Texans' John Metchie 2023 NFL season props, odds: Second-year Houston receiver fully cleared after missing rookie campaign due to cancer

Spectacular news emerged from Texans training camp on Wednesday as second-year receiver John Metchie III participated fully in practice after missing all of the 2022 season while battling cancer. The former Alabama star was also unable to participate in OTAs earlier this year because of an injury. Metchie would seem the perfect candidate to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year if he has a nice season, but he's a +3000 seventh-favorite at DraftKings.

This writer used to get a little irked when the Comeback Player of the Year Award was given out because there are no clear statistical benchmarks that leads to a candidate being "favored," so to speak. Obviously, a player has to have a good season after an unfortunate one, but it's mostly in the eye of the beholder in terms of voters.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is currently the -285 Comeback Player of the Year favorite. His recovery from a cardiac arrest episode in Week 17 last year has been remarkable. Hamlin also played in 15 games in 2022. What Metchie will have accomplished by getting back on the field is no less so, and he didn't get to play a down as a rookie.

Houston traded up to the No. 44 spot in the 2022 draft to take Metchie out of Alabama. He had a spectacular final season there with 96 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns. He would have had even better numbers if he hadn't torn his ACL in the 2021 SEC title game win over Georgia. The Crimson Tide still had two more games: the Cotton Bowl semifinal win over Cincinnati and then the national title game loss to UGA. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 in large part to Metchie and Jameson Williams.

If not for that torn ACL, Metchie probably would have gone higher in the 2022 draft – maybe late in the first round. Texans GM Nick Caserio moved up to acquire Metchie by trading a 2022 third-round pick and two fourth-round selections to the Browns. 

Last July, Metchie was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. He was scheduled to return to practice this offseason but suffered a hamstring injury that prevented him from joining the team until training camp.

"Oh man, I'm happy for him," safety Jimmie Ward said after Wednesday's practice. "I'm happy to see him out there. He's a stud. I've seen him at 'Bama. So I was waiting to see him. And now that I've seen him and how he moves, I see why he was so highly drafted and highly talked upon."

Houston averaged only 196.0 yards through the air in 2022 and needs all the receiver help it can get around its rookie quarterback, No. 2 overall pick CJ Stroud. Brandin Cooks led the team with 699 yards last year while Davis Mills was the primary starting QB. Cooks has since been traded to Dallas.

While in the NBA a player isn't considered a rookie until he actually takes the court in a game, the NFL doesn't work that way and Metchie is not eligible for Offensive Rookie of the Year, whereas as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren is eligible for NBA Rookie of the Year despite sitting out 2022-23 with an injury.

Below are the various props we can find on Metchie at DraftKings and FanDuel. His individual statistical over/under totals are not up yet. For a comparison, Houston's likely No. 1 wideout entering the year is Nico Collins, and he's set at O/U 585.5 yards.

• To win Comeback Player of the Year: +3000 (Texans have never had a winner)
• To lead NFL in receptions: +10000
• To lead NFL in receiving yards: +15000
• To lead NFL in TDs: +15000
• Metchie or Nico Collins to have 1,000-yard season: +900

Houston opens on Sept. 10 in Baltimore as a 9.5-point underdog, the biggest Week 1 spread on the board. The SportsLine Projection Model has Metchie with 2.2 catches for 30 yards and 0.11 TDs in his NFL debut. The Texans' preseason opener is at New England on Aug. 10. 

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