The Houston Texans had a disappointing start to their season, leaving many questions unanswered. For fantasy football managers, this creates difficult decisions regarding which players to trust. This breakdown will analyze the key players on the roster to help you make the right moves.
C.J. Stroud, QB
C.J. Stroud likely overachieved as a rookie and underachieved last season, making him a tough player to handicap.
Fortunately for us, the Texans have made things a little bit easier by struggling to field a competitive offensive line. For a QB that doesn’t weaponize his legs, those struggles remove any hope of returning consistent value, and I fear that’s Stroud’s 2025 destiny.
C.J. Stroud with a clutch scramble to get into FG range 😤
HOUvsLAR on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jezr1oTDPl
— NFL (@NFL) September 7, 2025
If you’re interested in Stroud for DFS purposes, all you have to do is consult the projected total.
Fantasy PPG with a projected Total Over 45 Points:
- 2023: 20.4 PPG
- 2024: 11.5 PPG
This week’s total is hovering around 42-43. Nico Collins would have to go absolutely nuts for me to feel bad about ranking Stroud as my QB18 this week, a starter in nothing but superflex situations.
Joe Mixon, RB
Joe Mixon battled an ankle injury throughout the summer, and considering he has missed three games in two of the past three seasons, not to mention that he has north of 2,100 NFL touches, he will be tough to trust in any capacity in the short term. The team announced on August 25 that their starting back had been transferred to the reserve/non-football injury list, which rules him out for at least the first four games of this season.
The 29-year-old has averaged more than 4.1 yards per catch just once in his career, making him more of a volume-based fantasy asset than one that can hit your lineup with limited work. With over 1,200 scrimmage yards in four straight seasons, Mixon stands to be a weekly option, but you’re playing the long game.
Houston goes on bye in Week 6 and has some difficult matchups sprinkled in their schedule over the first two months. But if we get a bellcow version of Mixon as winter nears, he could be a popular name on rosters playing for fantasy glory (Week 15-16, home games against the Cardinals and Raiders).
Nick Chubb, RB
Did Nick Chubb look good on Sunday?
I mean, I guess. He ran 13 times for 60 yards, but he didn’t catch his lone target against the Rams, and the deeper you dive into the data, the more red flags appear.
If you leave the injury aside for a moment and simply evaluate what we saw on Sunday, I’m still not sold. The Houston offensive line struggled for most of the opener, yet Chubb was better than the league average before contact on nine of his 13 attempts.
Nick Chubb forced the MOST missed tackles (7) in Week 1.
Still got it 😤 pic.twitter.com/fO1dZyn0O3
— Underdog (@Underdog) September 11, 2025
That doesn’t feel the least bit sticky.
Factor in the injuries, and Chubb feels more like a roster bandage than the answer to your questions. In the absence of Mixon, four different running backs handled multiple carries, and while he was the clear lead of the bunch, this is a situation begging for someone to step up.
If you don’t have Collins on your roster, I don’t think you want to expose yourself to the Texans in any capacity until they prove to us that last week’s mess was an exception and not the rule.
Woody Marks, RB
Targeting uncertainty makes perfect sense in the preseason. However, once we get into the regular season, it only works if we are agile and willing to move on.
Woody Marks could have been the answer to the Mixon injury in Houston. The odds weren’t great, but they weren’t zero, and that’s why you threw a dart in the final round.
I actually think the draft pick process was a good one.
But it no longer matters.
READ MORE: Soppe’s Week 2 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Analysis for Every Player in Every Game
Marks was on the field for just seven offensive snaps on Sunday, playing well behind Chubb and Dare Ogunbowale, not to mention matching Dameon Pierce in that regard. The latter two also play on special teams, making it even more alarming that the Texans weren’t willing to feature Marks to a degree and let those two focus on their other responsibilities.
The Texans’ backfield isn’t one I’m looking to get exposure to, and if you have Marks at the end of your bench, you should be looking elsewhere for role upside.
Christian Kirk, WR
Christian Kirk missed Week 1 due to a strained hamstring, and the team expressed a desire to be cautious with a receiver who missed nine games last season. Collins was on the shelf for over a month with a similar diagnosis last season, and that is likely to serve as a guiding light this time around (Houston has its bye in Week 6).
That shouldn’t significantly impact your fantasy roster. Kirk wasn’t drafted as a starter in most formats, and with bye weeks not a thing in September, the odds were slim that you were going to start him in the short term, even if at full strength.
