WR · HOU · GWTTKB

Nico Collins — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 15.08 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 25.6, usage worth 13.6.

27 years old · 5 seasons of experience · 2021 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 25.6
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 2.6, 6 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on espn, priciest on yahoo.
SLEEPER26.4
ESPN27.8
YAHOO21.8
UNDERDOG22.9
CBS26.2
FFA24

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 3, pick 2 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankWR10
Bye week8
ADP standard deviation2.6 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 237.2 points, 14.5 per game — 78 catches, 1,165 yards, 6.8 TDs. That is WR2, 24 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 11.3 points per game to a ceiling of 18, with the median at 14.5. Boom rate 24%, bust rate 22%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 25.6 on consensus and our board has him 24. Those agree, so there is no market disagreement to exploit. The question is whether you want the profile, not whether it is mispriced.

Our written view

top-5 in multiple efficiency metrics for 3 straight seasons, a legitimately elite receiver by the numbers. The recurring issue is health, specifically that his and Stroud's injuries never seem to line up into a shared healthy stretch — they trade off being out rather than both being available together for a real run. New risk for 2026: Houston's defense is genuinely elite, and the team may lean run-heavy/ball-control on purpose to protect leads, capping upside even in a fully healthy scenario.

buy · medium conviction · 2026-08

The offense he plays in, 2026

Houston Texans returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing rb1. CJ Stroud at quarterback, Demeco Ryans as head coach, Nick Caley calling it. The offense projects to 34 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 27.5 rushes.

In: Nathaniel Dell (wr3), Lewis Bond (wr7), David Montgomery (rb1), Noah Whittington (rb4), Foster Moreau (te2). Out: Nick Chubb (rb2), Cade Stover (te2).

His own projected target share for 2026 is 21.3%, with a bear case of 20.5% and a bull case of 21.9% and a full range of 19.2% to 23.2%. That comes from 29 historical comparables, not from a depth chart.

The projected target split across the offense:

Nico Collins 21.3%
Dalton Schultz14%
Jayden Higgins11.5%
Xavier Hutchinson8.6%
Jaylin Noel7.1%
Nathaniel Dell6.2%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

What the offense looks like: If this offense could produce at a higher level than 2025, this will be an offense you want to have pieces of. David Montgomery COULD be a very interesting high end RB2 as long as RB Woody Marks does not eat into his PT too much. Houston also has arguably the best defense in the entire NFL. they will keep them in every game & force turnovers to get this offense the ball back.

Key additions: Texans signed starting LG Wyatt Teller & starting RT Braden Smith this offseason. Also drafted C Keylan Rutledge in the 1st round. all 3 upgrades to last year. Should help protect CJ Stroud & HOPEFULLY GET A RUN GAME GOING IN HOUSTON. Traded for Lions RB David Montgomery. Joe mixon saw great success in 2024 & Montgomery COULD see a high degree of success too. Drafted WR Lewis Bond as well who does not have immediate upside.

Notes: Nico Collins remains a high producing dynasty WR when CJ Stroud plays well. Texans have to improve O line play for offense to provide large fantasy relevance. Traded for David Montgomery from the Lions & He will operate as RB1 with Woody Marks expected to also work in. CJ Stroud has struggled since his rookie season & is a mid range QB2 most weeks in fantasy. Texans do expect to extend him long term despite poor play. Jayden Higgins is an interesting year 2 breakout candidate but Tank Dell also returns in 2026 (We will see if his knee still works).

How the volume number was reached: Same QB CJ Stroud returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (34.2 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 34 att/g.

How that share projection was built

29 historical comps for WRs age ~26, prior share 24.3%, same team, OC continuity. Distribution: median 22.8%, p25-p75 [20.6%, 24.3%], tails [17.3%, 27.9%]. Closest comps: Tee Higgins 2021→2022 (CIN: 22.6%→21.2%); DeVonta Smith 2023→2024 (PHI: 24.7%→26.1%); Nico Collins 2024→2025 (HOU: 23.6%→24.1%).

self-anchored 58% to own 24.3% role (3yr), 42% to comp median 22.8%

The named comps are the closest historical matches and the arrow is what their share actually did the following season. That is the working, not a summary of it — if you disagree with the projection, this is the part to argue with.

