Pharaoh Brown slipped behind the defense in the red zone, finding a seam in the back of the end zone for a touchdown catch.
Activated this week from the non-football injury list, the 6-foot-6, 258-pound former Oregon standout is reinforcing his value to the Texans as an imposing tight end who can catch passes, break tackles and block.
Re-signed to a one-year, $2.2 million contract, the former Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns player has excellent size and all-around skills for the position.
In 13 games with nine starts, Brown caught 14 passes on 16 targets for 163 yards and two touchdowns last season.
“Well, it's good to have him back," Texans coach David Culley said ."Obviously, size does matter, and getting him back and getting him in the swing of things. He's starting to get more and more and more reps right now with us, and he's one of those guys that we're counting on at that position to be able to help us.”
Brown overcome a serious leg injury suffered in college that nearly cost him his leg and is coming off the best year of his career.
The Texans like Brown's versatility.
"You can ask him to do different things, whether it’s align him away from the formation, align him as a fullback, align him as a tight end in-line, align him as an off-the-ball tight end," Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said during the season. "He finds ways to make it work and to excel at it. I’m very pleased with Pharaoh. He does a really good job in both the run game and pass game. He’s just a good football player.”
“He’s done a really good job of bringing a physical element to us, particularly in the run game. Being so big and long, he does a really good job of not only using those tools and being physical, but being a student of the game and really taking pride in knowing basically a multitude of positions.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.
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