Houston comes into the 2025-26 season with a fresh receiving corps. With Tank Dell out for the season and Stefon Diggs in New England, the Texans had to make some moves to build around Nico Collins.
The Texans didn’t miss any opportunity during the offseason, acquiring free agent Christian Kirk in a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars before drafting two more receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft. In the second round, Houston selected Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins before taking his collegiate teammate, Jaylin Noel, in the following round.
With the Texans wrapping up rookie minicamp on Saturday, excitement is building around the additions of Higgins and Noel. Fan's think the former Cyclones could be perfect pieces to build around the teams WR1.
Hailing from Alabama, Collins grew up idolizing receivers like Mike Evans, Larry Fitzgerald and Julio Jones. As a rookie, he leaned on Brandin Cooks for advice—and he’s more than happy to play that role for incoming players.
“Man, it’s a blessing,” Collins said. “It’s crazy how time flies. It’s a blessing to be in this position, man. It’s only right for me to lead by example. I know they’re gonna push me, I’m gonna push them. That’s the only way we can get better and we’re gonna shine on Sundays.”
Since their playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in January, Collins and his teammates have had plenty of time to reflect on their second straight AFC South divisional round exit.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s a chip on our shoulders,” Collins said. “We’ve gotta be hungry every year, that’s the mindset. I feel like our locker room is full of dawgs. I feel like we’re never satisfied. There’s no reason to be satisfied until we get to that goal.
This offseason, the Texans restructured Collins’ contract. It lowered his original salary cap figure from $18.441 million by $9.8 million with a conversion of $13.5 million salary into a signing bonus prorated, per a league source. This made important salary cap space for Houston to sign other players.
Last season, the Texans reclaimed the AFC South title, and Collins broke a franchise playoff record with 122 receiving yards on seven catches in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Collins surpassed DeAndre Hopkins’ single-game postseason mark.