Offensive environment: HOU rates 22.5 against a league average of 23, 0.5 below it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted pass defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season+3.2 · easier
Weeks 1–6+6.5 · easier
Weeks 12–17+3.8 · easier
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)-6.2 · harder

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20252Xavier Hutchinson+13.1
20224Chris Moore+6.1
Read the full Nico Collins study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved -15.3% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 2.1 elite seasons and 2.6 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
DeVonta Smith202415.372%+1.5%
Jakobi Meyers202414.570%+27.2%
Tee Higgins202418.567%+0.7%
Jerry Jeudy202414.266%-22.4%
Mike Evans202316.666%+19%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 2 gained value, 1 lost it and 2 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,0008,00020222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2021-04 to 2026-07. Up 1365% across the series, peaking at 7,566.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2021, round 3, pick 89 by HOU
CollegeMichigan
Age at draft22
Height6′4″
Weight215 lb
40-yard dash4.43s
Vertical37.5″
Broad jump125″
3-cone6.78s
Shuttle4.29s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game13.7
Week-to-week variation0.6
Boom rate21.6%
Bust rate13.7%
Games missed per season1.4
Injury historyGroin, Foot, Calf, Concussion
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score-0.11

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · HOU · 15 games

His best game was Week 11 against TEN — 24.2 PPR on 10 targets and a 25% target share, in a game that finished 16-13. His worst was Week 1 against LA at 5.5, on 5 targets, final score 9-14. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 5 times and came in under 8 points 2 times. In the 11 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 14.4; in the 4 decided by more, 16.9. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 13.6 points per game. He scored 15.08, 6.6% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 3 against 5.46 expected, a gap of -2.5.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1LA9-145.53525018.5%84%
2TB19-2014.23952139.1%90%
3JAX10-1722.4811104130.6%86%
4TEN26-011.94679021.4%86%
5BAL44-10164552116.1%57%
7SEA19-276.741027021.7%51%
9DEN15-1814.571175028.2%79%
10JAX36-2922.6715136034.1%89%
11TEN16-1324.291092125%84%
12BUF23-198.53355010.7%75%
13IND20-1621.551098131.3%75%
14KC20-1016.148121029.6%81%
15ARI40-2023.53485215.4%73%
16LV23-219.94959026.5%80%
17LAC20-168.73457015.4%68%

Production

Receptions71
Targets120
Receiving yards1,117
Carries2
Rushing yards15
Touchdowns7
Points per game15.08
Yards per target9.31
Catch rate59.17%
Yards per carry7.5

Role

Snap share77.2%
Target share24.24%
Air-yards share35.07%
WOPR0.609
RACR0.878

Efficiency

Average depth of target12.7
Yards after catch per reception4.6
Yards before catch per reception11.2
Total YAC324
Broken tackles4
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted103.4
Receiving EPA per game2.62
Rushing EPA per game0.13

Scoring position

Red-zone targets18
Red-zone target share21.4%
End-zone target share35.3%
Red-zone carry share1.2%
Expected receiving TDs5.46
Actual receiving TDs3
Receiving TD luck-2.46
Expected rushing TDs0.14

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game10 of 44
Yards per target8 of 44
Target share16 of 44
Air-yards share17 of 44

Who else ate

The offense threw it 582 times. He took 21.7% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Nico Collins 21.7%
Dalton Schultz19.17%
Jayden Higgins12.3%
Xavier Hutchinson10.31%
Christian Kirk9.4%
Woody Marks6.51%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
C.J. Stroud118114.229.3724.15%
Davis Mills43917.459.1824.5%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 15 games were blowouts, 22.7% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 17.13 in those and 14.43 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · HOU · 12 games

