The Houston Texans were the NFL’s most pleasant surprise last season, wildly exceeding expectations. They were led first and foremost by their star rookies, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson, whom the Texans landed with the Nos. 2 and 3 overall picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But they were also not the only impact players Houston drafted ahead of last season. Wide receiver Tank Dell landed with the Texans in the third round, and he quickly emerged as one of Stroud’s top targets before suffering a season-ending injury in December.
Earlier this month, though, Dell sustained a minor injury in a shooting incident in Sanford, Florida. He was an innocent bystander in the shooting, and according to KPRC, the local NBC affiliate in Houston, the gunshot wound went through his leg cleanly and out the other side.
“It looks like Tank will make a full recovery,” Texans owner Cal McNair said at the time, via ESPN. “We saw him in the office the other day and he looked good, in good spirits. But he’ll have to rehab and get back to where he was.”
If Dell’s social media activity is any indication, he is well on the road to recovery and the rehab process is taking. Dell posted a pair of Instagram videos on Saturday that showed him running routes at full speed, catching passes, and going through other receiver drills.
It’s a great sign to see that Dell is apparently on the mend from both injuries. He caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns across 11 games before his season ended with a fractured led suffered while blocking for a goal-line rushing score. In each of his final four healthy games, Dell caught at least 5 passes for at least 50 yards and at least one touchdown, averaging 6.2 catches for 92.3 yards per game in those contests.
The Texans added even more help in the wide receiver room this offseason in the form of former Bills star Stefon Diggs, and should have one of the NFL’s top trios next year with Dell and Diggs working alongside Nico Collins.
