Should we be worried about Stefon Diggs' slow start?

The Houston Texans have 3 “No.1 wide receivers” on their roster right now, Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell. That means one won’t get as many targets as they would normally. You can say that about Diggs, who’s only seen 10 receptions on 12 targets through two games. Two of which have gone for touchdowns. That's a big difference from the 8-10 targets he would normally get with the Buffalo Bills.

However, does that mean this is the new normal for Diggs? CJ Stroud has thrown three touchdowns so far. The only touchdown not to go to Stefon Diggs was to Nico Collins in week 2. So, why is this question being asked? Well, Diggs isn’t the top-five receiver he was in Buffalo, and with other top-flight weapons in Houston, that may not change. And at 30 years old, we knew this would be coming sooner rather than later, but not as drastically as we've seen this season.

Coming into the season, it was clear somebody wouldn’t have the same production football fans were used to seeing. Now Diggs, who has 10 receptions for 70 yards along with those touchdowns, is playing in Nico Collins’ shadows. Will that change by the end of the season? Maybe, but we still may not see Diggs reach 1,000 receiving yards. When the Texans acquired Diggs, they restructured his contract to make it a one-year/$22.5M deal, which is a hefty contract for someone to be used as a decoy so far. 

The Texans' offense was great last year without Diggs, and it still is right now with Diggs being a non-factor. Diggs being used as a decoy has set up more 1-on-1 matchups for Nico Collins to exploit, and it’s worked out well for the offense as of late. So getting him going may not be a top priority for the coaching staff. However, the Texans would still like for him to get going. When the Texans brought in Diggs, they definitely had bigger goals in mind than to use him as a $22M decoy, and even though it’s only Week 3, that’s all he’s been used as. 

Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has a very creative offense and can get Diggs the ball in space. But until that happens, these questions will continue to be asked after every game. As of right now, it’s safe to say that Collins is the No.1 wide receiver in this offense, and until teams start taking him out of the game plan, it’s going to remain that way. Diggs will continue to be used, but it may continue to be more sporadic than consistent.