DeMeco Ryans seeing confidence, swagger in Tank Dell after return

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. It was his first touchdown in nearly two years and he reached over 20 miles per hour on the play. "Everything about what Tank is doing right now has impressed me," Texans 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." During Houston’s win over the Chargers, Dell led the Texans in targets with nine and was tied for the most receptions with four. It was also just his fifth 100-yard game in his NFL career and his first since October of 2024. "A lot of guys do come back and it looks a little different. I told Tank yesterday, I think it was the first pass, he caught it and he got hit a couple of times, took a hard hit and he got up. I was like, all right, now this is a welcome back moment to football because that's the hurdle for me. Every time you get hit, you get up, dust yourself off, like, ‘Okay, everything's still intact. Okay, now let's go.’ I was happy he finally got that moment," Ryans said. "But what he's doing is beyond impressive. 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 Texans will continue to rely on Dell throughout the rest of this season, especially with Jaylin Noel out for the rest of the season, which opened the door for Dell to take over as their punt returner. He is still looking to improve in that regard after returning two punts for one yard against Los Angeles. The Texans are looking to keep the good times rolling this weekend against the Cleveland Browns on FOX. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon.