'Naturally Nervous!' Texans Rookie Tank Dell Reveals Mindset in Debut
Houston wide receiver Tank Dell made his preseason debut Thursday against the New England Patriots, and amidst the Texans' remaining question marks with a couple weeks left in training camp, the ones about his abilities may have already been answered.
Dell said Sunday he was nervous like he is before any game. It was hard to tell from his play, as he had just one drop on the night, leading all receivers with five receptions for 65 yards — 34 of which were after the catch — and a circus-catch touchdown.
"If you're not nervous before a game, then I don't think you should be playing," Dell said. "I treated it just like a college game — not like a college game because it's on a bigger stage — but I tried to go in with the same mindset: just go in and do my job."
Dell was one of the rookies that really stood out Thursday. Other marquee rookies, quarterback C.J. Stroud and linebacker Will Anderson Jr., threw an interception and recorded one tackle, respectively.
That comes with the territory, though, when a first-time NFL quarterback tries to read a Bill Belichick defense and a game-wrecking edge rusher is limited to a few series.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans said it was good to see Dell translate his production from practice to the game and that Dell's skillset allows for him to be "an explosive playmaker" for Houston's offense.
Dell didn't wait for the plane to land in Houston before reviewing tape. Instead, he and fellow rookie wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson watched a replay on the flight back from Foxboro.
"We were just trying to critique ourselves before we get into the meetings, so we could already be ahead and make sure we know what we did wrong so we can try to get better at practice the next day and fix it," Dell said.
Stroud lobbied for the Texans to draft Dell and they listened, selecting him with their third-round pick this year. If the preseason opener against the Patriots was any indication, Stroud's prospect evaluation was spot on.
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