Just moments ago, the Houston Texans released a statement from WR John Metchie III in which he announced that he has leukemia.
Metchie, who was selected by the Texans in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, said he has been “diagnosed with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia), the most curable form of Leukemia.”
“I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time. As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery. Thank you in advance for your support and well-wishes. I cannot wait to come back stronger than ever. God Bless.”
Our thoughts and prayers are certainly with you, John. God Bless.
An update from John Metchie lll pic.twitter.com/EH6OupXK42
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 24, 2022
Here is John Harris’ scouting report on Metchie III prior to the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Metchie III has a truly interesting background. He was born in Taiwan and lived there for five years before moving to Canada for the majority of his young life. When he reached high school years, he moved to St. James in Baltimore suburb. He then transferred to The Peddie School in New Jersey for a prep school year before enrolling at Alabama as a true freshman in 2019. Metchie III is a physical dude who played mostly outside in his two years as a starter, but can transition inside when needed, tough and reliable anywhere in the passing game. He was overshadowed in 2021 by transfer Jameson Williams, but Metchie III does the little things that’ll entice an NFL team for sure. I think of anyone in this draft class that could emulate Deebo Samuel (49ers/South Carolina), it might be a healthy Metchie III. I’ve struggled for two years trying to figure out what I’d do with him on my roster but when I saw him running routes from the slot against Florida in 2021, it hit me. He’s not as big, strong or fast as Samuel but he’s tough after the catch and showed the acumen to get loose against inside defenders as a slot WR. His recovery from the ACL tear he had in the SEC Championship game is going to be key to his overall evaluation, but we’ve seen so many players come back fine from that surgery. As such, I could see a team getting him touches in the backfield in a pinch. Now, having inside running IQ like Samuel is tough, shoot, even Samuel didn’t know that he could do it the way he does.”
