The first college football game of Christian Kirk's career occurred at NRG Stadium in 2015 and I was there to, well, you know, talk about the game and such inside the Stadium.
I'd heard all about the 5-star talent out of powerhouse Saguaro HS in Scottsdale, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix, but had never had the chance to see him play in person. I was excited after all the good reviews that came out of Aggies' training camp.
Early in the second quarter, Kirk walked back to the 20-yard line to receive the Sun Devils' punt. I didn't think they were going to boot it his way. If he's THAT good, the Sun Devils' should know, I thought; he grew up right in their own backyard. Yet, Arizona State punted one high in the air to Kirk and gave the freshman a chance. He made the first guy miss, sprinted toward the sideline and then found a crease. 79 yards later, Kirk made a significant impression on me that still lasts to this day. Fast forward to the fourth quarter as the Aggies had a 24-17 lead with just four minutes in the game. They faced a 2nd-and-1 and just flipped the ball out to Kirk, who sprinted upfield, wove through a bunch of white shirts and cut back on the final secondary members, blazing 66 yards for the Aggies' backbreaking TD.
Talk about leaving an impression. My goodness.
Ten years later, Kirk is right back "home" at NRG Stadium, finally with the good guys. He's hopefully going to add an element to this Texans offense that it's lacked.
Now, I don't know about the punt returns, but it's ALWAYS been about creating chunk plays on offense. The opportunity to get the ball in Kirk's hands to allow him to make something big happen after the catch is something I can imagine head ball coach DeMeco Ryans and new OC Nick Caley wanted for this offense more than anything. I went back to watch his targets in 2024 in Jacksonville, although truncated a bit due to his season-ending injury, to find where Kirk thrived and where the Texans could capitalize on his presence in this offense. Here were some of my faves.
2nd Quarter at Miami in Week 1
3rd-and-8
-46 yard line
Kirk lined up in the slot and it appeared the Dolphins were in a split safety coverage, probably a version of Cover 2. On the snap, Kirk saw how the safeties were split and realized it was probably a quarter, quarter, half coverage. He noticed the linebackers moving away from him, so he ran up the seam vertically, close to the playside safety to stay away from the quarters playing safety on the other side. That gave his QB an easy throw down the middle to a wide-open Kirk for 30 yards. Football IQ, coverage understanding and the right route tempo and pace to get into the void on time and wide open.
3rd Quarter at Buffalo in Week 3
2nd-and-6
-34 yard line
On this play, Kirk didn't start off in the slot, but as the #1 WR on the right side with a condensed split. It was time for one of my favorites - the deep over!! There are so many receivers that can't get across the field on time to get open for their QBs. Consequently, that's not Kirk, he's more than fast enough. He ran upfield beyond the LBs and bent his route slightly to avoid the over-the-top defenders. He looked back for the ball by the time he got to the middle of the field. His QB threw low near the numbers, but Kirk sprinted into the void and made the sliding catch for 18 yards a first down. No one will throw this deep over with more accuracy than Kirk's new QB C.J. Stroud.
1st Quarter at Houston in Week 4
2nd-and-4
-36 yard line
Sometimes it's the simplest stuff that becomes the most valuable. Kirk was aligned in the slot as the Texans played what looked like quarters. Nickel Jalen Pitre was responsible for the flat route and he covered it brilliantly. Kirk ran at Pitre to freeze him a bit and then sprinted to the flat. Pitre undercut the route to make it difficult for QB Trevor Lawrence to make a direct line throw. Lawrence then threw over Pitre's head and that meant Kirk had to make a diving catch for the first down. He made one heck of a catch for four yards. Yes, it was a tough 4-yard gain, but he ran an excellent shake route and then made one hell of a catch. First down. Move the chain. Who doesn't want a receiver that can be a first down machine?
3rd Quarter at Houston in Week 4
1st-and-10
-41 yard line
In my estimation, this was the one play that got me most excited about Kirk. Sure, it's great to hit singles and doubles, but when a "Slot" receiver can be a home run hitter, it's a serious problem for defenses. On this play, the Jaguars put Kirk in a tight slot to the left and took off like a shot up the field. As he did, he essentially forced man coverage with the Texans free safety. Because he ran such great over routes, Calen Bullock camped a little tighter to the coverage, anticipating Kirk to turn and burn to the sideline. But, Kirk deked his move to the sideline, turned Bullock the wrong way and all in one motion sprinted directly up the field. I remembered this play distinctly as I had a GREAT view and I saw Kirk the whole way from my spot on the sideline. I didn't have very nice words because I thought it was a game-changing TD. Thankfully (at the time), Lawrence overthrew him. That was an easy six points as the overthrow was brutal. However, Kirk's speed is seen all over that route and the ability to go deep from the slot is HUGE. The Texans essentially had no deep shots the second half of the season, but Kirk can help bring some of those back from his interior receiving position.
4th Quarter v. Indianapolis in Week 5
2nd-and-24
-16 yard line
Again, Kirk created a ton of big plays whether he was in the slot or not. On this one, he was in a near stack with Brian Thomas Jr. on the perimeter. The Colts were playing quarters to that side of the field so the Jaguars ran what I call a "Mills route". The inside receiver (BTJ) ran a dig route to catch the eyes of the safety and he did. The outside receiver was Kirk and he ran a post, away from the CB and over the top of the safety who broke on Thomas's route. Kirk ran past the CB by four yards and caught the deep post for 61 yards to keep Jacksonville in the lead.
Right after the Texans traded for Kirk, many proclaimed that he would be a good slot receiving option for this offense. The film says otherwise, well, it says more than that, honestly. It says he can make impactful plays all over the field, in all kinds of capacity. He will be welcome in this offense, no question.
As former Pro Bowl LB Bart Scott once famously proclaimed "CAN'T WAIT!!"
