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Pro Canes - 2021

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Brevin Jordan sweated profusely. The Texans rookie tight end wiped his face with a small gray towel, but his effort was futile against an August day in Houston, which locals know can feel like the heat of a thousand suns.

Clearly the fifth-round pick never quite got used to the humidity in Miami, where he was a three-time All-ACC tight end who recorded 13 touchdown receptions in three seasons. No, the 21-year-old Jordan is still used to the dry heat of his hometown, Las Vegas.

“It ain’t like Vegas,” Jordan said, as large beads of sweat trickled down his neck. “Vegas is just hot. I walk out, it’s like an oven. Out here, you get in the shower and come out here and start sweating again.”

In a way, Jordan was alluding to one of his key objectives entering the summer after being acquired by Houston.

He knew he’d be competing for playing time with returning starters Jordan Akins and Pharaoh Brown. He knew his versatility as a pass-catcher who can play in the slot made him a unusual tool in offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s offense. He knew he couldn’t show up to camp unprepared for the Houston humidity and let that inhibit his development on the team.

So, Jordan linked up with Trippe Hale, an athlete performance specialist in Las Vegas, and spent eight months waking up for 7 a.m. workouts to sprint on tracks, push sleds and pull parachutes.

He tightened up his diet, dropped eight pounds, and arrived in Houston with a morning hydration plan: coconut water, electrolytes, two bottles of water, organic juice — even IV hookups with the team’s medical staff.

Jordan may be carrying a sweaty towel everywhere he goes, but he knows his mind will remain sharp.

“When you’re out of shape and you’re trying to learn these new plays, it’s impossible,” Hale said. “You’re trying to catch your breath. You’re trying to remember what you’re doing. You’re trying to do all that. So, big thing for him was to try to get him shape, working that speed work. So, now he’s in shape, he’s ready to go, and every route he’s running, he’s running it fast.”

Hale has worked with tight ends like Eagles three-time Pro Bowler Zach Ertz. In Jordan, Hale sees “a young man that has literally unlimited potential,” a player with a powerful 6-3, 245-pound frame who’s built to get extended yardage after the catch.

Jordan’s versatility is what made him attractive to Texans general manager Nick Caserio, who said at the end of the draft that taking Jordan was less about adding another tight end to a roster that now has six players at the position group and more about “trying to add good football players” and letting “the competition sort itself out.”

There is indeed competition. Returning starters Akins and Brown almost certainly are locks within the tight end room, and Jordan will more so be competing with Kahale Warring, Ryan Izzo and Antony Auclair for a spot on a roster that won’t keep them all.

Warring, a former third-round pick in 2019, battled injuries until appearing in seven games last season, while free-agent signees Auclair (Buccaneers) and Izzo (Patriots) have started in a combined 23 games within the last two seasons.

Jordan said Akins has been a mentor since training camp began. The four-year veteran worked with the rookie on separation techniques while running routes and, perhaps most notably, shared advice on blocking, which Jordan acknowledges is “probably the biggest adjustment that I’ve had to deal with.”

Brown said he’s noticed Jordan’s keen ability as a “good route runner,” which most likely will be his best asset in Kelly’s offense. Jordan called Kelly “a genius” play-caller who loves to move tight ends around within the scheme, something Jordan believes makes him a great fit within the offense.

Jordan can line up as a traditional tight end, he can be moved to the slot, he can play H-back — all for the purpose of creating advantageous matchups for either himself or for star receiver Brandin Cooks.

“That’s my type of place,” Jordan said, “just being moved around and creating mismatches.”

Akins has missed two straight days of practice, which makes his status questionable for Houston’s first preseason game Saturday at Green Bay, but the Texans coaching staff already was likely to play Jordan more to see exactly what they have in the rookie and whether he can be the diverse threat they expect he can be.

“A lot of opportunity for him,” Akins said. “He has great feet. He has great hands. Knowledge of the defense, with zone and man, he’s very good. He has a couple things to work on, but you know in the future he’s going to be really good.”
 
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