‘Who’s going to step up?’ How Texans will adapt to losing Nico Collins ‘best receiver in the league’

HOUSTON – Nico Collins is a unique wide receiver, towering over opposing defensive backs with his superior size. His speed as a long strider eats up real estate as he regularly creates separation in the secondary. His polished routes, sound hands and ability to high-point the football by elevating over shorter competitors are all in the elite category.

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Now, one of the most dominant and productive downfield threats in the game is temporarily gone from a Texans passing game headlined by him and Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud as their connection will be interrupted for at least the next four games. Collins was officially placed on injured reserve with a right hamstring injury worse than the initial diagnosis of week to week as further testing revealed it will take three to four weeks of recovery, per a league source. Under that timetable, Collins will miss games against the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets with a potential return date of Nov. 10 against the Detroit Lions.

Without Collins, a 6-foot-4, 222-pound speedster who has run the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds, the Texans have their work cut out for them as they try to replace the NFL receiving yardage leader who has caught 32 passes for a league-high 567 yards and was on pace to pile up 109 catches for 1,928 yards and 10 touchdowns prior to injuring his right hamstring while catching a 67-yard touchdown pass in a win over the Buffalo Bills as his leg seized up during a long touchdown catch Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

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And the Texans will pivot and adapt now to Collins’ absence. That means leaning heavily on Stroud’s leadership and strong right arm as he divides his targets between wide receivers Stefon Diggs, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, Tank Dell, whose production has dipped this season, tight end Dalton Schultz and hoping for more from Xavier Hutchinson, John Metchie III or Robert Woods, who has a foot injury, as a potential fourth option.

“Unfortunate that we’ll not have Nico, great player, best receiver in the league,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’ll be back at some point this season. Opportunity for other guys to step up and make the most of their opportunity, that’s what the league is about. A lot of guys who have stepped in when other guys are out have made a name for themselves and made some big plays in the league, so we’re looking for the same thing for whoever it may be.

“Whatever we call, whatever plays we have designed for this particular week, it’s about us operating efficiently as an offense. It’s never about one player and Nico, of course, he made a lot of big plays for us and we’re going to miss his explosive plays that he made down the field. I keep saying this: Who’s next? Who’s going to step up? Who’s going to make those plays? We’ll see.”

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Life without Collins could be difficult. There is no receiver like him on the roster that has his rare combination of size and speed and other traits. Diggs is an accomplished pass-catcher who hasn’t been as much of a field-stretcher recent years or been asked to do that in his current role. He is ultra reliable, though. Diggs has caught 31 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns, setting a season pace of 105 receptions, 1,071 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s been more of a short to intermediate threat. Diggs averaged 11.1 yards per catch last season, his lowest since the 2018 season, but his role was reduced by Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady after a fast start. DIggs’ skill and production are unquestioned. He has 841 career receptions for 10,310 yards and 69 touchdowns and is regarded as a potential Hall of Fame candidate down the road. He is averaging 10.2 yards per reception this season and ran for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the first of his career.

The Texans rank first in the NFL in passing yards and sixth in total offense as Stroud has sharply completely 68.9 percent of his throws for 1,385 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions and is averaging 7.8 yards per attempt with a 98.2 passer rating. He’s the top quarterback in the NFL on third down and fourth down statistically. It’ll be on Stroud, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season after leading the Texans to an AFC South division title, to lead the offense and keep things rolling as best as he can.

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More will fall on Diggs’ shoulders, and Stroud without Collins, who signed a three-year, $75 million contract extension during the offseason before emerging as the most productive receiver in the game during the first five weeks of the season.

“With Nico out, everybody has to step up, even myself included, to pick up the slack where Nico isn’t playing,” Stroud said. “We definitely just have to hold each other accountable and just be better at that. (Diggs) is definitely going to be at the forefront of that.”

The bulk of the targets went to Collins for five games for the 4-1 Texans as he was thrown to 45 times, followed by 41 targets for Diggs, 22 for Schultz for 14 catches and 116 yards, and 21 for Dell for 13 catches for 137 yards and no scores and 16 to third-down back Dare Ogunbowale for 15 catches for 155 yards and one game-winning touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“We don’t lack depth at all,” Diggs said after Collins got hurt Sunday against Buffalo. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play at a high level. You just hate to see that, but, as a team, you’ve got to move forward. And there can’t be no drop-off. He’s a hell of a receiver now. It’s hard to match that talent he’s got, but, if we come in and do our job at a high level, I believe we can still be successful as an offense.”

Dell was off to a dynamic start to his NFL career as a rookie when the third-round draft pick from the University of Houston broke Owen Daniels’ rookie record for touchdowns with seven before breaking his fibula. He overcame that injury and a gunshot flesh wound in an off-season shooting as an innocent bystander at a party in Florida. Last season he caught 47 passes for 709 yards in 11 games, eight starts and on 75 targets.

Dell’s role figures to increase, but it’s going to be a collective assignment to replace Collins’ production, if that’s possible.

“I feel like we are up to par for the slack from Nico, everybody,” Dell said. “We’ve got dawgs in the receiver room. I feel like we’ll do well. We’ve just got to play football, man. Let No. 7 go through his progressions. I feel like Nico is a big factor in our offense. We all know that, but we still have other players who can go down and stretch the field, win deep routes and underneath and do some of the similar things that Nico does. i just feel like altogether, we just got to play football.”

Collins, who broke DeAndre Hopkins franchise single-season record established in 2018 for the most receiving yards through four games with a 489-yard milestone, is expected to return this season. During his absence, the Texans have a lot of work to do as they try to continue their winning ways.

“Losing Nico, everybody has to get going,” Ryans said. “And so, we need everybody. Everybody has to step up and own their role, so we’ll see who that’ll be for us Sunday. We don’t know right now, today, who’s going to make those plays. You never know and that’s what’s exciting about our game. Any given Sunday, different guys being playmakers, stepping up, making plays.”

Collins ranks third in the NFL in catches and is tied for sixth with three touchdown catches.

Collins caught two passes for 78 yards Sunday before getting hurt. Diggs led the Texans with six catches for 82 yards. Dell caught four passes for 38 yards. And Hutchinson caught two passes for 31 yards.

It’s a tall order for the receiving corps to replace him.

“Losing somebody like Nico is very tough,” Stroud said. “Everyone understands that we’re going to miss him. I think they can. Definitely just next man up mentality. You have to be able to win football games without him for a little bit.”

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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 click2houston.com.