Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson and 3 more unknowns in ’21

1. Who will emerge as the No. 2 WR option after Brandin Cooks?

Brandin Cooks has earned his spot as the top wide receiver option for the Houston Texans entering the ’21 season, taking over that role from Will Fuller who is no longer with the franchise. Cooks had an excellent ’21 season and was the main guy when Fuller was suspended the final six games due to his PED violation.

With Fuller gone, it is evident Cooks is the leader of the unit, and everyone knows what success he’s capable of achieving after a ’20 season where he totaled 81 receptions (115 targets) for 1,150 yards with six touchdowns. Cooks played in 16 games, averaging 14.2 yards per reception, while his PFF grade was 81.1 overall.

Other than Cooks the roster has Randall Cobb who will most likely play slot, and the prediction to who will be the player that steps up into the number two role at wide receiver is rookie Nico Collins. This rookie has a lot of potential, and can bring success to the offense with his size and speed playing alongside Cooks and Cobb.

Though it would be better for all the receivers to have Deshaun Watson as their starting quarterback, whomever is throwing passes to Cooks and Collins, the unknown is how good can Collins be as a rookie under the Tim Kelly offense.

This will most likely be a long season for the Texans, but the fun part will be seeing which players step up in this rebuilding year.