If you have the luxury of an IR slot or deep benches, I’m still moderately bullish on Kirk being able to carve out a niche in an offense that I expect to prioritize the pass. But I understand that not everyone is in a league structured like that, and the fact of the matter is that Kirk is likely to be dead weight this month.
The “active but limited” designation is always in play with injuries like this, and that creates a headache greater than the potential reward. If one of these rookie receivers establishes himself, Kirk’s ceiling lowers significantly, so that’s how I’m treating this situation if I don’t have an IR spot available.
Are you bullish on either Jaylin Noel or Jayden Higgins? If so, cut ties with Kirk and look for upside elsewhere. Until that’s the case, I’d sit tight.
Jayden Higgins, WR
I suppose I could use the same write-up for Jayen Higgins and Noel, as neither rookie was given much chance to shine in the Rams’ loss. Despite a game script that favored the pass and Kirk’s absence, the team chose not to extend their rookies.
It was an interesting call, but I’m sitting on my couch and probably know less about their prospects’ readiness than they do, so I’ll trust their word.
If they weren’t ready for Week 1, I can’t imagine they are much more ready for Week 2.
Jayden Higgins’ first career catch, and he’s already looking like a grown man and a polished receiver.
Dips the shoulder under the defender chipping him. Sells the out just enough at the stem to get some separation. Catches the ball through traffic and holds it through contact. pic.twitter.com/uEQBWXlEfv
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 8, 2025
Higgins was the only Texan to see multiple deep targets last week, and that’s why, if forced to choose, I would prefer him to Noel. His contingent value feels higher should something happen to Collins.
That said, the Texans couldn’t even get the real Collins the ball against the Rams, so why would we think that an injury replacement would have any luck?
None of the secondary Houston WRs should be near starting lineups right now, and I’m not sure any of them need to be rostered in average-sized leagues.
Jaylin Noel, WR
Kirk was sidelined with a hamstring injury for the openers, and we assumed that would open the door for Houston’s rookie class to have a chance to impress from the jump.
No dice.
Instead of regularly putting Noel and/or Higgins on the field, the Texans took a hodgepodge approach.
Texans WR route count, Week 1:
- Nico Collins: 30
- Xavier Hutchinson: 23
- Justin Watson: 18
- Higgins: 14
- Noel: 13
If they had more warm bodies on the active roster at the WR position, I’m sure they would have gotten some run as well. In the loss, none of them excelled, and while it sounds like Kirk could be shelved for a bit longer, I’m not ranking any non-Collins player on this team as a starter.
If you want to hold either Higgins or Noel, that’s fine by me, but understand that it’s a lottery ticket, and moving on to the second, you need reinforcements, which is 100% viable.
Nico Collins, WR
Is it possible that I was out over my skis in labeling Collins as fantasy’s top receiver in 2025?
It’s possible.
Am I backing off on it after a goofy Week 1 in which 12 of 16 games went under the projected total, and points were hard to come by across the league?
Not yet.
The Texans allowed pressure at the seventh-highest rate in Week 1, and the offensive line is a serious issue that needs to be considered. That and the Kirk injury loom large, as opponents have little to no reason not to shade everything they do towards Collins.
That said, the offensive line held up when not blitzed (16th in pressure rate). They were destroyed when the Rams brought the heat (Stroud was pressured on five of six blitzes), but that’s the sort of thing that can be improved with time and reps. As the communication within the group improves, I hope that they can do better and give this offense a chance.
The matchup sets up well for Collins and this offense as a whole to bounce back after one of the more disappointing showings in Week 1. Last week was really hideous! Drake London earned a 35.7% target share last week against the Bucs, continuing their struggle to slow down big-play threats.
WARNING: Do not watch if you roster Nico Collins in fantasy football pic.twitter.com/G68oFvrobg
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) September 11, 2025
In 2024, London dropped 33.4 points on them in Week 5, but we also saw DeAndre Hopkins and Rashod Bateman clear 22 points. As did Adam Thielen with an offense built around him, even if the offense was of lesser quality.
I like Collins to bounce back this week and remind you why you spent a top-15 pick on him.
Dalton Schultz, TE
There will eventually be an answer to the “Who besides Nico Collins” question in the Houston passing game. But until we get some breadcrumbs leading toward an answer, I’m not going to waste my time guessing.
Sure, Dalton Schultz tied Collins for the team lead in targets in Los Angeles last week with five, but this offense offered no upside (zero 25-yard plays), and the offensive line struggles to such a degree that a blocking tight end is a real threat.
Schultz should be on waiver wires until he proves that it was a mistake, and even then, I think I’d need him to do it twice.
