Last May, tight end Stephen Anderson was just trying to make the team. Not only did he sign with the Texans as an undrafted free agent, the tight end out of California was a standout in rookie minicamp and OTAs.
Now entering his second season with the Texans, Anderson's focus has shifted drastically.
"It's like night and day," Anderson said on Texans Radio. "When you're coming in as a rookie, it's a continued, long year and a half as you go from college to training to Pro Days and Combine (and) the workouts. It's just continuous. Now I've had the offseason and I've had a lot of time to relax and hang out and really do nothing and just kind of get right mentally. Coming in, I'm much more relaxed and ready to go."
The San Jose native, who went on to see action in 13 regular season games and both postseason contests during his rookie campaign, admits the rookie wall was real. Now that his first season is complete, Anderson took some time off and returned for the start of OTAs this week, hoping to build on what he's learned from his first year in the NFL.
"It was a long year," Anderson said. "In college, the most games I played was 13. Last year, including everything was 22. It's a whole bunch, it's a whole lot. So my main focus was getting my rest and just going through the tape and seeing what I can improve. Just understanding the playbook and what they want me to do as kind of a hybrid tight end."
Anderson finished the 2016 season with 11 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. As a group, the trio of Ryan Griffin, C.J. Fiedorowicz and Anderson posted the most receptions (115), and receiving yards (1,094) in a single season in franchise history, while adding seven touchdowns last year.
The Texans have seven OTA practices remaining at the Houston Methodist Training Center: May 30-31, June 1, June 5-6, and June 8-9.
Check out some of the best shots from the first week of Texans OTAs.
