HOUSTON – John Metchie III has exercised patience, leaned heavily on his faith and family and his teammates for over a year.
Now, that diligence is paying dividends for the Texans’ wide receiver. His role has increased with teammate Tank Dell out with a concussion and he’s playing aggressively and faster as his comfort level grows on the field one year after missing his entire rookie season when he was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia.
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With a clean bill of health and more practice time under his belt, Metchie is building his timing and chemistry with Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
And Metchie’s productivity is up along with his playing time. He played a season-high 25 snaps, 43 percent of the playing time, in a 21-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and caught two passes for 20 yards on two targets.
“One-hundred percent, the more you’re out there, the more comfortable you get,so trying to get out there more,” Metchie told KPRC 2. “The more I get out there the more comfortable I get, so more to come. I played a lot more that game. We had some guys go down, so I have to be ready when my name is called.”
And now Metchie, 23, a native of Canada who attended high school in the United States in Maryland and New Jersey before earning a football scholarship to Alabama and whose family originally moved from Ghana, is soaking up every moment. Back on the football field, back to running sharp routes and catching passes, Metchie is an inspiration to his teammates and coaches.
“Yeah, Metch is my guy, man, dude is hilarious,” Stroud said. “That’s my brother. Somebody who reminds me of the type of attitude and swag we walked around with at Ohio State, just like, ‘Man, we can’t be messed with. Metch kind of just naturally, since he was born, he knew he was going to be great at something. I think it’s really special that we’re starting to get him the ball some more.
“I think he deserves it. He’s putting it on film time and time again just being open, being sound, being crisp, working really hard. And he loves playing football. You can just tell how he blocks. So it’s been a blessing working with Metch. We spend a lot of time off the field, as well, just chilling together as boys, so Metch is my brother, man.”
Metchie caught 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior at Alabama in 2021, but tore a knee ligament in the Southeastern Conference championship game on Dec. 4, 2021. He finished his college career with 155 catches for 2,081 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He’s been a physical blocker for the Texans, too, in the running game and blocking downfield on passing plays.
“He’s had a great mindset,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “On gameday especially, I think it shows when he has the ball in his hands, probably when the fans see it the most. He’s always finishing, he’s always looking for contact. He’s the same way in the run game.
“He’s always playing with full effort at all times. In his routes, that’s probably the thing that takes the most time to get back into the flow of how you are in your route running and your stems and at the top. And he’s progressed every week. He’s gotten better in that regard in how fast he’s playing and how he’s coming out of breaks at the top. It’s been encouraging to see.”
A second-round draft pick last year, Metchie prides himself on his toughness and being good in every phase of football.
“I’m a football player,” Metchie said. “I take pride in every facet of my game. I’m not saying I love to block. I’m saying i’m a football player I take pride in catching passes, touchdowns just as much.”
Metchie was in the fight of his life last year, battling acute promyelocytic leukemia. While Metchie wondered if he would play football again, he could see where he wanted to go a few miles away at NRG Stadium.
Metchie experienced the gamut of emotions, including doubt. Ultimately, his faith and determination brought him back to the game and he is working to build his role within the Texans’ offense after spending last year on the non-football illness list.
According to medical journals, APL is a “unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia with cells in the bone marrow that produce blood cells (red cells, white cells, and platelets) that do not develop and function normally. APL begins with one or more acquired changes (mutations) to the DNA of a single blood-forming cell. APL cells have a very specific abnormality that involves chromosomes 15 and 17, leading to the formation of an abnormal fusion gene PML/RARα. This mutated gene causes many of the features of the disease.”
And Metchie wondered and prayed and thought deeply about a lot of things, including whether he would make it back from this medical ordeal. What was going to happen to him? Would he ever regain his health and his old life?
“I guess an answer to tie into that is faith, right?” Metchie said. “One of the most curable forms of cancer, but very tough at the beginning. So, I was very blessed and grateful to have one of the most curable forms of cancer. As you saw, I didn’t lose my hair and a lot of stuff like that. So, I was very grateful and very blessed for that, but at the very beginning of it when you’re diagnosed, it’s a very tough part.
“You can only rely on your faith in those situations. In situations where you are forced to be faced with your own mortality, you see what it is you really believe in and who it is you really believe in. So, my faith in God is really what kept me comfortable in a belief that this was all for a greater purpose and a bigger reason.”
The Texans have consistently measured expectations for Metchie because of his health issues and time away from football, accounting for those factors in evaluating him
“Metchie has done well,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I think he’s still working his way back, first year really playing football after a long time and it takes time to work yourself back. He’s doing a really good job of the things we are asking him to do. We see him showing up, making plays on the over route in the game this past week.
“And we expect that to continue to improve, continue to show those type of plays that he can make. You see the hands. It was a tough catch that he made, but he has great hands, great speed. He’s getting back into that football shape. It takes time, but happy where Metchie is for us right now.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
