Nico Collins has only played three games this season, and he’s already given the Texans their best stretch of receiver play. The receiver problem they wanted arrived this week in Marvin Harrison Jr., but Sunday at Wembley Stadium still runs through Collins.
He has 19 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns, and PFF grades him at 85.4 overall, 10th among 71 qualifying receivers on his PFF player page. Here’s what to expect from him against Jacksonville.
He’ll still be C.J. Stroud’s first read
Harrison’s arrival won’t change the pecking order right away. DeMeco Ryans made it clear the newcomer will play a defined package in London. “Don’t expect him to come out and play all 60 snaps in the game,” Ryans said, per The Associated Press.
That leaves Collins as the volume receiver. He drew 25 targets in his three games, roughly a quarter of Stroud’s attempts in those weeks, and the Texans won’t define Harrison’s role for a few more weeks. Harrison himself sounded like a guy ready to learn behind him: “I think he is one of the best receivers in this league, so my job is to just be a sponge and learn from one of the best.”
He’ll win the contested catches
Collins is 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, and that’s the matchup problem Ryans keeps coming back to with both of his big receivers on the field together.
“I’m like, man, those are two tough guys to cover,” Ryans said.
Jacksonville’s secondary is thin this week. Cornerback Montaric Brown is out, and Jaylon Jones is questionable, which the initial Week 6 injury report flagged early. Whoever lines up across from Collins will be giving up real size on throws up the sideline, and Stroud has never been shy about giving him a chance on those.
He’ll find the end zone again
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
All three of his touchdowns came in two games, including two in a seven-catch, 118-yard day against Dallas. The Jaguars have been tough in the red zone, holding opponents to five touchdowns on 15 trips, so Houston will need its best jump-ball receiver when the field shrinks.
That’s where Stroud trusts him most. The Texans have scored touchdowns on 10 of 18 red-zone trips, and Collins is the obvious target on a fade or back-shoulder throw, something the Jaguars’ coordinator already knows well.
He’ll post a line that looks like Week 1
Collins had seven catches for 75 yards and a score against Buffalo in the opener, then five for 56 last week in Nashville, where Houston leaned on the run with a big lead. A closer game in London should push the ball back his way.
Back home, fans in the Bayou City will be watching over breakfast, and the Texans need him to set the tone early. Houston’s passing game is the story of the week, from the five key matchups to the six things to know about the Texans, and Collins is the safest bet in it.
Stat line expectation: Six catches on nine targets, 82 yards and one touchdown.
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