The Houston Texans are holding their rookie minicamp starting on Friday, May 9. They will have their first chance to see and evaluate their draft picks, undrafted free agents that they signed, and camp invitees. It will provide the young Texans a good opportunity to impress the coaching staff and earn themselves an invite to the training camp roster, and eventually, hopefully, a spot on the 53-man roster.
Every prospect that makes their case to be on the active roster means that a player currently on the roster will have to lose their place. Some positions have more competition than others, and one of those is the tight end.
The Texans drafted another tight end to add to their rotation on Day 3, selecting Luke Lachey from Iowa. Lachey will be a 24-year-old rookie and doesn't have the production or the stats to point to as an elite prospect. Yet, tight ends are notably difficult to project, as their NFL success seems to be more reliant on their physical and athletic tools rather than their collegiate production. And Lachey has the right frame, footwork, and athletic ability to make a case for himself.
At the same time, the Texans have Dalton Schultz, Brevin Jordan, Cade Stover, and Irv Smith Jr.
Cade Stover May Find Himself on Thin Ice After the Rookie Minicamp
Stover, Houston's fourth-round pick from a year ago, may find himself the odd man out in the pecking order after not showing much in his rookie season. Stover drew praises from the coaching staff in the offseason and found plenty of opportunities during his rookie campaign, playing 40% of offensive snaps and 58% of special teams snaps in 15 games. He caught 15 passes in 22 targets, for 133 yards and one touchdown, finishing the season with a 51.9 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus.
Perhaps more importantly, Stover received a 23.6 pass block grade on PFF. Considering that this will likely be a large portion of his role in the revamped Texans offense, Stover needs to be better and more willing as a blocker.
Brevin Jordan will be back from his ACL tear and should have a large role in the offense. The rest of the TE rotation after Schultz and him is up in the air, with Stover potentially finding himself on the outs after the rookie minicamp.