In the 20-year history of the Houston Texans, there has been a great deal of Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and potential Hall of Fame wide receivers that have stepped on the gridiron dawning the red, white, and blue.
Today, we take a look back at the history of Houston Texans football and rank the Top 5 all-time wide receiver duos in the franchise history. These duos were ranked based on their on-field performance both with receiving yards, touchdowns, and the overall performance of the Houston Texans team in their respective year.
Other criteria that are taken into consideration are personal awards for each of the wide receivers, the quarterback or quarterbacks that the respective duo had throwing them the ball, and the contribution the receiver has had on the franchise.
Be prepared to see names like Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and a couple others as the Texans have had some excellent duos at wide receiver.
Let us take a deep dive into Texans’ history and look at the Top 5 wide receiver duos in Houston Texans history.
Houston Texans WR Duo No. 5: Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins (2013)
When you base this duo off of their names alone, you would expect these two wide receivers to be a top pair in this ranking. While Andre Johnson is a potential 2022 Hall of Fame selection, and DeAndre Hopkins is a potential receiver to obtain a gold jacket, their production in their first season together was not as good as other seasons they lined up aside one another.
The team underperformed and posted a 2-14 record and saw a change in head coach late in the season.
This pair produced 2,209 yards (1,407 yards from Johnson) and seven touchdowns. Five of the seven touchdowns came from Johnson that season as he collected a total of 109 receptions in 16 games, averaging 12.9 yards per reception in ’13. Hopkins that season finished with 802 yards on 52 receptions, with a YPC of 15.4 in his rookie season.
What held this pairing in ’13 back the most was the change in the starting quarterback when the Texans switched from Matt Schaub to Case Keenum halfway through the season as it was a very tough season for the team as a whole.
Keep an eye out for these Texans’ golden names as we roll on in our wide receiver duo rankings.
Houston Texans WR Duo No. 4: Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter (2008)
Are you seeing a pattern here with wide receiver duos and the Houston Texans?
The former Miami Hurricane wideout and first round pick leads the way for this all-time duo. This wide receiver duo was given the ball from the likes of Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels, yet was able to produce career years for both of these gentlemen. This team, unfortunately for the wide receivers had a run-first mentality under head coach Gary Kubiak.
Andre Johnson was awarded a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro recognition while catching for 1,575 yards and eight touchdowns off of 115 receptions.
Walter had a career-best year with 899 yards and eight touchdowns all while collecting 60 receptions. Walter even averaged 15 YPC and played in 16 games. The following season Walter’s numbers dropped to 611 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games.
What may have watered down Johnson and Walter’s production in ’08 was the impact tight end Owen Daniels who was a Pro Bowl selection with over 800 yards receiving.
The Houston Texans finished the season with an 8-8 record, and many of Johnson’s seasons in Houston seemed to be plagued by the ever-revolving door at quarterback.
Houston Texans WR Duo No. 3: DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson (2014)
The 2014 season was looked at as the passing of the torch for the two potential Hall of Famers. DeAndre Hopkins came into his own in his second year in the NFL. Hopkins reeled in 1,210 yards and six touchdowns, which he led the team in both of those categories. He did that by catching 76 passes and averaging 15.9 YPC.
Andre Johnson obtained 936 yards with three touchdowns at 33 years old, making 85 receptions, all while having an average YPC of 11 yards in 15 games played. This would be the last season as a member of the Texans for the seven-time pro bowler, as he went on to play two more seasons with teams in the AFC South.
The Texans were able to find a winning record of 9-7 during head coach Bill O’Brien‘s first season with the franchise.
What ultimately plagued this dynamic duo from reaching record-breaking potential was the fact the Texans had three different quarterbacks start games and four different quarterbacks play in games during the 2014 season, those being Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, Ryan Mallett, and Tom Savage.
If these two could’ve found consistency with the quarterback play their numbers could have been Madden video game-like in ’14, but the Texans just couldn’t find the right quarterback that season.
Houston Texans WR Duo No. 2: Brandin Cooks and Will Fuller (2020)
In the wide receiver corps’ first season without DeAndre Hopkins, the franchise was not sure who would be stepping up as the No. 1 wide receiver. Let us take into account that Deshaun Watson had a career-year, even with the Houston Texans only finishing with a 4-12 record.
Brandin Cooks took on a bigger role tallying up 1,150 yards and six touchdowns with 81 receptions. Will Fuller was able to acquire 879 yards with eight touchdowns, catching a total of 47 receptions. In ’20 Cooks averaged 14.2 YPC, while Fuller had an average YPC of 16.6 in 11 games.
The duo of Cooks and Fuller were a good combination for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to have. Fuller stretched the field out and was a touchdown threat that gave Cooks openings to make plays.
Having a good quarterback has shown a direct result in the productivity of wide receivers. Seeing the consistent season from Cooks and Fuller makes you wonder what could have been with the wide receiver duo of Hopkins and Johnson in Houston’s mid-seasons in history.
Houston Texans WR Duo No. 1: DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller (2018)
No. 1 on our countdown of best Houston Texans wide receiver duos goes to DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson started all 16 games for Houston in the ’18 season which helped the production for both of these men lining up next to him. Will Fuller in his third season with Houston reached 503 receiving yards with four touchdowns with 32 receptions in seven games. Fuller’s YPC before being injured was 15.7.
Fuller in ’18 saw his season come to a close in Week 8 after scoring a touchdown. That game was his best of the season on the stat sheet with five receptions for 124 yards and the 73-yard touchdown.
DeAndre Hopkins was the main threat in this duo as Fuller being a deep threat opened up many lanes for Hopkins to get open past the defenders. Hopkins had 1,572 yards receiving and held on for 11 touchdowns. He also was awarded Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors for the ’18 season. Hopkins achieved that success with 115 receptions, with a YPC of 13.7.
The overall production by these two receivers and the direct benefit they had to the overall team’s success that saw a playoff birth gives this high-flying WR duo the top spot in our wide receiver duo rankings in Houston Texans history.