Houston Texans rookie Tank Dell made his NFL debut on Thursday night and the one-time Alabama A&M wide receiver made his presence felt.
Late in the second quarter of the preseason opener against the New England Patriots, Dell made an amazing bobbling catch on a pass from Davis Mills in the near corner of the end zone for the Texans. That score put Houston on the board and helped it come up with a 20-9 win over the Patriots.
“That play was a great release, good ball by Davis, back shoulder, and it was good focus because it always is different when you’re out there,” Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud said after the game. “It’s not going to just be catch, touchdown. It’s going to be bang-bang. He kept with it, which I’m really happy for him, and yeah, he made a lot of good plays. He’s a great player. I can’t wait to see what we do together.”
Tank Dell spent one season at Alabama A&M catching passes from Aqeel Glass before hitting the JUCO ranks and ultimately ending up in at Houston where he turned himself into a legit NFL Draft prospect. He was taken by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 69th overall.
“It was good to see Tank make some plays,” Texans rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’ve seen him make a lot of plays throughout training camp, some of these same plays, so it was good to see him do the same thing here in a game. So, he can be an explosive playmaker for us, and we look forward to him continuing to make some of those plays.”
Dell caught five passes for 65 yards, including the six-yard scoring reception, to lead the Texans on Thursday night.
Former Jackson State cornerback Isaiah Bolden made his NFL debut as well on Thursday night. He returned one kick 26 yards and recorded two tackles in the loss for the Patriots.