Akins made a number of catches at Thursday's practice, John Harris of the Texans' official website reports.
Akins is on track to work as Houston's top pass-catching tight end, with an opportunity to handle more snaps (and possibly targets) after Darren Fells left for Detroit in the offseason. The Texans did draft Brevin Jordan in the fifth round and still have 258-pound blocker Pharaoh Brown and 2019 third-round pick Kahale Warring, but Akins is the only tight end on the roster with more than 19 NFL receptions. Given the poor state of the team's WR group, Akins could see a handful of targets per game -- possibly even more if he can improve his blocking and earn a three-down role.