Healthy Return Could Mean Nico Collins Reaches Top-5 WR Season In Fantasy Football 2026
Fantasy

Healthy Return Could Mean Nico Collins Reaches Top-5 WR Season In Fantasy Football 2026

Ian Hartitz projects a big season for Houston Texans WR Nico Collins in a preview of the team's pass catchers for fantasy football.

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What's not to like about Nico Collins? He's coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards and is very much still in his prime. That just oozes fantasy football goodness. There is a bit of an injury concern, as he's missed nine games the past three seasons. But if he puts it together, watch out. We could be talking top-5 fantasy season. Ian Hartitz breaks down the pass catchers in his Houston Texans Team Preview.

Does Nico Collins have overall WR1 upside?

The case for that answer being yes:

  • Still just 27 years young, Collins is in the middle of his prime and ranks second only to Puka Nacua in yards per route run over the past three seasons.
  • This isn't exactly the most crowded passing game in the world. Fantasy Life Projections accordingly have Collins earning 128 targets (12th most among wide receivers) and that feels low to me considering he had 120 in just 15 games last season.
  • The Texans have MILLIONS of reasons to feature Collins more than ever considering he's one of just 11 wide receivers making at least $30 million annually.
  • C.J. Stroud might not be confused with Joe Burrow by the end of the season, but as we stated earlier: He was already a top-20 or better QB in EPA per dropback, success rate, and completion percentage over expected in 2025. Even a modest improvement could have Nico dealing with most people's idea of an above-average signal-caller.

If betting on 6-foot-4, 215-pound gazelles looking at a monstrous workload in a potentially ascending passing game is wrong, I don't want to be right. Collins is my WR7 (highest of the Fantasy Life rankers) and someone I'm willing to take ahead of guys like Drake London and A.J. Brown.

As for the rest of this squad …

Jayden Higgins: Bears a lot of similarities to Collins both in terms of size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and how they win. While Higgins didn't exactly explode in Year 1 (41-525-6), there was still quite a bit to like when it came to his route-running and contested-catch ability. He's fully deserving of WR2 treatment on this squad and is the sort of ascending Year 2 talent that drafters should be targeting after the top-50-ish receivers are off the board.

Tank Dell: His catastrophic season-ending 2024 injury featured a dislocated kneecap, tears to the ACL, MCL and LCL, as well as damage to his meniscus. Pain. Here's to hoping Dell is close to full health by the time Week 1 comes along because the man was a LOT of fun as a rookie on his way to working as the WR15 in PPR points per game. Everyone should be rooting for Dell to make a full recovery, although the newfound Iowa State competition could make an immediate big-time role tough to come by.

Jaylin Noel: Saw only 35 targets in Year 1, but the "other" former Cyclone did manage flash here and there while showing off some of the field-stretching ability that helped make him a Day 2 pick in the first place. Similar to Dell, there's a lot to like about the talent, but it wouldn't be surprising if the smaller speedsters are the odd men out in multi-TE personnel and also form some level of rotation.

Is Dalton Schultz a quality late-round TE dart?

The soon-to-be 30-year-old veteran has put up, good, not great, fantasy numbers in three years with the Texans.

Dalton Schultz PPR points per game:

  • 2023: 10 (TE11)
  • 2024: 7 (TE28)
  • 2025: 10.5 (TE15)

There's an argument that Schultz's TE23 (pick 170) ADP makes him a great late-round candidate as someone priced closer to their floor than ceiling. Then again, the team's decision to sign Foster Moreau and use a second-round pick on Marlin Klein adds at least some possibility that Schultz has less of a full-time role in 2026. We could also see youngster Cade Stover and a hopefully healthier Brevin Jordan contend for more snaps as well.

Ultimately, Schultz's best-case scenario feels a lot like 2023: A borderline TE1 who is a fine enough streamer fill-in, but hardly someone you can depend on to help swing a week. Typically in the late-round streets I want higher upside—these types will always be on the waiver wire for us—so accordingly, I prefer guys like Dalton Kincaid, Isaiah Likely and Chig Okonkwo a bit earlier. If we're REALLY getting gross, give me Terrance Ferguson and Greg Dulcich.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Nico Collins
    NicoCollins
    WRHOUHOU
    PPG
    12.0
    Proj
    211.2
  2. JaydenHiggins
    WRHOUHOU
    PPG
    6.5
    Proj
    115.4
  3. Tank Dell
    TankDellQ
    WRHOUHOU
    Proj
    96.8
  4. Dalton Schultz
    DaltonSchultz
    TEHOUHOU
    PPG
    7.5
    Proj
    102.3

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