Nico Collins took a brutal hit Monday night, leaving fantasy football managers holding their breath as he exited late in the game. The injury has cast serious doubt on his availability for Week 8, and the tight turnaround only deepens the uncertainty. With no clear pass-catchers stepping up in Houston, the Texans’ aerial attack looks shaky at best. Fantasy managers may need to scramble for alternatives, but the real question isn’t just who replaces him, but how much he’s even worth if he does play.
Nico Collins Injury Update
On Monday night, Collins suffered a concussion late in the Houston Texans’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Collins must go through the concussion protocol process to return to the field.
Unfortunately, having a short week after a Monday game will make it difficult (but not impossible) for Collins to return to the field in Week 8. Fantasy managers should know by Friday if they need to pivot to another option.
None of Houston’s other pass-catching options has emerged as a viable fantasy player this season. Still, fantasy managers could take upside swings on rookies Jaylin Noel or Jayden Higgins in Week 8.
— PFSN Fantasy Football Analyst Dan Fornek
Collins Fantasy Outlook
An apparent head injury (now deemed a concussion) cost Collins the majority of the fourth quarter on Monday night, but was anything really going to change during the final 15 minutes?
He had a chunk play taken off the board due to a penalty early in addition to an inexcusable drop, but after that, he really wasn’t in a spot to succeed based on the type of target he was seeing in Seattle.
With Stroud fearing for his life, a lot of Collins’ targets were in traffic at best and ludicrous at worst. We are talking about basically jump-ball situations — something I don’t mind with an athlete like this if they carry upside-down less than 10 yards down the field, because the pressure is getting home before he even hits the top of his drop.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 8 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Collins finished with 27 yards on 10 targets, his fourth game this season with under 55 yards, and the third time this season he’s failed to come down with over 60% of his targets.
These high-risk, low-reward targets are generally a losing formula. We’ve seen Collins’ average depth of target (aDOT) slowly dip in each of his past four games, and with it, all upside is being sucked out of this profile.
You’re starting him because Houston is low on trusted options, and Stroud’s reflex is to put the ball in the air for his WR1, but this situation very much handcuffs the ceiling. The 49ers have allowed a receiver to reach 11 PPR points in just two of their past five games, putting Collins (assuming health) at risk of another sub-standard performance based on the capital you spent on him this summer.
— PFSN Fantasy Football Analyst Kyle Soppe
