‘They saw the growth they wanted to see in me’: How Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchison earned roster spot

HOUSTON – A moment of inaction, of relative silence, of his phone not ringing with potential career-damaging bad news, of all his time and energy and sacrifice paying off, that was the spectrum of emotions experienced by Xavier Hutchinson.

In the NFL, learning that you’ve made the roster when you’re on the bubble of the 53 players selected to make the initial squad, doesn’t typically come with a friendly head’s up from the football team. The deadline passes and that’s how a player realizes they’ve been rewarded with a hard-earned spot on the team.

And that’s how Hutchinson knew for certain that leading the Texans in preseason catches and yards and upgrading his footwork and strength and all of his extra work outside of the facility with trainer Justin Allen and private receivers coach Delfonte Diamond had paid dividends. He made the team.

“I would say at four o’clock, that as the brief little joy that I got right there,” said Hutchinson, who kept his phone near him nearly constantly during the Texans’ major roster cutdown from 90 players to 53 players. “No, I just got to text my mom, text my dad and really just be around my girl and just have the love, the true love and compassion, just pure joy around me. Just seeing them be happy for me, just naturally kind of rubs off on me. I was happy. I enjoyed it, of course, but I’ve got a long journey ahead of me and this is only the stepping stone of what I want to continue to do.”

How Hutchinson made the team as the Texans retained seven wide receivers -- Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Hutchinson, John Metchie III, Robert Woods and Steven Sims Jr. was by devoting himself to self-improvement on a daily basis, rarely allowing himself a respite from his work. He haunted the Texans’ weight room all offseason and he absorbed the advice of coach DeMeco Ryans about the importance of his fundamentals.

“It feels amazing, honestly,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of my hard work paid off and they kind of saw the growth that they wanted to see in me. Which – that’s always a plus. And that’s what I’m here to do. I’m here to grow, become a better player for this team. And also, just really doing something I love. So, any time I’m able to keep doing it, I’m happy.”

It was all done with a purpose and a personal challenge: trying to earn a roster spot on the defending AFC South champions at arguably the deepest and most talented collective of receivers in the league.

“That would be crazy if I went every day, but, really, Delfonte, Justin Allen they really challenged me just to be the best person that I could be, the best player that I could be,” Hutchinson said. “That was really something I had got from Justin Allen with his little all-in motto. It’s a big credit to him and it’s a big credit to out strength staff here just getting me ready and prepared and really going into my second year

“I came in and I had lot of confidence in myself. I feel like I had a lot of confidence in myself from some of the players on the team who had just seen me put in the work. It was like easy to believe in myself and really just try to transition that into how I did in the preseason game. So, I’m really happy with everything that I’ve done so far.”

As the former Iowa State wide receiver and sixth-round draft pick pushed to make the team again for the second year in a row, he led the Texans with four catches for 34 yards on seven targets in a 17-15 preseason finale victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

I think Hutch was probably one of our most consistent, most dependable players from the beginning of training camp until the end,” Ryans said.

Hutchinson continued to display the precise route running, sound hands and upgraded play strength and footwork he’s shown throughout the summer, finishing the preseason with 12 catches for 114 yards on 20 targets.

“Definitely, just winning in more of my feet,” Hutchinson said. “That was something that kind of the coaches all challenged me on. Really stop being so handsy at the top of my routes, to just trust my feet. That’s really what I locked in on. I just locked in on just trusting my feet more with certain drills that I was doing over the offseason. I feel like it kind of showed a little bit.”

Hutchinson has plenty of role models within the receiver group, which is coached by Ben McDaniels.

And Collins, his friend, provides an example of what to do.

“He’s been a big part, honestly, No. 12 is my guy,” Hutchinson said. “If there was to be a ride-or-die type of group, that would be him for me. 12 means the world to me. I mean, everything that he’s done for me, he didn’t have to take me in underneath his wing, yet he did. I feel like that speaks about him as a player and a man.

“But, honestly, just being able to just bounce things off each other. If we had a problem with a rep, I’m going to ask him, ‘What do you think I could’ve did?’ or ‘What did you like about it?’ And it’s vice versa I feel like. So, to just have a guy like that in the room, for me, personally, that’s huge and I give a lot of credit to 12 for a lot of the things I’ve been able to do with growth-wise this year.”

Hutchinson, a big downfield target at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds who caught eight passes for 90 yards and rushed for 49 yards on five carries as a rookie last season in addition to four catches for nine yards in the playoffs, has made it a point to listen.

“Honestly, I just feel my routes, DeMeco has joked about it, but he really challenged me to start winning with my feet, stop using so much hands,” Hutchinson said. “So, this offseason I really went into that. I feel like it’s shown, some flashes here and there. I still got to get better at that, but I really feel like that’s kind of a step I took.”

And Hutchinson improved his knowledge of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s offense. That made a big difference, too.

“I feel like that’s the reason why I wasn’t able to go out there and play to my best capabilities because I didn’t trust myself in my playbook, to be quite honest with you,” Hutchinson said. “I challenged myself to just learn the playbook and everything else will come along with it. I’m very proud of myself on that end.”

A former consensus All-American, Hutchinson continues to develop.

And now he’s part of a talented corps of receivers.

“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.”

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.”

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