Talks out of rookie mini camp are that Kirk will start alongside Nico Collins, with both Iowa State rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylen Noel to get opportunities in year 1.
The Texans depth chart has had a severe shakeup since last season, Christian Kirk was the early addition to that depth chart and was projected to slot into Stefon Diggs and Tank Dells slot snaps. The team ended up drafting 2 receivers on day 2 of the 2025 draft, Jayden Higgins with pick 34 and then Jaylin Noel with pick 79. While early analyst projections had Higgins lining up as WR2 alongside Nico Collins and Christian Kirk manning the slot as WR3 (and possibly sitting out on 2 wide receiver sets) the team has not affirmed those speculations at this time.
It’s going to be tough to accurately project the Texas offense this season. The real clear winner here is C.J. Stroud going into his 3rd season, the Texans clearly made an effort to ensure their franchise QB won’t be lacking weapons in the pass game — even adding a prolific pass catching back in Woody Marks with a 4th round draft pick. Nico Collins has been getting a ton of buzz around a top WR finish this year, and the coaching team has commented on the familiarity the Iowa State rookies have with each other being beneficial to the offense overall. Ultimately the team still has offensive line questions and there are only a limited amount of passes available to be caught in any given game. Collins won’t be able to command the majority of those targets and rookie hype often overestimates first year receiver production. What we don’t have…is enough talk about Kirk’s value as a late round pick in 2025, especially in Best Ball formats.
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk was dealt from ...
Houston Texas wide receiver Christian Kirk (collarbone) was...
The Houston Texans restructured the contract of new wide ...
New Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk is rising on Underdog.
The Houston Texans acquired wide receiver Christian Kirk from the Jacksonville Jaguars in early March for a 2026 7th-round pick. With Stefon Diggs leaving via free agency and Tank Dell set up to miss possibly all of the 2025 season, the Texans needed to take action for franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Since March 20th, Christian Kirk has risen on Underdog 11.7 spots in ADP from WR-56 to WR-53. This jump can be attributed to the fact that no other formidable weapons have been added to the Houston Texans either via trade or in free agency. The next spot where the Texans can bolster their offense will be the NFL Draft which will take place the weekend of April 24th.
With Christian Kirk moving from round 10 into round 9, expect Kirk’s rise to slow down as soaring up the single digits tends to move at a slower pace. The bullish case for Christian Kirk is if he can have a fully healthy season like he did in 2022. In 2022, Kirk’s 14.2 fantasy points per game ranked No.18 making him a viable WR-2. Don’t let any of this distract you from the fact that no one has ever been cooler than Val Kilmer was in the 1995 cinematic masterpiece that was the movie Heat.
Author: Jeremiah Retzlaff (@coachretzlaff1)
The Houston Texans landed veteran receiver Christian Kirk from the Jaguars in exchange for a 2026 7th round pick. The Texans will assume the remainder of Kirks $15.5 million salary this year.
Acquiring Christian Kirk makes a ton of sense for the injury ravaged Texans receiving core, currently the only returning pass catcher of note in 2025 is Nico Collins. C.J. Stroud had a down year last season – the aforementioned injuries, o-line issues and a case of the yips were major contributors, and now the Texans front office are wisely looking to support their franchise QB every way they can.
We know what Christian Kirk is at this point, a steady and reliable complimentary receiver. He will pair well with Nico Collins immediately and still leave the Texans room (at least roster construction wise) for Stefon Diggs and/or drafting an interesting pass catcher this year. Word on the street has that Diggs is drawing a ton of interest from other teams due to the lack of options in free agency and relatively weak draft class, so re-signing him sounds like a long shot. Fantasy wise its reasonable to expect Kirk to perform at his career average Wide Receiver 3 range: 65 catches for 800 yards and a handful of touchdowns. This is better news for CJ Stroud and Nico Collins than it is for Kirk. Also, wheels up for whoever the Jaguars draft on day 2 come April!
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
Trevor Lawrence suffered a high ankle sprain while also losing his favorite receiver, Christian Kirk, to a core muscle injury in Monday night’s overtime loss against the Bengals.
The road to the Super Bowl gets significantly tougher for the Jacksonville Jaguars, after two of their best players suffered significant injuries on Monday night. Christian Kirk broke free for a long reception on the first play of the game, but had to contort his body to make the catch and fell to the ground awkwardly, injuring himself and missing the entire rest of the game. Later in the fourth quarter, Trevor Lawrence got his ankle rolled up on by his own lineman, and ended up limping all the way to the locker room while missing the rest of the game.
Kirk is expected to undergo surgery that has a typical 8 week recovery period, and will be safe to drop in all redraft formats once they gather a second opinion in the coming days. Once Kirk got sidelined, rookie receiver Parker Washington assumed Kirk’s role and did an excellent job, catching 6 passes for 61 yards with an impressive touchdown. Washington deserves an add in all deep leagues and dynasty leagues after showcasing his talent, and fellow receiver Zay Jones is also expected to be leaned on more in the passing game without Kirk.
Lawrence’s ankle injury is expected to sideline him for a few games, but he has proven to be tough, and has successfully played through these types of injuries in the past. In the meantime, the offense gets a significant downgrade at Quarterback with C.J. Beathard. Beathard warrants an add in deeper superflex leagues, as he has a career average of over 15 ppg in games where he has played 70%+ of the snaps.
