At the relatively tender age of 26, former Londonderry High School football standout Ryan Griffin finds himself stepping into his fourth National Football League season with the Houston Texans and standing tall as the oldest and most experienced tight end on the Texans’ 2016 roster.
The University of Connecticut graduate – who was drafted by the Texans in the sixth round of the 2013 college draft – was held to just nine games during the 2015 campaign last year by injuries. But he still managed career-high tallies in receptions with 20 and receiving yards with 251. Griffin notched an average of 12.5 yards per catch and scored a pair of touchdowns as well, with his longest pass reception covering some 37 yards.
The LHS grad was in the national spotlight – with a big crew of family members and friends in the crowd – during a nationally-telecast game between the Texans and the New England Patriots during that campaign, that Griffin and his teammates finished by winning the American Football Conference South Division with a 9-7 record before being thumped by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC wildcard round.
This summer in training camp, the 6-foot-6-inch, 254-pound gridder is the top-ranked receiver among a Texans’ tight end corps that includes two-year veteran and blocking tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, one-year veteran Anthony Denham, and rookie free-agent Stephen Anderson.
Griffin is rebounding from an Achilles tendon injury, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the former Lancer athlete become a favorite target of quarterback Brock Osweiler, the Texans’ huge off-season signing from the champion Denver Broncos.
The former U-Conn Huskies’ star played in all 16 games for the Texans during their 2014 campaign, making two starts and tallying 10 catches for 91 yards with a long grab of 25 yards. He reached the end zone once.
And Griffin began to establish a reputation as a NFL player during the 2013 season by appearing in 15 games for the Texans with eight starts. The big tight end collected 19 catches for 244 yards, a per-catch average of 12.8 yards, and his first pro touchdown. The local’s longest pass reception during that fine rookie season covered 40 yards.
Also of local note is the fact that Griffin spent part of his youth living in the house that now serves as the home office of the Londonderry Times.
Griffin and the Texans get their 2016 regular season started on Sept. 11 at home against the Chicago Bears, and the Londonderry High grad will find himself back in New England on the 22nd when the Houston squad will be in Foxboro, Mass. to play the Tom Brady-less New England Patriots.