA camp of the Texans is that second-year wide receiver Keke Coutee is doing well thus far this offseason, which is great news for all involved.

Last season when Coutee was on the field, he did well for the Texans’ offense, but playing in a total of seven games — counting the Wild Card Playoff game — Coutee showed flashes of brilliance and excitement which will be needed even more this upcoming season.

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A hamstring injury really hampered what could have been an even more productive rookie year for Coutee, but now it is time to flip the page and focus on year two of his career as a wide receiver for the Texans.

Drew Dougherty of HoustonTexans.com quoted Texans head coach Bill O’Brien about Coutee’s offseason, and what he’s accomplished thus far during OTAs with the team. O’Brien was quoted as saying:

"“Keke’s had a good spring,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a very hard working guy. He’s really improved.”"

Granted, that isn’t much to go on, but hearing any positive news on Coutee is better than no news at all. If not for a hamstring injury that hampered and set back his rookie season, Coutee could have had a breakout season in year one, but that wasn’t meant to be.

In the last game he played — the 21-7 playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts — Coutee had one of his best games on the stat sheet, finishing that game with 11 receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown, including a top reception of 20 yards.

That game mirrored the first game of Coutee’s rookie season, as his NFL debut in Week 4 (also against the Colts) saw him collect 11 receptions for 109 yards, with a top catch of 19 yards in what was a win for the Texans, the first win of the 2018 season.

If healthy, Coutee can be a very special player for the Texans, and seems like he’ll be a go-to type of target for quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2019, that is if the target pace keeps up to where it was a year ago.

Last season, Coutee was targeted 41 times in the regular season, catching 28 passes for 287 yards and one touchdown. He had no fumbles in the regular season or the playoffs and 13 of his receptions were for first downs. In the playoff game, Coutee was targeted 14 times by Watson.

Counting the playoff game, Coutee was targeted by Watson a total of 33 times, and in games where he had five or more receptions, he caught for no less than 77 yards which happened twice in the regular season. Also remember, Coutee missed the entire month of December due to the aforementioned hamstring injury.

If Coutee can stay healthy, recover completely from the hamstring issue, and keep his burst of speed and excitement, the Texans will have a great offensive weapon. He will either help someone else get open if on the field, or better yet, Coutee can put up exciting numbers of his own that will spark his career and the team.

Either scenario would work for the Texans, but it is all about staying on the field at a consistent basis for Coutee. If that occurs, the Texans will have a better chance to fend off the Colts and the rest of the AFC South in 2019, giving themselves a good chance to return to the playoffs for a second straight year.