The injuries won’t stop this season. In an alarming trend, we’ve seen several players get hurt at practice during the week. The latest is Houston Texans WR Nico Collins. Should fantasy football managers prepare to be without the top WR this week?
What Is the Latest Injury Update for Nico Collins?
For the third consecutive week, several players who were perfectly healthy to start the week showed up on the injury report unexpectedly. So far, we’ve already seen A.J. Brown, George Kittle, Bijan Robinson, Diontae Johnson, and Davante Adams pop up with injuries sustained at practice (plus Evan Engram got hurt in pre-game warmups).
Now, add Collins to the list.
After not being listed at all on Wednesday, Collins was limited at Thursday’s practice with a hamstring issue. Fortunately, Collins is fine and he’ll play against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.
Collins told reporters on Friday that “he’s good to go for Sunday.” Collins is very durable, as he has played through injuries before and still managed to produce.
Collins could have a monster game against the Jaguars, who struggled to slow down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills last week. Collins is in the midst of elevating his name into the ranks of the elite WRs.
Nico Collins isn't real. Good lord what a player he's become. pic.twitter.com/QRaKuzH9I5
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) September 18, 2024
Houston will be ithout Joe Mixon and Tank Dell, so expect Collins, Stefon Diggs and Dalton Schultz to see plenty of targets from C.J. Stroud.
Collins’ Fantasy Outlook
Andre Johnson averaged 4.6 catches per game through three seasons before establishing himself as an alpha target in Year 4 (6.4 catches per game, a 39.3% increase).
Collins averaged 3.8 catches per game through three seasons, and he certainly looks like an alpha target through three games. He has 28 targets and 338 yards through three games.
He’s not Johnson – because Johnson never had a double-digit touchdown season, a box I believe Collins checks this year. Yeah, you could say I’m a believer in Houston’s alpha receiver.
Did I love that he was being force-fed end-zone targets by Davis Mills in the waning moments of a blowout loss last week? Yes and no. The idea that this team wants to keep him fat and happy is a good thing, but putting my WR1 in a spot to potentially get dinged up courtesy of a hospital ball from a backup quarterback isn’t exactly something I’m looking for.
Collins wasn’t targeted in the first quarter last week and only had six yards in the first half, but he still ended up with a respectable final stat line. I trust this offense, and with Collins establishing himself as the clear alpha so early in the season, those who drafted him are in a great spot for a positive ROI.
Opponents are 7-of-9 when throwing in the red zone against Jacksonville this season (NFL average: 50.9% complete inside the 20), and I feel good about where those looks are going.
Banking on Collins for a third straight double-digit target game is sound, and with a 28+ yard catch in all three contests so far, the floor/ceiling profile is as strong as any of the second-tier receivers in our game.