‘Did a really nice job,’ Texans’ Xavier Hutchinson leads team in catches in Hall of Fame game

CANTON, Ohio – Xavier Hutchinson adeptly worked the sideline. He convincingly sold his routes. And the Texans’ wide receiver displayed explosiveness as the Chicago Bears’ secondary retreated to prevent him from striking deep.

In his second NFL season after playing sparingly as a rookie sixth round draft pick last year, Hutchinson is competing for a roster spot at a crowded position group headlined by Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell.

Hutchinson was the Texans’ most impressive receiver Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game against the Chicago Bears. He finished with a team-high five catches for 56 yards on six targets. That included a long reception of 20 yards.

“Hutch did a really nice job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Had a good feel for the football, really liked where he was going. He made some really nice plays for us.”

Hutchinson is determined to contribute more after catching eight passes for 90 yards as a rookie with five carries for 49 yards and six total first downs, plus four catches for nine yards in two playoff games.

“I felt good,” Hutchinson said. “It was definitely better than my first preseason game ever. I just try to make jumps, trying to really find my role on this team and show I can do it to the best of my ability. I felt like I had a really solid game just made the plays when I had the opportunity to.

“Obviously, when you make plays in a real-life game, it leads to a little more confidence in yourself. Definitely just to see that translate from practice against another team, that’s huge for me. And I feel like that’s probably exactly what the coaching staff wanted to see from me.”

Hutchinson said that receivers coach and passing game coordinator Ben McDaniels demanded more from him, and he delivered.

“My receivers coach challenged me,” Hutchinson said. “Just keep striving to keep getting better. There’s not going to be a home run hit every day, so just got to take your singles.”

In baseball parlance, Hutchinson and wide receiver Ben Skowronek were both getting on base a lot for backup quarterback Davis Mills. Skowronek skied for a 27-yard catch. Hutchinson was steady for Mills and Case Keenum, also rushing for eight yards to finish with 64 total yards from scrimmage on six touches.

“Davis was great,” Hutchinson said. “Cool, calm, and collected guy. How he was in the huddle, I feel like you could see it in his play. Great to see. Case, he’s been around so long. You see that confidence and that energy. It’s really hard not to follow those two guys.”

Hutchinson worked diligently this offseason, including extra time with private coach Delfonte Diamond.

“Just learned the things I needed to work on as a receiver an all-around,” Hutchinson said. “Whichever way I can contribute, I really took that serious. I had to swallow some hard truths, but it was good for me. Without that, you can’t grow as a player. I’m really looking forward to putting it all together and trying to contribute to the Texans.

“Offseason was great. I got a lot of things done as far as lower body strength. I’m just trying to strengthen it from the ground up so I can be able to be strong in the season and not really lose endurance.”

Hutchinson delivered one of the longest plays of his rookie season only to have his impactful first down nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty against the New York Jets. The questionable call spurred by contact with cornerback D.J. Reed took away a 31-yard completion during a 30-6 road loss.

Hutchinson played 281 offensive snaps last season for 26 percent of the total playing time, appearing in 16 games with zero starts last season.

A former consensus All-American at Iowa State drafted in the sixth round, Hutchinson displayed signs of progress in his development.

Now, Hutchinson is part of a crowded wide receiver room.

“Man, they’re building it up,” Hutchinson said. “They’re doing exactly what they said they were going to do. I’m excited, man. When you add players like that to the locker room and to the team, it just gives you a sense of more confidence that you know you have players who have done it before at a high level. They can contribute, so all of us just have to add to it and grow with them and rise to that platform.”

The work with Diamond, who trains multiple NFL receivers, including CeeDee Lamb, Deebo Samuel, Keon Coleman, Diggs, Dell and several others, has been beneficial to Hutchinson.

“Delfonte is one of the best,” Hutchinson said. “I appreciate the constructive criticism he gave me.”

At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Hutchinson, a former Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the year who finished with 254 catches for 2,929 yards and 15 touchdowns in three seasons for the Cyclones, has size and athleticism working in his favor as well as crisp route-running skills and explosiveness.

Hutchinson caught 107 passes for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns in his final season at Iowa State.

