When the Houston Texans handed the keys to their offense to big money free agent-signee Brock Osweiler during the off-season between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, they hoped that the big quarterback would be able to create some pyrotechnics with his impressive passing abilities.
And with the help of prolific wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a sticky-fingered trio of tight ends – including former Londonderry High School football standout Ryan Griffin – Osweiler has gotten plenty done with the passing game through the National Football League squad’s first 10 games of 2016.
Griffin, who starred at the University of Connecticut after graduating from LHS, is presently having a career season for the Texas team where production is concerned. The 6’6″, 265-pound tight end had 30 receptions for 253 yards and one touchdown through the 6-4 Texans’ first 10 contests, and those personal numbers easily surpassed Griffin’s season high numbers in his first three pro campaigns with plenty of contests and reception opportunities still remaining.
Between Griffin’s 30 catches, 35 from C.J. Fiedorowicz, and nine from Stephen Anderson, the three Texans’ tight ends have a pretty stunning 74 receptions for more than 700 yards and five scores.
Twenty-six-year-old Griffin was a sixth-round draft choice of the Texans out of U-Conn in 2013.
His previous offensive highs of 20 catches, 251 yards, and two touchdowns came during the 2015 season, which due to injuries consisted of just nine games for Griffin.
In tallying his new offensive highs of 30 grabs and 253 yards this year, Griffin enjoyed his top individual performance on national television during week three in Foxboro, Mass. in front of friends and family in a losing effort against the host New England Patriots.
The big tight end had no less than eight catches for 52 yards in that contest, and he had at least one grab in each of the Texans’ first 10 contests of 2016.
Griffin had three catches in consecutive contests against the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Oakland Raiders in Houstons’ eighth, ninth, and 10th games of the campaign, and he scored his first touchdown of the season in the Jacksonville game.