Undrafted sleeper: Houston Texans WR Jester Weah

The Houston Texans did not have a selection in the first two rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft, but they had a nice class and found a UDFA gem in Jester Weah…

The Houston Texans have had one of the most underrated offseasons in the NFL, and it’s crazy how much they have changed in the past two years.

At the beginning of the 2016 offseason, this was the team that signed Brock Osweiler for $17 million per season without even a face-to-face meeting.

One year into that investment, the Texans admitted defeat. They paid a very high price to get Osweiler off the roster and off of their salary cap. They also paid a very high price to move up in the 2017 NFL Draft and get DeShaun Watson to be their franchise quarterback.

Heading into the 2018 season, I think the Texans are set up extremely well. They have a playmaker and leader at quarterback, they have a great defense, and they had a really good 2018 NFL Draft class despite not having a first or second-round pick.

After the 2018 NFL Draft, the Texans brought in another playmaker, this one at the wide receiver position. Jester Weah, a wide receiver from Pittsburgh, should have been one of the 256 picks in the Draft, but he wasn’t.

The rest of the league’s loss is the Texans’ gain, I suppose.

Over the past two seasons, Weah has been a starter for the Panthers but only caught 77 passes.

Is that a problem?

Not when you take everything into consideration.

In 2016, Weah had a breakout season with Nathan Peterman at quarterback, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. It was a remarkable season because Weah finished with 10 touchdowns and averaged over 24 yards per catch.

He was just 130 yards away from having a 1,000-yard season with only 36 receptions. Those are mind-boggling numbers, indicating every time Weah touched the ball, it was a huge play. Every third play he touched the ball that season, it was a touchdown.

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That is ridiculous production.

With Peterman departed in 2017, Weah’s production took a hit, but he was still the team’s leading receiver. He caught just four touchdown passes, but still averaged over 17 yards per reception with 41 catches total on the season.

His production over the past two seasons is not eye-popping in certain respects, but in others, it’s pretty staggering.

He’s got the speed (4.43-second 40-yard dash) and explosiveness (38-inch vertical jump, 129-inch broad jump) to be a vertical threat at the next level. The big concern for him is short-area quickness (7.24-second three-cone drill).

That lack of quickness could make it difficult for him to ‘win’ other ways besides just vertical speed.

With that being said, Weah operated in a pro-style offense at Pitt and will be able to adjust accordingly at the next level. He might be a developmental type, as most receivers are coming out of college, but he’s got all of the skills worth pouring into.

He will have a chance in Houston to work with Wes Welker, their wide receivers coach, and I think Welker will be able to get the best out of this young player.

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