Not much went right for the Houston Texans in 2022, and that included their passing offense. With quarterback Davis Mills stumbling through an unremarkable sophomore campaign, the Texans finished 31st in total offense and 25th in passing with 196.7 yards per game through the air. It should come as no surprise that their leading receiver finished with 699 yards, which ranked 53rd in the NFL.
While that certainly wasn’t impressive, it’s worth noting the wideout who accumulated those 699 yards was Brandin Cooks, who was traded to the Dallas Cowboys during the offseason, removing the one proven upper-tier target on the club. To help soften the blow, Houston signed a pair of veterans in receivers Robert Woods and Noah Brown. It then spent a couple of draft picks on WRs Nathaniel Dell and Xavier Hutchinson. They’ll also be counting on the return of WR John Metchie III, who missed his entire rookie season after being diagnosed with leukemia.
Of course, the biggest addition might be that of QB C.J. Stroud, who was selected second overall. The Ohio State product is considered a polished commodity coming out of college, and the hope is that he can hit the ground running. Let’s see what all that means for fantasy owners looking for some value at the receiver position in Houston.
Nico Collins
Collins is the top returning player in terms of receiving yardage, though he finished fourth on the team in that department last year — behind not only Cooks but also WR Chris Moore, who signed with the Tennessee Titans, and TE Jordan Akins, who signed with the Cleveland Browns. Collins, a third-round pick in 2021, caught 37 passes for 481 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season, which were very similar numbers to the 33-446-1 line he posted as a rookie.
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Durability has been a problem early in Collins’ career. He missed three games in Year 1 with a shoulder injury and then missed seven a year ago with foot and groin injuries, respectively. At 24 and with good size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds), Collins has some upside, and on a young team like the Texans they’re likely to live with growing pains in the name of developing someone long-term.
John Metchie III
Houston selected Metchie 44th overall last year, knowing the Alabama product would need time to recover from the torn ACL he suffered during the SEC Championship Game. The team talked up his potential role during the summer, but any hope of Metchie contributing in 2022 came to an abrupt halt with his leukemia diagnosis. The good news is he has recovered and has been an active participant in offseason workouts. If healthy, Metchie could work out of the slot, offering Stroud an inviting target on short and intermediate throws.
Robert Woods and Noah Brown
Woods was a productive receiver during most of his five-year run with the Los Angeles Rams, which came to a close when he tore his ACL in 2021 and was traded to the Titans during the offseason. He did little in Tennessee, authoring a 53-527-2 line that represented the lowest output of his career, but that can’t all be laid on him.
Brown, meanwhile, flashed early on last season with the Dallas Cowboys while WR Michael Gallup was recovering, but he became an afterthought once Gallup returned. He still ended last year with career bests across the board: 43 receptions, 555 yards, and three TDs.
These signings should be viewed as one part fallback option, and one part veteran leadership, getting a couple of pros on board who can show the young wideouts like Collins, Metchie, and Dell how to conduct their business. The fewer snaps Woods and/or Brown see on Sundays, however, the better.
Fantasy football outlook
It’s hard to imagine the move from Mills to Stroud won’t improve the passing game, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik saw firsthand how effective a rookie starter can be in the right system last year with the San Francisco 49ers. At this point, Collins is the only one worth taking a flier on as he has proven more at the NFL level than Metchie, and he has far more room to grow than Brown or Woods, who at 31 is clearly on the downside of his career.
Fantasy owners can target Collins as a fringe top-50 fantasy wideout and hope he stays healthy while developing chemistry with Stroud. Metchie can be placed on watch lists. The rest can be forgotten.