“Oh yeah, he’s an all-around athlete,” Diamond said. “I’m pretty sure this year he’s going to be utilized to the max. Strong hands, tall receiver, good feet, real good dude.”

NOTES: Ryans said he was impressed with the work of projected starting left guard Kenyon Green and center Juice Scruggs. Both started against the Bears in a weather-shortened 21-17 loss. “I really liked the way that they played,” Ryans said. “In a snap, I think they both had probably over 20 snaps and I thought they did a really nice job of going out and showing who they can be. Still a lot to improve on, but I liked the aggressiveness from Kenyon. I liked how he got up to the second level. I like the way they were finishing blocks. So, it’s definitely a big step in the right direction for both guys when it comes to continuing to improve our front and we know how important the front is it to be able to run the football, also of the protection aspect of it. So, I thought both of those guys did a really nice job.” There were some defensive breakdowns, though, including a pair of touchdowns surrendered to wide receiver Collin Johnson. Third-string Bears quarterback Brett Rypien threw three touchdown passes and completed 11 of 15 passes for 166 yards and no interceptions for a 148.9 passer rating. It was rough out there for a makeshift secondary. “With the passes, you see guys wide open,” Ryans said. " The first touchdown was a communication error where guys weren’t on the same page and it’s something that we harped on going into the game with a lot of young guys playing, a lot of different guys in there together, that the key was going to be the communication. And it would be vital to everyone’s success, if those guys communicated and they were on the same page. They were not on that particular play. And we had a guy uncovered. On the second touchdown down the middle, just technique-wise, we just have to be better technique being on the upfield shoulder, being in position right there just. We were a little too aggressive underneath, and we weren’t in good position. It will allow them to catch a ball in the endzone.” ... Texans wide receiver John Metchie III had a relatively quiet game compared to Skowronek and Hutchinson. Metchie had one catch for four yards on two targets after an impressive start to training camp. “Metchie, he showed up during camp just playing really fast, playing decisive and we’ve seen that during the first couple weeks of camp,” Ryans said. “Just want to continue to see that in the game. Where the game was, we’ll see how he improves to the next week and that’s a lot of guys, man. It’s their first one out. It’s all about, ‘OK this is your starting point,’ so I don’t put a lot into the game. I just put a lot into how guys respond the next time, right? After we make the corrections, we show guys where they have to improve.” ... Reserve offensive lineman Nick Broeker has a background at guard, but has been lining up at tackle and he had a solid game. “Broeker has shown that he can play multiple positions and, as you know, as being a reserve offensive lineman, whether you are the eighth, the ninth lineman on game day, can you play inside and outside?” Ryans said. “That really adds to your value, and I talk about all the time, the position versatility on our team will be used. That’s used to the depth of your team and how good you can be. So, Broeker has shown it. He can go out and play that tackle spot so it was good to see him last night in action, playing tackle. Good to see the way he finished, the energy that he brought to the game. So I really liked Broeker’s mindset.” Skowronek, acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Rams this offseason in exchange for a seventh-round pick, is off to a good start with his new team. “With Ben, we saw the physicality that he showed on tape,” Ryans said. “We saw the special teams ability that he had on tape as well. So, we try to put him in a mix here and see how he competes and see how he matches up with our guys and let’s see who rises to the top. We know we have a very talented room. They’re a tough group to crack. So, we’ll see how that sorts itself out.” ... The Texans were off Friday, but will have a practice Saturday before they attend Andre Johnson’s Hall of Fame induction. “We will all go over to the enshrinement,” Ryans said. “As I mentioned all week, it’s a special time in our organization. It’s a huge honor for Andre Johnson and we’re all just happy to be here to support Andre and his huge accomplishment for his career. Well-deserved. Great guy, great teammate, great guy in the community. All across the board, Andre is outstanding in all aspects. Players you talk about respect from other guys across the league. Everybody knows, Andre knows what he’s done even when times weren’t as great, here in Houston. Andre was still, I bet, shining a light here in Houston. Making plays, creating a name for himself. He just epitomizes what this organization is about. You talk about hard work, you talk about a championship mindset, that’s what Andre Johnson is all about.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com