Houston Texans Wide Receiver Tank Dell Getting Huge Hype After Preseason Debut

Houston Texans receiver Tank Dell

Getty Image / Omar Rawlings


The Houston Texans drafted Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud 2nd overall, but the wide receiver corps is less than impressive on paper. Thankfully for Stroud, in their first preseason game on Thursday against the New England Patriots, rookie wide receiver Tank Dell impressed football fans everywhere.

His real first name is Nathaniel, but the fact that his nickname is Tank is filled with irony. After all, he measured in at 5-foot-8 and 165lbs at the NFL Combine back in March.

But, he was a wildly productive player in college for the Houston Cougars. After playing for Alabama A&M and junior college Independence CC, Tank Dell transferred to Houston and left his mark on the program. He had 3155 receiving yards in three years, even more impressive when you consider the team only played eight games during the 2020 COVID season. The last two seasons, he had over 2700 yards and a remarkable 29 touchdowns, including 17 last year. Normally, a player with those numbers in a decent league like the AAC could sneak into the first round, but his size meant that he slipped to the 3rd round and 69th pick overall.

And, in his NFL preseason debut for the Houston Texans on Thursday, he stood out. Tank Dell was clearly a focal point of the gameplan, catching five of eight targets for 65 yards and this touchdown.

Twitter was lighting up with positive Tank Dell spin.

Houston won the game, 20-9. The Texans second preseason game is August 19 against the Dolphins.

Garrett Carr BroBible avatar
Garrett Carr is a recent graduate of Penn State University and a BroBible writer who focuses on NFL, College Football, MLB, and he currently resides in Pennsylvania.