John Metchie has waited patiently for his moment. He's had to overcome more adversity than most to arrive at the moment where all his hard work and dedication paid off in primetime.
Metchie spent three years at Alabama. He was little used as a freshman in 2019 because of a WR room that featured Jerry Jeudy, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs, and Jaylen Waddle. In 2020, he had his breakout, stepping up and becoming Alabama's No. 2 receiver following an injury to Waddle. He had 916 yards and six touchdowns as the Crimson Tide went on to win the national championship.
In 2021, Metchie had a career-high 1142 yards on 96 catches, but tore his ACL against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, offering the first real adversity of his football life. But an ACL tear was child's play compared to what was coming.
Metchie was still a 2nd round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. A few short months later, it was announced that Metchie had been diagnosed with Leukemia and would miss the 2022 season as a result.
Doubt crept in during the early days for Metchie about whether he might ever play football again. His dream of playing in the NFL might've been cruelly taken from him before he ever got to suit up on a Sunday.
Metchie was finally cleared to play again in July of 2023. But he was way behind eight ball for a Texans team that had taken on a whole different look. CJ Stroud was drafted at QB and Houston selected another rookie WR in the '23 draft.
He played in 16 games but was targeted a total of 30 times as a rookie. He caught 16 passes for 158 yards but never found the endzone. His place with the Texans looked even further in doubt when Houston pulled off an offseason trade for Stefon Diggs. Early in the season, he was a healthy scratch.
But injuries and Metchie's hard work led to an opportunity. Coming into Sunday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, Metchie had been targeted a total of seven times on the season. Against Detroit, Metchie was targeted four times in the first half. He caught all four for 65 yards and his first NFL touchdown.
John Metchie’s first career NFL TD. He’s overcome so much, missing his entire rookie season due to leukemia.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 11, 2024
Incredible moment.pic.twitter.com/3jgW1etjdT
Take a moment to think about all that went in to Metchie getting back to this stage to have this moment. He was away from football for a full year to fight cancer, meaning he couldn't train and keep his body where it needed to be for a pro athlete. So he had to rebuild himself and come back at a big disadvantage, not just against the veterans, but a new crop of rookies hungry to take his spot.
One thing any Alabama fan can attest to about Metchie is that he's a dog. When he tore his ACL against Georgia they had to force him to go to the locker room. If the trainers would have looked the other way for even a split second, he'd have ran back onto the field.
With a full offseason under his belt, Metchie looks a lot like the guy who was a star in Tuscaloosa. The Texans have a deep WR room that hasn't always allowed him to shine. But he got his opportunity on Sunday night in primetime and he made the most of it.