C.J. Gardner-Johnson on facing Texans' revamped WR corps in camp: 'It's like the Daytona 500. We're running fast every play'

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The Houston Texans entered the offseason with significant question marks at receiver, with Tank Dell‘s uncertain future following a nasty late-season injury.

To answer the question, the Texans traded for Christian Kirk, signed former Chiefs field stretcher Justin Watson, and, most significantly, drafted former Iowa State teammates Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in the second and third rounds, respectively.

The result: Increased speed.

New Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was asked about covering the crew early in training camp.

“It’s like the Daytona 500. We’re running fast every play. Everybody fast,” the safety said Wednesday, via the team’s official transcript. “All the cars are competing for first place. We’ve got a fast receiver core. I’m going to be honest, it’s probably one of the fastest cores I’ve ever seen. But, they’re a dynamic group with different skill sets. They’re diverse. They understand that [QB] C.J. [Stroud] needs them. They need C.J. and C.J. needs them. They work very well in practice. We have our days. They win some, we win some. But today we got the best of the NASCAR group.”

We know Nico Collins will get his targets. The former Michigan product has developed into a top-10 receiving talent and a big-play machine. The rookies will be key to how the rest of the group pans out.

Their defensive counterparts in camp have heaped praise on them early, particularly when asked about Higgins.

“Smooth receiver,” defensive back Jalen Pitre said of Higgins. “Like you said, he’s very tall and very long, but he has every route in his arsenal. So, you definitely got to play him honest. Then, obviously, like we all would guess, when it’s up in the air, he’s going to go and get it. So, he’s a great playmaker for us to have. I’m excited about what the future holds for him.”

If Higgins lives up to the early hype, he and Collins could form an imposing wideout duo for Stroud.

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