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New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: WR Dennis Houston

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New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: WR Dennis Houston

The New York Giants roster has undergone drastic changes this offseason in almost every position group. One of the new faces coming into the receiver room is Dennis Houston, a 2022 undrafted free agent out of Western Illinois.

Houston spent the first year of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, mostly on the practice squad but being brought up for two games during his rookie season in 2022. 

He played a total of 73 snaps combined on offense and special teams before being sent to the practice squad again, where he stayed for the remainder of the season.

In a sample size that small, it’s impossible to actually know what someone brings to the table. Instead, a better measure would be to look at what Houston did throughout his college career at both Houston Baptist and Western Illinois.

Through his five years in college (one redshirt year), Houston put up a total of 2,112 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns on 176 catches with another 151 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 20 carries. 

Houston did most of his damage lining up on the outside and was capable of winning on all three levels as a receiver – while being sporadically used as a jet sweep man, whether he was handed the ball or “passed” the ball on pop passes.

Height: 6-1
Weight: 198
EXP: 2 Years
School: Western Illinois
How Acquired: FA-23

Houston made it through the preseason and into the final round of cuts with the Dallas Cowboys during the 2023 season but was waived on August 29.

Two days later, he would be claimed by the Giants and he would stay there for the entirety of the season.

Houston is playing the 2024 season on a minimum one-year contract worth $795,000 with no guaranteed money. 

If Houston makes the roster and through the 2024 season, he will become an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) after the year, meaning if the Giants decided to tender him, they would retain his rights. If not, he would become an unrestricted free agent. 

The Giants’ receiver room consists of four players that I consider virtual locks: 2024 first-round pick Malik Nabers, 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt, 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson, and veteran Darius Slayton. 

Behind those four, there’s an island of misfit toys made up of players on the tail-end of their careers trying to stick around like Allen Robinson II and Isaiah McKenzie and a player that’s shown potential as a pro in Isaiah Hodgins. There are also bottom-of-the-roster receivers trying to latch on to a roster and eventually carve out a role.

Houston fits in that last tier of players who are still trying to prove that they belong in the NFL. There’s something contradictory about Houston’s career so far. 

His usage in college suggests that he’s a versatile player who can be used as a runner/receiver-type but his testing says he’s likely going to struggle to create consistent separation but should be able to make an earning as a contested catch receiver.

I think that’s one reason Houston has been unable to stay with a team to this point in his NFL career. 

It’s not that a player can’t test differently than their usage, but he was used in a way that he likely wouldn’t be able to replicate at the next level. It’s also not to say that he can’t work out.

Personally, I don’t think Houston will make the roster in 2024, but I wouldn’t rule out bringing him onto the practice squad and giving him another year to develop. 

I would expect at least one of the veteran free agent signings in Robinson II or McKenzie to make the roster, Hodgins will likely be retained for the final year of his contract given what he did in 2022 when Daniel Jones was healthy, and if McKenzie isn’t the veteran kept then an additional special teams contributor probably will be kept.

The team won’t be able to keep upwards of seven receivers on the roster week in and week out.

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