The Philadelphia Eagles have added to their wide receiver group by acquiring John Metchie III from the Houston Texans. The deal also brings a 2026 sixth-round draft pick to Philadelphia, with tight end Harrison Bryant and a 2026 fifth-round pick going to Houston. The draft selections exchanged were originally each team’s picks in the 2026 NFL Draft and had previously been part of another trade involving Chauncey Gardner-Johnson earlier this offseason.
John Metchie III was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by Houston as the 44th overall selection. He did not play his rookie season after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Since then, Metchie has appeared in 29 games for the Texans, recording 40 catches for 412 yards and one touchdown. In the most recent season, he caught 24 passes for 254 yards and scored once over 13 games.
Metchie is set to wear jersey number 80 when he practices with the Eagles for the first time on Tuesday.
“Not only is he a great football player, but he’s a great person, and I wouldn’t want anybody else other than those guys in that room,” said Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud during the 2024 offseason. “His mindset is that he’s just ready to come back and ball. Metchie is looking amazing. Everything that he will put on this field will be no surprise, but I think everybody in this room knows how special he can be, and he’ll put that on the field.”
At age 25, Metchie stands six feet tall and weighs 195 pounds. He played college football at Alabama alongside current Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith. At Alabama, Metchie totaled 155 receptions for 2,081 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. He helped Alabama win a national championship in the 2020 season and earned second-team All-SEC honors in his final year there.
This preseason, Metchie has made six catches for 53 yards over two games. In Saturday’s game against Minnesota, he led his team with five receptions for 45 yards on eight targets. His ability allows him to line up both outside and in the slot position.
Metchie was born in Taipei, Taiwan before moving with his family to Ghana and later Canada at age six. He eventually settled in Maryland and New Jersey during high school.
With this move, Philadelphia now has thirteen wide receivers and six tight ends on its roster.
The NFL.com scouting report ahead of the 2022 draft highlighted several strengths of Metchie’s play: experience running a pro-caliber route tree; ability to defeat press coverage; instinctive route running; sharp breaks on routes; focus tracking deep balls; improved contested-catch performance; coming back toward throws; toughness; and skill after making receptions.
