Texans rookie TE Marlin Klein lives up to hype in debut vs. Chargers

Marlin Klein has been a fan favorite at practice for the Houston Texans during the early stages of training camp.

It’ didn’t take long for him to build up his fan club with pads on and another team on the opposing sideline.

Klein, the Texans’ second-round pick, flashed his potential as a weapon in the passing attack during the Texans‘ opening drive against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night at Reliant Stadium.

On second down, he hauled in a 31-yard pass on a seam route, setting up Houston in Los Angeles territory. And with so few offensive plays worthy of dicussing following a 27-7 loss, expect this to be one of the highlights fans hold onto enteriing the weekend.

“We expect that and he has more as well,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of Klein’s play. “I think this is just the start for Marlin Klein as he continues to grow and learn how we’re doing things. He’s a really good athlete and he’s strong and physical at the line of scrimmage. That’s what we saw from the Michigan tape and that’s what he’s been showing all training camp.”

DeMeco Ryans on Marlin Klein:

“Thought he really shined today. Everybody saw the pass that he caught. It’s where I see him where he can excel for our offense, just open the offense up for us. His catch radius is just— it’s tough to guard him. He defintley has the speed as well… pic.twitter.com/qMGDZvAAwt

— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) August 14, 2026

Ever since the start of the offseason, fans have wondered what Klein’s role would be in the offense. Here’s a 6-foot-6 German-born tight end from Michigan who was limited in a starting role during his time in Ann Arbor, drafted inside the top 60 and expected to contribute from the jump.

While he’s still growing into the offense, fans saw the upside of Klein: A hyper-athlete who can create mismatches in coverate against defensive backs because of his size.

According to the snap sheet, Klein only saw action on 11 plays, but he made the most of them as both a blocker and route-runner. Davis Mills tried to find the Wolverine product on fourth down, but a pass interference called negated a catch, though it did keep the drive alive for Jared Wayne to score on a 7-yard strike three plays later.

OKAY MARLIN‼️

📺: @abc13houstonpic.twitter.com/tJ7JZBbIZt

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 14, 2026

“He really shined today,” Ryans said. “Everybody saw the pass he caught; that’s where I see he can excel for our offense and just open the offense up for us. With his catch radius, it’s tough to guard him. He definitely has the speed as well to run away from guys, so he stood out to me.”

The Texans return to practice on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans rookie TE Marlin Klein lives up to hype in debut vs. Chargers