John Metchie III (born July 18, 2000) is a Taiwanese-Canadian professional football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, winning the Jon Cornish Trophy twice prior to being selected by the Texans in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. Metchie sat out his rookie season after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and returned to play in 2023.
 Metchie with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2021 | |||||||||
| No. 8 – Houston Texans | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 18, 2000 Taipei, Taiwan | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 187 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | St. James (Hagerstown, MD) Peddie (Hightstown, NJ) | ||||||||
| College: | Alabama (2019–2021) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 2 / pick: 44 | ||||||||
| CFL draft: | 2022 / round: 7 / pick: 59 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early life
editMetchie was born in Taiwan to a Nigerian father and Taiwanese mother on July 18, 2000.[1] His family moved to Accra, Ghana, when he was one before moving to Brampton, Ontario, Canada, with his mother and four brothers while his father remained in Ghana.[1][2] He then moved to the United States to attend St. James School in Hagerstown, Maryland.[3] Metchie spent a post-graduate year at the Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey,[4] before committing to play college football at the University of Alabama.[5][6]
College career
editMetchie played in all 13 games as a freshman at Alabama in 2019 and had four catches for 23 yards.[7] He became one of Alabama's top three receivers his sophomore year in 2020 racking up 916 yards on 55 receptions with six touchdowns.[8][9] He was the first receiver to win the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in NCAA football in the 2020 season.[10] As a junior in 2021, Metchie recorded 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns before tearing his ACL in the 2021 SEC Championship Game.[11] Metchie was again named the recipient of the Jon Cornish Trophy, joining Nathan Rourke as the only two-time winners.[12][13]
Statistics
edit| Season | GP | Receiving | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 2019 | 4 | 4 | 23 | 5.8 | 17 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | 55 | 916 | 16.7 | 78 | 6 |
| 2021 | 13 | 96 | 1,142 | 11.9 | 46 | 8 |
| Career | 30 | 155 | 2,081 | 13.4 | 78 | 14 |
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+1⁄4 in (1.81 m) |
187 lb (85 kg) |
30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) |
9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[14][15] | ||||||||||||
Metchie was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round (44th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft.[13] He was also selected by the BC Lions in the seventh round (59th overall) of the 2022 CFL Draft before signing a four-year contract, worth $8 million, with the Texans on May 14, 2022.[13][16] In July, Metchie announced he would sit out his rookie season after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia.[17]
A year after receiving his diagnosis, Metchie was cleared to attend training camp.[18] He played his first career NFL game in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts and finished the season with 16 receptions for 158 yards. Metchie was named the recipient of the 2024 George Halas Award by the Pro Football Writers of America for his adversity.[19]
NFL career statistics
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2022 | HOU | 0 | 0 | DNP | |||||||||||
| 2023 | HOU | 16 | 0 | 16 | 158 | 9.9 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Career | 16 | 0 | 16 | 158 | 9.9 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Postseason
edit| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | HOU | 2 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 2 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
editHis older brother, Royce Metchie, is a defensive back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.[20]
References
edit- ^ a b Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2022 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 54. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Edholm, Eric (February 23, 2022). "NFL draft: From Ghana to Bama, WR John Metchie has learned to thrive amid adversity". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Sousa, Stone (July 6, 2018). "Canadian John Metchie defies the odds to become top U.S. football recruit". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Hunt, Todderick (May 22, 2018). "4-star WR Metchie to Peddie | Is he now N.J.'s best WR?". NJ.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Parasiliti, Bob (July 7, 2018). "Saint James grad Metchie commits to Alabama". Herald-Mail Media. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Casagrande, Michael (July 7, 2018). "Alabama gets commitment from 4-star WR". AL.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Paschall, David (October 6, 2020). "John Metchie already adding to Alabama's continuing run of stellar receivers". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Hudson, Brett (October 4, 2020). "Crimson Tide's Metchie shows star potential". TimesDaily. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Blackwell, Joey (October 4, 2020). "When Alabama Needed Its No. 3 Receiver, John Metchie Answered the Call". SI.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Naylor, Dave (May 24, 2021). "Metchie wins Cornish Trophy as outstanding Canadian in NCAA football". TSN.ca. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ Scarborough, Alex (December 5, 2021). "Alabama Crimson Tide leading pass-catcher John Metchie III out with 'significant' ACL injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ Naylor, Dave (April 19, 2022). "Metchie wins Jon Cornish Trophy for second time". TSN.ca. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c Inabinett, Mark (May 4, 2022). "Wide receiver John Metchie III drafted again". AL.com. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ "John Metchie Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ "John Metchie III, Alabama, WR, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
- ^ Galatzan, Matt (May 14, 2022). "Texans Sign WR John Metchie III To Rookie Deal". SI.com. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ "Texans WR Metchie diagnosed with leukemia". ESPN.com. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ Rieken, Kristie (August 3, 2023). "Houston receiver John Metchie 'grateful' on field after finishing cancer treatment". AP News. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ PFWA. "Texans' John Metchie III selected as PFWA 2024 George Halas Award winner". profootballwriters.org. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Ralph, Dan (April 29, 2022). "Texans trade up for Canada's John Metchie III in 2nd round of NFL draft". CBC.ca. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
External links
edit