‘Best Friends!’ Can Texans Win with Alabama Advantage?
The University of Georgia's football team was the talk of the NFL Draft, especially since three of them were selected by the Philadelphia Eagles. They joined three other Bulldogs and were teammates with them back at Georgia. The collective narrative was that there's nothing better than playing in the pros with your best friends.
The Houston Texans selected Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and linebacker Henry To'oTo'o in the 2023 NFL Draft. They reunite now with former college teammates receiver John Metchie III and linebacker Christian Harris.
To'oTo'o is a true believer in the narrative and is overjoyed to be back with Anderson and his 2022 teammates.
"We were best friends in college," To'oTo'o said. "Everywhere Christian [Harris] went, I went. Everywhere I went, Christian went. Being able to reunite with him and Will and Metchie is a blessing."
Team chemistry is arguably the most important trait to a franchise's success and these four are already ahead of the curve. A lot of teams have multiple players from the same school, but not all of them played at the same time. The Texans are one of a select few teams to not only have at least three players who were on the same field at the same time on Saturdays, but on the same side of the ball as well.
Harris was selected by the Texans with the 75th overall pick of the NFL Draft, hoping to earn a decent number of snaps in his rookie season. Harris' massive improvement and grind during training camp helped him achieve that goal, but it went even further.
The 22-year-old started in 11 games (12 total played) and recorded the fifth-most tackles (74) on the team. The third-rounder also broke up five passes and hauled in an interception. It is very likely that he'll be a starter in Week 1.
Metchie was selected with the 44th overall pick in the same year, despite tearing his ACL in the SEC Championship game a few months before. Metchie had another setback just before his rookie campaign as he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, sidelining him for the entire season. However, his condition has immensely improved since then as he participated in voluntary minicamp.
The Texans are taking it one day at a time, but Metchie should hopefully be ready by Week 1. He may even earn a starting spot as his route running and inability to drop the ball are at an elite level.
The Texans made arguably the biggest move of the draft by trading up for the No. 3 pick right after they selected quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2. They gave away a lot of their future picks for Anderson, but he just might be worth it.
Anderson's collegiate resume is among the best of the last decade. The two-time Consensus All-American, two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Bronko Nagurski Award winner finished his 3-year career with 58.5 tackles for loss and 34.5 sacks. If he translates anything near these numbers on Sundays, he may earn recognition beyond defensive rookie of the year.
To'oTo'o is expected to be the backup for either Harris or Christian Kirksey. The inside linebacker had the most tackles (111) for Alabama in 2021 and the second-most (94) in 2022. The fifth-rounder has a good IQ for his position and his tackling abilities make him a solid backup.
These four Alabama Texans' infectious elevated chemistry may bring out the best in each other.
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