Houston Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne was responsible for the lone touchdown scored for the team against the Los Angeles Chargers last night. On a 3rd & Goal situation from the Chargers' five yard line with about 3:50 left in the first quarter, backup quarterback Davis Mills connected with Wayne on a fade ball near the corner of the endzone that resulted in the fourth-year receiver climbing the ladder on Chargers cornerback Avery Smith for the score.
It was the culmination of several recent positive occurrences for Wayne, as the former Michigan pas catcher had already been stringing together splash plays all throughout training camp. “Not surprising from Jared Wayne. He does it in practice all the time. I’m happy for Jared. He’s a tough cover,” glowed head coach DeMeco Ryans after the game about Wayne's recent ascension.
Mills continued the praise parade of Wayne by adding,
"J Wayne’s a stud. He’s been extremely consistent. I love throwing him the rock. Creates mismatches with his size & natural ability to go up and high point the ball. Real easy target to throw to. When I saw I had that matchup, I knew he had a run away, I kinda just put it up & let him go up and grab it."
With Wayne now proving that his work behind the scenes has actual on-field value during live games, the wide receiver battle in Houston just got a lot tougher for the coaches to call down the stretch of the offseason.
Jared Wayne's recent surge has made the wide receiver battle much harder for the Houston Texans
Up until this point, Wayne had only been remembered as the player who nearly ended the career of beloved pass catcher and teammate Tank Dell by way of their incidental collision in December of the 2024 season. Since then, Wayne has grinded on the practice squad and in occasional roster appearances to the tune of of four total NFL appearances, which include only one start, two catches and 20 total yards receiving.
All of a sudden, Wayne began to make waves in Texans training camp. He's made several highlight catches over various defenders, and has seemingly unlocked more of his potential in his second year in the scheme of offensive coordinator Nick Caley. He wouldn't be the first receiver to be a "late bloomer" in Houston, as fellow receiver Xavier Hutchinson finally broke through last season with career high's across the board in catches, receiving yards and touchdown grabs.
And now, as Houston is finalizing their regular season roster ahead of their week one contest against the Buffalo Bills, Wayne has cemented himself as a legitimate option at the position. With Pro Bowler Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins, Tank Dell, Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel already taking up most of the spots, that theoretically leaves only one real spot to contend for between several hungry competitors. This includes fellow camp standout Lewis Bond, who many believe should almost be a guarantee to also make the roster.
If that's the case, then could we possibly see Wayne creating enough pressure for the coaching staff to consider keeping seven receivers on the roster? It seemed highly unlikely about a month ago, but now we could be starting at that as a very real possibility.
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