Is A Leap In Store For Braxton Miller In Year Two?

Texans fans were giddy when the team selected Braxton Miller in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. While Miller had a lot to learn after spending most of his career at QB, his physical tools made the thought of him lining up in the slot awfully appealing to a fan base desperately looking for weapons in the passing game not named DeAndre Hopkins.

Alas, Miller didn’t produce much during a rookie season that ended prematurely due to injury. With the slot wide receiver position still wide open, the Texans’ position coach is bullish on Miller’s chances to make the most of his physical tools this year. Aaron Wilson has the story.

“He has the quickness and the speed that you’re looking for in there," Texans receivers coach John Perry said. "The thing that’s really intriguing is that he’s generally a larger guy than most slot receivers, but he does have that quickness and speed to go along with that. That’s something that’s really valuable and gives him options to play on the outside and do those things, too. He’s fighting to try to get on the field in a lot of different ways.”

Perry went on to note that things will likely get easier for Miller once he learns to recognize what defenses are putting out there.

“I was talking to Braxton the other day and the thing that really helped C.J. Fiedorowicz last year was recognition of coverages," Perry said. "That’s what I’ve been really trying to spend a lot of time with Braxton on. It’s much different when you’re under center recognizing coverages as opposed to being out wide and recognizing coverages. When he knows who he has to beat, he’s very good, but he has to keep working on that coverage aspect of it. You’ll see a lot more improvement there.”

Do you believe we’ll see a quantum leap from Braxton Miller in his second year in the NFL? Or will we be asking the same question of him before the 2018 season?