The Houston Texans are seemingly set at wideout for the near term with Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, and John Metchie under contract.
However, the position still needs attention as Father Time starts to close on Cooks, Collins grows as a professional, and Metchie works back from a torn ACL at the end of his college career in December 2021.
According to Michael Renner from Pro Football Focus, a player that Houston should keep an eye on throughout the 2023 NFL draft process is Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Texans haven’t had a truly dominant receiving option since DeAndre Hopkins, but with the roster in the shape that it’s in, they could easily find themselves close enough to the top of the draft to take a new franchise-type wideout.
JSN hauled in 95 of his 112 targets last year (84.8%) for 1,595 yards and nine scores last year, good for a 91.9 PFF receiving grade that ranked first among qualifying receivers. The Buckeyes have developed quite the habit of producing NFL talent at the wide receiver position, and Smith-Njigba appears next in line.
The Texans haven’t had a “dominant” wideout such as Hopkins — true. Nevertheless Cooks has managed to post two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in as many seasons in Houston. It could be argued the first was a result of having the NFL passing champion throwing him the ball, yet Cooks was able to repeat the feat with Tyrod Taylor and rookie Davis Mills throwing him the ball in 2021 amid a 4-13 campaign.
Collins and Metchie still haven’t reached their potential. They may be productive enough that the Texans don’t need to use a premium pick on a wideout — not for a second straight draft.
The upcoming season will show just where general manager Nick Caserio needs to allocate resources to put the final touches on the rebuild.
