DeMeco Ryans Sees the Old Tank Dell: 'He Was Never Short on His Swagger' - and Dell Now Takes Over Punt Returns
The touchdown was Sunday's story. Monday's was the head coach saying the receiver who took a hard hit and got up is 'just getting started' - with a new job returning punts.
Nico Collins may have had an amazing catch during the Houston Texans' 44-22 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but Tank Dell's touchdown was the best play of the game, Texans Wire reported - his first touchdown in nearly two years, on a play where he reached over 20 miles per hour. The score itself was filed by this desk on Monday; what is new is the head coach's verdict a day later.
'Everything about what Tank is doing right now has impressed me,' head coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday. 'The confidence that he's been building on the side, even though he's working himself back, he was never short on his swagger, his confidence. As soon as he stepped out on the field, it feels like he's the exact same player.' Ryans described the moment that mattered to him: Dell caught a pass, took a hard hit, and got up - 'now this is a welcome back moment to football.'
The workload backs the words. Dell led the Texans in targets with nine and tied for the team lead with four receptions against Los Angeles, in just his fifth 100-yard game and his first since October of 2024. 'What he's doing is beyond impressive,' Ryans said. 'To battle back how he's battled back and now to make the plays that he's been able to make this week, he's just getting started. It's exciting for the Texans.'
The role grows from here. With Jaylin Noel out for the rest of the season, Dell takes over as the Texans' punt returner - he returned two punts for one yard against Los Angeles and is still looking to improve there. Houston's next game is this weekend against the Cleveland Browns on FOX, with kickoff scheduled for noon.