His best game was Week 4 against JAX — 33.1 PPR on 15 targets and a 38.5% target share, in a game that finished 24-20. His worst was Week 17 against BAL at 8.9, on 6 targets, final score 2-31. Across 12 games he cleared 20 points 3 times and came in under 8 points 0 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 20.6; in the 4 decided by more, 11.4. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 14.6 points per game. He scored 17.55, 22.1% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 6 against 4.86 expected, a gap of 1.1.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1IND29-2717.768117025.8%80%
2CHI19-1327.5810135129.4%84%
3MIN7-3412.641086023.3%82%
4JAX24-2033.11215151138.5%84%
5BUF23-2015.8227815.7%13%
11DAL34-109.44754021.2%47%
12TEN27-3220.25992129%79%
13JAX23-2019.9811119033.3%70%
15MIA20-1217.74617224%82%
16KC19-271371060027%85%
17BAL2-318.93659019.4%71%
18TEN23-1414.85538117.9%18%

Production

Receptions68
Targets99
Receiving yards1,006
Touchdowns7
Points per game17.55
Yards per target10.16
Catch rate68.69%

Role

Snap share66.25%
Target share24.54%
Air-yards share33.23%
WOPR0.6
RACR0.985

Efficiency

Average depth of target10.7
Yards after catch per reception5.4
Yards before catch per reception9.4
Total YAC365
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted104.2
Receiving EPA per game3.57

Scoring position

Red-zone targets15
Red-zone target share20.3%
End-zone target share35.5%
Expected receiving TDs4.86
Actual receiving TDs6
Receiving TD luck1.14

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game8 of 51
Yards per target4 of 51
Target share27 of 51
Air-yards share17 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 570 times. He took 18.17% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Nico Collins 18.17%
Dalton Schultz15.6%
Tank Dell14.86%
Stefon Diggs11.74%
Joe Mixon9.54%
John Metchie III6.79%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
C.J. Stroud119417.810.325.15%
Davis Mills1514.87.617.9%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 12 games were blowouts, 14.7% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 10.3 in those and 20.61 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · HOU · 15 games

His best game was Week 4 against PIT — 35.8 PPR on 9 targets and a 33.3% target share, in a game that finished 30-6. His worst was Week 14 against NYJ at 2.3, on 1 targets, final score 6-30. Across 15 games he cleared 20 points 5 times and came in under 8 points 4 times. In the 8 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 18.2; in the 7 decided by more, 16.4. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 12.7 points per game. He scored 17.36, 35.9% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky. On receiving touchdowns specifically he finished 7 against 4.34 expected, a gap of 2.7.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1BAL9-251461180025.6%71%
2IND20-3127.679146120.9%62%
3JAX37-175.42334010.3%66%
4PIT30-635.879168233.3%76%
5ATL19-216.93439012.5%88%
6NO20-13124680025%73%
8CAR13-1574630025%72%
9TB39-3714.43554113.2%79%
11ARI21-1613.571165028.9%76%
12JAX21-2423.479104125%77%
13DEN22-1734.1912191144.4%81%
14NYJ6-302.3111303.7%5%
16CLE22-3613.84618112.5%47%
17TEN26-315.77880025.8%62%
18IND23-1934.599195134.6%84%

Production

Receptions80
Targets109
Receiving yards1,297
Carries1
Rushing yards7
Touchdowns8
Points per game17.36
Yards per target11.9
Catch rate73.39%
Yards per carry7

Role

Snap share67.93%
Target share22.71%
Air-yards share28.74%
WOPR0.541
RACR1.153

Efficiency

Average depth of target10.9
Yards after catch per reception6.9
Yards before catch per reception9.4
Total YAC549
Broken tackles16
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted129.6
Receiving EPA per game4.81
Rushing EPA per game0.02

Scoring position

Red-zone targets17
Red-zone target share22.4%
End-zone target share25.6%
Red-zone carry share1.2%
Expected receiving TDs4.34
Actual receiving TDs7
Receiving TD luck2.66
Expected rushing TDs0.05

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 80+ targets pool that season:

Points per game7 of 51
Yards per target2 of 51
Target share29 of 51
Air-yards share31 of 51

