Locked on Texans host John Hickman just designated 2026 as "the most anticipated season" for Houston Texans Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins.
"I think this reiterates my argument from a couple of weeks ago regarding Nico Collins once he got that pay grade," Hickman emphatically stated on yesterday's Youtube broadcast. He then proclaimed,
"Houston needs for him to be healthy, but Houston has to feature him like a top-seven receiver and involve him alot more offensively. Quietly, I think, if you really think about it, this is Nico's most anticipated season."
Both of Hickman's points are valid observations that several throughout the fanbase have also wondered about out loud. Especially now that Collins has eclipsed the $30 million APY mark, it's of the utmost importance for both Collins and the Texans' offense to finally put together a complete season (in more ways than one).
Nico Collins' health is vital for both him and the Texans in 2026
Across five professional seasons in Houston, Collins has yet to play a full season's worth of games. His career-low came in 2022 when lower-body injuries limited him to 10 games played. Conversely, the 2023 and 2025 seasons saw Collins play a career-high of 15 games in each. Even still, those two missed games in each season were due to some form of injury (calf injury in 2023, concussion in 2025). In total, his playing time since 2021 looks like:
- 2021: 14 of 17 games played (three games missed due to a shoulder injury)
- 2022: 10 of 17 games played (seven missed due to multiple lower body injuries)
- 2023: 15 of 17 games played (two games missed due to calf injury)
- 2024: 12 of 17 games played (five games missed due to hamstring injury)
- 2025: 15 of 17 games played (two games missed due to a concussion)
Total games played: 66 out of 85 (77.64% of games played)
Since 2021, Houston is 8-11 in the 19 games played without Collins in the starting lineup. It's stating the obvious, but the Texans' offense functions much better when the 6-foot-4, 222-pound former Michigan Wolverine is lining up across from opposing defensive backs on Sundays.
Without him, quarterback C.J. Stroud and co. struggle to establish any other receiving option as the same level of threatening as Collins. Whether in moving the chains on a key third down, stretching the field on a dep route or crowning a defender as a red zone nightmare, Collins helps elevate the Texans' offense in a way that's invaluable. There will be no Lombardi's won by Houston in 2026 if Collins continues missing significant amounts of time with various bodily ailments.
Which brings us to Hickman's second point, which is how much Houston needs to increase the attention given to Collins as a primary option when he's been healthy enough to suit up.
Houston needs to feed Nico Collins more when he's on the field
Since Stroud debuted in 2023, Collins' numbers have him placed among the league's elite at the position. From that time on, Collins has amassed rankings of:
- Ninth in receiving yards: 3,420
- Tied for 19th in receptions: 219 (seperated from first place by 133)
- 19th in targets: 328 (seperated from first place by 177)
- Second-best in yard average per catch: 15.6
- Seventh-most receiving yards per game: 81.4
- Tied for fifth-most receiving touchdowns: 21
Amazingly, even though Collins has been dwarfed by his contemporaries in both receptions and targets, he's made up for it by becoming one of the best "big play" receivers in the NFL. Since him and Stroud teamed up in 2023, Collins has yardage outputs of:
- Games with at least 100 yards: 12 times
- Games with at least 120 yards: 8 times
- Games with at least 140 yards: 5 times
- Games with at least 160 yards: 3 times
- Games with at least 180 yards: 2 times
His most prolific season was in the now legendary 2023 season for the club, when he ignited for career highs in both receiving yards (1,297) and touchdowns (eight) with former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik at the helm of the playcalling.
Under the leadership of new offensive coordinator Nick Caley this past year, Collins has yet again put up a season of at least 1,000 yards (his third-straight since 2023). However, even with the historic milestone of consistent pass catching proficiency for Collins, it still felt like the offense left too much meat on the bone when it came to truly maximizing him in their aerial attack.
It makes sense to a certain degree, as Slowik and Caley run two completely different offenses. Slowik was much more inclined to lean on chunk plays to shock defenses, whereas Caley's more methodical approach led to Stroud spreading out the touches a lot more amongst different targets. Even still, Collins career-high of 120 targets last season shows that the game plan still acknowledged Collins as the undisputed "go-to" option when all else failed.
Given Collins' ability to flip a game on its head, there should be little to no reason why Ja'Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and Collins should be separated by 177 targets over a three-year span. There's also even less reasoning for why his most productive game in 2025 came on the throwing shoulder of backup quarterback Davis Mills in week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, when he exploded for a season high of 136 yards (19.4 average) on 15 targets (tied for career-high in targets in a game).
With a brand new contract and Super Bowl expectations running rampant throughout Houston, Collins and the offense need to make the most of the opportunity in front of them.
Even with multiple receiving threats and the addition of a brand new rushing game, Collins should still be treated like one of the most destructive offensive weapons in the NFL. If Houston does indeed feature him accordingly, the offense has the potential to vault itself into both the upper echelon of point production and a trip to SoFi Stadium in February.
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