The Houston Texans misplaced large receiver Nico Collins to a hamstring damage of their 23-20 Week 5 over the Buffalo Payments.
The Texans initially hoped Collins’ absence could be short-term, probably only a matter of days. Nevertheless, three days after the damage, Houston reportedly positioned Collins on IR. That may create a gap within the Texans’ receiver room that will not be straightforward to fill.
Collins is main the NFL in receiving yards by 5 weeks with 567. He established himself as C.J. Stroud’s favourite goal and generated three video games with 100-plus receiving yards in his first 5 of the season.
The silver lining for Texans followers? Houston has one of the proficient receiver rooms within the NFL. Here is a have a look at the Texans’ depth chart and the way Houston will substitute Collins’ manufacturing.
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Texans WR depth chart
The Texans have six wide-outs on their energetic roster after Collins’ placement on IR. Beneath is a have a look at the six and the place they determine to slot in the staff’s new pecking order at receiver:
- Stefon Diggs
- Tank Dell
- Xavier Hutchinson
- Robert Woods
- John Metchie III
- Steven Sims
The Texans even have Johnny Johnson III, a three-year NFL veteran who performed collegiately at Oregon, on their follow squad.
However what roles will every receiver play? Here is a breakdown of what to anticipate from Houston’s large receiver room.
Stefon Diggs
Diggs figures to be the first beneficiary from Collins’ absence. The ten-year veteran developed an instantaneous chemistry with Stroud and noticed 41 targets over the primary 5 video games, simply 4 fewer than Collins. Diggs is not as a lot of a downfield playmaker as his counterpart, however the former Payments receiver’s 31 catches, 315 yards, and two touchdowns all rank second on the staff.
Diggs will now transition into the No. 1 receiver position he has performed for many of his profession whereas nonetheless manning the slot in most three-wide units. He already noticed probably the most offensive snaps amongst Texans receivers (82.3 p.c), so his alternatives ought to solely proceed to rise as he absorbs a few of Collins’ targets.
Tank Dell
Dell was a revelation as a second-round rookie in 2023. He rapidly developed into one in every of Stroud’s favourite targets and generated 709 yards and 7 touchdowns on 47 catches earlier than struggling a season-ending leg damage.
Dell hasn’t been fairly as explosive in 2024 and missed a recreation as a result of a rib damage. He’s averaging simply 10.5 yards per catch (in comparison with 15.1 as a rookie) and ranks fourth in receiving yards behind Collins, Diggs, and working again Dare Ogunbowale.
Nonetheless, Dell figures to see an uptick in alternatives after enjoying simply 52.4 p.c of the Texans’ offensive snaps to start the season. That ought to enable the diminutive speedster extra alternatives to generate dynamic downfield passing performs, as he usually did final season.
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Xavier Hutchinson
Hutchinson seems to be forward of Woods on Houston’s depth chart. The 2023 sixth-round decide performed a season-high 48 offensive snaps (71 p.c) towards the Payments after Collins went down along with his damage, whereas Woods performed simply 16 (24 p.c).
Hutchinson (6’3”, 210 kilos) is analogous in stature to the 6′ 222-pound Collins, so which will have influenced Ryans and Bobby Slowik to decide on the younger playmaker over Woods. The Texans might also view Hutchinson as the higher exterior receiver, the position Collins primarily operates in versus the slot.
Robert Woods
Whereas Hutchinson changed Collins towards the Payments, Woods was the subsequent man up at receiver in Week 4, when Dell was out of motion as a result of a rib damage. Woods performed 54 snaps in that contest, 32 out large and 22 within the slot, per Professional Soccer Focus.
Woods’ inside/exterior versatility makes him a pleasant match as a No. 4 receiver, as he can play any position if known as upon. It does not make him as nice of a pure alternative for Collins, who performed simply 34 slot snaps over the primary 5 weeks of the season. That is a part of the rationale Hutchinson appears more likely to get the nod over him, barring adjustments to Ryans and Slowik’s philosophy.
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John Metchie III
Metchie was the Texans’ second-round decide in 2022, however he hasn’t performed a lot for them. He missed his rookie season after battling leukemia and performed simply 27.3 p.c of the staff’s offensive snaps final season. He has performed simply 12 offensive snaps in 2024, logging one catch for seven yards, so it is unlikely he’ll do a lot with Collins out.
Steven Sims
Sims’ position on offense is even smaller than Metchie’s. He has performed two snaps in 4 video games and has one carry for zero yards. Sims could also be energetic on recreation days as a result of the Texans use him as a return man, however do not count on him to shoulder any of the workload Collins usually would.