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The Houston Texans rewarded wide receiver Nico Collins with a three-year, $72.75 million contract after having a breakout 2023 season (80 receptions, 1,297 passing yards, eight touchdowns). However, that contract will start to kick in during the 2025 season, his fifth in the NFL.
With the Texans betting on Collins as their premier wideout, his consistency is vital to their success, especially in trying to break the Divisional Round barrier. Fortunately for the Texans, activating Collins is easy if they call for two specific routes during pass plays.
Pro Football Focus’ Lauren Gray published an article about the highest-graded receivers by route type based on stats from the 2024 season. Collins is among the top three receivers in two routes: in and post. His 96 grade on the in route puts him second behind the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson (96.2) and in front of the Baltimore Ravens’ Zay Flowers (94.5).
Meanwhile, on the post route, Nico Collins’ 94.8 grade is third behind the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr. (97.9) and the Indianapolis Colts’ Alec Pierce (96.2). These routes helped Collins finish with 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing five games due to a hamstring injury.
Nico Collins Gets the Lion’s Share of C.J. Stroud’s Throws
Collins kept the Texans’ passing attack afloat after fellow wideouts Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs suffered season-ending injuries. With quarterback C.J. Stroud having limited options when he attempts a pass, it follows that Nico Collins gets a lot of targets.
Based on the stats from Pro Football Reference, Collins saw 8.25 targets per game last season, which is slightly higher than his 7.26 targets per game in 2023. Furthermore, Gray identified in her May 28 PFF article the passing situations in which Stroud highly targeted Collins.
Collins appeared among the top ten wide receivers in three scenarios: late-down target, outside target, and when the quarterback is dealing with pressure from the opposing defense. Collins ranked third in outside targets with a 27.2 percent threat rate (88 targets on 323 routes run). However, he had the best receiving grade under this category at 92.7, 1.2 more than the Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown.
Meanwhile, Collins ranked tenth in late-down target rate at 26.6 percent (38 targets on 143 routes). Conversely, he trailed only the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins (90.7) and Brown (90.5) in terms of receiving grade (90.4).
Likewise, Collins is ninth in quarterback pressure target rate with 18.4 percent threat rate (29 of 158). However, Gray gave Collins his props by writing, “Nico Collins, another standout receiver, paced the position in grading this season (90.9) after converting 18 of his 20 catches into first downs while recording 15 gains of 15-plus yards.
These numbers ranked Collins fifth in overall targets with a 27.3 percent threat rate (115 of 422). His 92.3 receiving grade trails only the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (92.6).
Collins Shared His Favorite Ball to Catch from Stroud
As Collins and Stroud’s partnership continues into its third season, the former Michigan standout shared with former NFL player Chris Long the type of throw he likes catching from the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Nico Collins said, “Deep ball for sure. It’s easy. A lot of hang time. It’s high. Soft touch, it’s like dropping in your hand.”
If Collins can play 17 regular-season games for the first time in his career, he and Stroud can connect on a lot of long-yardage throws. Having other playmakers lining up with him, like Jayden Higgins, Joe Mixon, and Nick Chubb, should open up more opportunities for Collins to dominate.
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