Why the Texans traded John Metchie III

Happy Monday, everyone. It’s Jonathan here. 

The first-team offense with C.J. Stroud at quarterback had a successful outing. But it was what happened Sunday that took over the news. The Texans traded their 2022 second-round pick John Metchie to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

The Metchie trade seemed like an inevitable outcome. Wide receiver was the Texans' most crowded position group and all of them were playing well. 

With Metchie having shown some improvement in the preseason while still being only 24, the Texans thought it was best to get draft compensation for him instead of waiting until cut day and possibly getting nothing. 

It was a smart move for Houston, which basically traded Kenyon Green and John Metchie to the Eagles for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and tight end Harrison Bryant. If Gardner-Johnson can return soon, that would be a steal.

Still, deciding who makes the roster at wide receiver is not easy. Do the Texans keep six wide receivers or seven? If they keep six, the final spot will likely come down to Braxton Berrios or Justin Watson, who both have special-teams capability.

If they keep seven, then both would make the team. 

Running back is another interesting position. Everything I hear is that the Texans still love British Brooks, who, though he’s a fifth-string running back, does everything the right way and is a really good special-teams player. 

The issue is Houston may not have enough roster spots to find a spot for him on the team. 

I did a full 53-man roster projection today, which you can read here. 

Jonathan M. Alexander, Texans beat reporter jonathan.alexander@houstonchronicle.com