Before Week 6 of the NFL gets underway, there has been one particularly breaking news bit out of the AFC South—the Houston Texans’ star wide receiver, Nico Collins, also the NFL’s current receiving yards leader, has been placed on injured reserve due to a presumably torn hamstring, putting him out for the next four games at minimum.
This is not only a devastating blow to the Texans themselves, as the 25-year-old third-year Collins is the leading receiver on the depth chart, but also to the countless fantasy football players with him on their team. Finding a suitable replacement for Collins until at least Week 10 of the season presents a daunting task. For the team itself, it does at least mean more playing time for the likes of Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, the former of which has typically played alongside him in the Texans’ pass attack. It’s just the latest major injury to strike one of the NFL’s best players; in this case, the league’s current leader in receiving yards.
Collins initially seemed to have a minor injury, sitting out only the second half of the Texans’ 23-20 win over Buffalo. He was diagnosed as week to week, but the extent of his injury became clearer later. The Texans’ leading wide receiver will now watch Diggs and Dell take on his workload, with Diggs likely stepping up as Houston’s top WR2. Collins may return as early as Week 10 against the Detroit Lions on November 10 for Sunday Night Football.
Initially, it didn’t appear Collins’s injury was that significant, as he only sat out the second half of the Texans’ 23-20 win over Buffalo this past Sunday. The initial diagnosis tapped him as being “week to week,” but that was most likely well before the team knew the full extent of his injury. Now, the Texans’ premier wideout must sit back and watch his fellow receivers, Diggs and Dell, carry what was before his workload. Diggs is most likely to step up, seeing as he is Houston’s top WR2, much like how Collins is the top WR1.
The earliest possible return date for the Texans’ leading WR would be in Week 10, when Houston faces the NFC juggernaut Detroit Lions on Sunday, November 10, at 8:20 pm for that week’s Sunday Night Football.
Collins’ 2024 stats are just one reason why many fantasy football managers, including yours truly, have them as one of two starting wideouts in their leagues. He has totaled 32 catches across 45 targets from Texans second-year QB CJ Stroud, making up the second half of an Ohio State-Michigan connection, while logging 567 total receiving yards for three touchdowns this season, one of which came this past Sunday in the Buffalo win that saw Collins haul in a 67-yard airstrike from Stroud.
CJ TO NICO 67 YARDS!
📺: #BUFvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/0wfq5acJXl— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
On normal receptions, Collins also has an average of nearly 18 yards per catch, making him a contender for this season’s Pro Bowl later this season as long as he can stay healthy after his eventual return in the coming weeks. For now, it’s up to Diggs, Dell, and a couple of other lesser-known players to help keep Houston’s pass attack in top shape as the team looks to maintain its 4-1 record, with their next contest a visit to struggling New England as part of the early Sunday afternoon slate.
Xavier Hutchinson, Robert Woods, John Metchie III, and Steven Sims are the other players who have worked with Stroud this season, though Tank Dell is the most logical choice to work alongside Diggs since Diggs was essentially Collins’ pass-catching partner before going down. How well the former Buffalo star wideout does in a larger role than he may be used to will depend on Stroud’s communication with the entire offense, which includes their strong running game with the likes of former Cincinnati Bengals back Joe Mixon and even Dare Ogunbowale.
And one last thing- Collins is important to yours truly in a way. He’s an integral part of McDuffiebag, the fantasy team named for Chiefs star defensive back Trent McDuffie, and has been a critical component for both seasons he’s played for them. Losing a player like this is a massive hit for a team looking to get back on the right track after a 0-4 start. The owner here could make a trade for Tank Dell or Stefon Diggs, but it’d be a pretty tight deal to make. There is no way they would even fathom dropping Collins since a rival team could steal him when he returns from injury.
See also: Nico Collins’ Injury isn’t the Only Texans Team Drama