Who else ate

The offense threw it 592 times. He took 19.75% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Nico Collins 19.75%
Dalton Schultz15.94%
Robert Woods13.59%
Tank Dell13.59%
Noah Brown9.96%
Devin Singletary6.88%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
C.J. Stroud1410317.6112.4223.44%
Davis Mills1613.8312.5%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 15 games were blowouts, 22.7% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 14.8 in those and 18.22 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2022 · HOU · 10 games

His best game was Week 10 against NYG — 15.9 PPR on 10 targets and a 27% target share, in a game that finished 16-24. His worst was Week 1 against IND at 4.6, on 3 targets, final score 20-20. Across 10 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 3 times. In the 5 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 9.4; in the 5 decided by more, 10. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 11.3 points per game. He scored 9.71, 13.9% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1IND20-204.6232608.3%67%
2DEN9-169.84958024.3%67%
3CHI20-236.12441012.9%68%
4LAC24-3411.23582014.3%77%
5JAX13-610.54665025%81%
7LV20-386.3333307.5%46%
10NYG16-2415.951049127%78%
11WAS10-239.85748021.9%86%
12MIA15-3010.46944023.7%75%
13CLE14-2712.531035127%72%

Production

Receptions37
Targets66
Receiving yards481
Touchdowns2
Points per game9.71
Yards per target7.29
Catch rate56.06%

Role

Snap share71.7%
Target share19.19%
Air-yards share30.9%
WOPR0.504
RACR0.787

Efficiency

Average depth of target11.3
Yards after catch per reception4.4
Yards before catch per reception8.6
Total YAC163
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted83
Receiving EPA per game-0.13

Scoring position

Red-zone targets8
Red-zone target share12.1%
End-zone target share15.4%
Expected receiving TDs1.69
Actual receiving TDs2
Receiving TD luck0.31

Who else ate

The offense threw it 579 times. He took 12.02% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandin Cooks16.94%
Chris Moore13.48%
Nico Collins 12.02%
Jordan Akins9.84%
Rex Burkhead9.29%
Phillip Dorsett7.29%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Davis Mills8479.288.5517.65%
Kyle Allen21911.454.1625.35%

Blowouts against close games

1 of his 10 games were blowouts, 6.5% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 6.3 in those and 9.38 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2021 · HOU · 14 games

His best game was Week 16 against LAC — 12.3 PPR on 4 targets and a 14.8% target share, in a game that finished 41-29. His worst was Week 13 against IND at 0, on 1 targets, final score 0-31. Across 14 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 9 times. In the 3 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 6.7; in the 11 decided by more, 5.8. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 7.4 points per game. He scored 5.97, 19.6% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsTDTgt%Snap%
1JAX37-211.713709.4%55%
2CLE21-314.2113203.6%3%
6IND3-318.44644014.3%57%
7ARI5-314.82528016.1%63%
8LA22-389.54455011.1%64%
9MIA9-175.5332507.5%70%
11TEN22-131.912908.7%59%
12NYJ14-214.82528019.2%65%
13IND0-31001003.8%62%
14SEA13-3311.951069020.8%70%
15JAX30-163.42414013.3%61%
16LAC41-2912.33433114.8%66%
17SF7-235.52535016.7%60%
18TEN25-289.73767021.9%72%

Production

Receptions33
Targets60
Receiving yards446
Touchdowns1
Points per game5.97
Yards per target7.43
Catch rate55%

Role

Snap share59.07%
Target share12.94%
Air-yards share19.27%
WOPR0.329
RACR0.9

Efficiency

Average depth of target10.6
Yards after catch per reception4
Yards before catch per reception9.5
Total YAC133
Broken tackles0
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted77.5
Receiving EPA per game-0.02

Scoring position

Red-zone targets6
Red-zone target share12.8%
End-zone target share29.4%
Expected receiving TDs1.95
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck-0.95

Who else ate

The offense threw it 546 times. He took 11.47% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandin Cooks25.62%
Nico Collins 11.47%
David Johnson8.03%
Danny Amendola7.27%
Chris Conley7.07%
Pharaoh Brown6.5%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Davis Mills10476.978.0213.64%
Tyrod Taylor4133.475.3111.2%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 14 games were blowouts, 30% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 6.28 in those and 6.67 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

Ask the Coach about Nico Collins →
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