‘We could be dangerous,’ Texans’ Nico Collins upbeat about new-look receiving corps, sets Super Bowl goal

THE WOODLANDS – When the Texans’ offense breaks the huddle next Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, they’ll roll out a new-look receiving corps.

Of course, the group is headlined by Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins. At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds with 4.4 speed to match his superior size, Collins has mastered the NFL route tree and represents the prototype at his position.

He’s joined by a potentially formidable position grouping, a new-look receiving corps that includes veteran slot Christian Kirk and rookie draft picks Jayden Higgins, nearly as big as Collins, and Jaylin Noel to go with an improved Xavier Hutchinson.

“I feel like we could be dangerous, man,” Collins told KPRC 2 during a $400 per kid shopping spree he hosted at Dick’s Sporting Goods in The Woodlands. “I feel we all just go out there and be us. That’s the main important thing, is go out and be you. Don’t make the moment bigger than what it is and go out just have fun. Make plays for the team and that’s what we’re doing for sure.”

A two-time defending AFC South champion, the Texans are regarded as a strong playoff contender again. They return several key players, including quarterback C.J. Stroud, defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

The Texans are 0-6 all-time as a franchise in the AFC divisional round. The obvious goal: advancing further in the postseason, making a serious playoff run with the goal the same as every team, to reach and win a Super Bowl.

“I feel like we just got to go out and be us,” Collins said. “You know the goals: get to the Super Bowl. That’s everybody’s goal, but I feel like for us, man, we got to take it one game at a time, one step at a time, and go out, and just have fun and be us, and you know go out play for each other, that was the most important part.

“Man, just winning, competing out there with my brothers, man, and enjoying the game we’ve been playing since young, man. Just really going out and having fun. It’s going to be a great year, man. I feel like the energy in the building is great, everybody’s locked in and excited and ready to go out there and have fun."

The Texans open the season at Sofi Stadium against a challenging opponent led by quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams and defensive linemen Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.

The Texans will lean on their talent, the schemes of coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke, offensive coordinator Nick Caley, coaching against his old team, and special teams coordinator Frank Ross.

“I’m really excited,” Collins said. “The hard part is over. The grind, we had a great camp. Definitely ready for the season. You know it’s going to be a great, great game against the Rams. Ready to get the ball rolling, for sure.”

Could this be a special season? Collins believes, yes, it can be.

“For sure,” he said. “I feel like everybody’s bought in, man, just the energy around the building, you can feel it, and everybody’s excited, man. I feel that’s the main thing. Everybody’s excited. Get the season going, and we just can’t wait.”

Hosting the shopping spree, Collins took a lot of time to help the kids from In-Cause Inc., a nonprofit organization, pick out football gear and other items.

“It’s phenomenal,” he said. “My goal is always to give back to the kids. To see them happy, walking around, and fit whatever they like, it’s a blessing. It’s good to see the enjoyment in their faces to have them happy. I love doing it, I love giving back to them. It feels phenomenal. That’s my reason, that’s my why. My mission is to give back to them.

“Big shoutout to Dick’s, man, I really appreciate them for having me and giving me the opportunity to give back to the kids. It’s bringing back a lot of memories, because, growing up playing sports, just you’re looking everywhere. You want everything. So to have this opportunity to give back to kids, it means a lot."

The connection between Collins and Stroud is on point with excellent chemistry.

From a knowledge, body language and strategy standpoint, what’s understood between the Texans’ Pro Bowl quarterback and Pro Bowl wide receiver doesn’t need to be explained.

“It’s like taking candy from a baby,” Collins told KPRC 2 following a joint practice with the Detroit Lions. “It’s bread and butter. It’s only right for us to continue to grow, continue to find the timing and continue to work on our craft.

“You can’t get comfortable. I feel like that’s one thing you can’t do in this league is get comfortable. I feel like for us, me and him, continue to grow as a unit as an offense and continue to click. Everybody, that’s our goal.”

The way they’ve clicked over two seasons has been prolific and clutch, piling up numbers. In 27 regular-season games over the past two seasons since the Texans drafted Stroud, Collins’ career has hit a new stride with a combined 148 catches for 2,303 yards and 15 touchdowns.

In the postseason, it’s been just as good with a combined 23 catches for 367 yards and two touchdowns in four playoff games together. In those playoff games, Stroud made it a special point to look downfield to his go-to guy. He targeted Collins 33 times.

“He’s always on the priority of getting the ball in his hands,” said Stroud, a former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Heisman Trophy finalist from Ohio State. “He’s special with it, but it’s good to try to get it to other guys. I thought he did a good job today, just like everybody else. But it’s always a focus. They always try to take him away, usually. So, you got to find ways to be good in other ways.”

A native of Birmingham, Ala., Collins was the second player drafted by Nick Caserio after he was hired as the Texans’ general manager. After selecting Stanford quarterback Davis Mills in the third round, Caserio traded up to select Collins with the 89th overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft.

It proved to be a wise decision.

The arrival of Stroud started the tandem with Collins, a former University of Michigan standout.

A Buckeye and a Wolverine have become fast friends as teammates after being Big Ten Conference rivals.

Stroud is more outgoing and talkative. Collins is relatively quiet as the quintessential Southern gentleman type of personality.

“We have a really good relationship,” Stroud said. “He is very to himself, very quiet. But he talks to me about a lot. I talk to him about a lot. I think we’re really on the same page all the time. There’s only a couple times throughout the day where we probably don’t be on the same page.”

With the Texans after dealing with various durability issues in his first two seasons due to shoulder and foot issues, Collins had a breakthrough season in his first year playing with Stroud. He caught a career-high 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns for an AFC South championship squad. Last season, he made the Pro Bowl despite missing five games with a strained hamstring. Collins still caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and seven scores.

“Where Nico has grown the most, to me, in these first three years is just the confidence,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Every time I see Nico I say, ‘What’s up playmaker? You are a big-time playmaker, walk that way.’ He’s done that. He shows up that way on the field.

“Anytime we need a play, we know it and I think the opponent knows it, that’s where the ball is going. With everybody knowing, he still shows up and makes big-time plays in any critical moment that you need him to. That’s one thing I’ve seen is just that confidence is exactly where it needs to be for Nico.”

The Texans lost in the AFC divisional round to the Kansas City Chiefs last season and the Baltimore Ravens two years ago. The Texans are 0-6 all-time in the divisional round and are the only team in the AFC to never reach the championship game.

A full season together for Collins with Stroud could be a huge boost to their outlook as a contender.

“Man, I feel like we can shock the world,” Collins said. “Everybody, you know, not just me and No. 7 (Stroud jersey number), but this entire team, entire offense, defense, man, type of guys we have in the locker room. I feel that we can go out and make some noise, but as always, start with your mind, say it in your heart and how you want to go about it."

Between Collins’ speed and towering presence as the headliner of a new-look receiving corps, the Texans’ offense could be extremely potent.

The Texans are aiming high, as is Collins.

This could be an extremely competitive team this fall. To take the next step as a team, the Texans need to start fast and finish strong. Health is of paramount importance.

Collins is upbeat about it all. He’s highly encouraged about the team outlook from a big-picture perspective.

“I just feel like the guys we have in the locker room, the guys we have, everybody’s special,” Collins said. “Everybody has got the right mindset to come out and get better every day. And so we got to take one game at a time, one play at a time, man and see where we go, continue to grow every day.”

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