Kenyon Green made his NFL debut Thursday night and finished with a solid performance in the Houston Texans 17-0 preseason win over the San Francisco 49ers.
"I thought he did some good things," Head Coach Lovie Smith said Friday. "He's missed a little bit of time but there's some flash plays that he had. Kenyon Green is a good football player. Again, the injuries kind of knocked him back a little bit but when he's been out there practicing, we're seeing these types of plays that you're talking about. For you to bring him up, everybody's kind of noticed some of the blocks that he made. He's right on schedule, progressing the way we would like him to."
Drafted with the No. 15 overall pick, Green showed off some impressive blocks in his first NFL action. In the third quarter, he successfully blocked his way to the second level allowing a long 24-yard run by Marlon Mack.
Green, who did not play in the first two preseason games, played about 35 snaps with the second-team offense against the 49ers. Despite missing valuable reps in Training Camp, Green felt like he made good progress with the help of veterans in the position room.
"I felt like I did pretty good," Green said. "Just trying to take it day-by-day and get better and I felt like I did that, especially having Tytus (Howard) and JB (Justin Britt) and Laremy (Tunsil) helping me out in everything so I feel like I'm doing pretty good with that."
Green and the Texans offensive line paved the way for 156 yards on 36 carries (4.6 avg.), producing nine first downs. Now with some live game action under his belt, Green hopes to build on his performance once the regular season starts on Sept. 11.
"Anytime I get to practice or play against great opponents like that, I'm getting better so I'm taking everything day-by-day, step-by-step, just making sure that I'm ready for my team anytime that they need me," Green said.
The Texans open their 2022 regular season at home against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS and SportsRadio 610. Browse tickets.
