This is music to David Montgomery‘s ears. The Houston Texans dropped their pass rate down to 55.8-percent from Week 13 to Week 18 of 2025, and Caley wants to deploy more multi-tight end sets and heavy personnel packages to extend the offensive line and attack defensive surfaces with creative blocking schemes this season.
Given the Texans feature a top tier defense, a renewed commitment to a heavy, balanced ground attack make perfect strategic sense. Houston’s myriad of WR options also suggests a more diversified wide receiver rotation, lowering the ceiling of Jayden Higgins, Tank Dell, and Jaylin Noel. Though Caley also praised C.J. Stroud for taking a leap this offseason and exuding “a different comfort level,” Montgomery remains best Houston player to target in fantasy football drafts this year.
Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley said that he...
Since bursting onto the fantasy scene as a rookie in 2023, ...
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was once viewed as ...
Jaylin Noel is operating as the primary slot receiver with the first-team offense during offseason practices after recording a 60.1-percent slot rate as a rookie. With Tank Dell‘s role unclear upon return, Noel has faced minimal competition from sixth-round rookie Lewis Bond to secure the role inside.
Noel needs to sustain this momentum into training camp in order to elevate a minimal 6.3-percent rookie Target Share and become a functional fantasy flex option. Houston projects to lean into a quality defense and running game in 2026, making it difficult to buy Noel in fantasy football as a dynamic player in a crowded WR room.
Tank Dell sat out the first session of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, though he did participate in non-contact drills last week as he works back from a major knee injury. This leaves his baseline projections highly volatile for 2026 after a muted sophomore campaign where he posted a 69.0-percent Snap Share and a 1.59 Yards Per Route Run average.
Training camp execution and summer usage will ultimately reveal whether he can claim a definitive role on a suddenly crowded WR depth chart. Regardless, Houston’s stout defense and low-volume passing game puts a hard ceiling on Dell’s fantasy projection in 2026.
Ryans is talking up Jayden Higgins, but physical improvement in workouts means nothing until we see it translate to the gridiron. Higgins command of the playbook must match his elite raw athleticism, showcased by a 108.6 Speed Score and a 124.3 Burst Score. That said, knowing Higgins had a productive offseason is encouraging, and he will need to sharpen his route running to build on last season’s 3.4 Fantasy Points Per Game average.
Higgins has 1B upside in the Texas offense, but the ceiling is lowered by Houston’s run-first approach. Fade him in best ball but feel free to draft Higgins in dynasty as a WR5 with long-term upside.
After missing the 2025 season with a severe knee injury, Dell is reportedly making significant progress in the Texans’ current offseason conditioning program. Team management is using his performance in spring activities to gauge his readiness and official availability for the 2026 campaign.
If cleared to play, Dell likely holds the advantage over Jaylin Noel and Xavier Hutchinson for the team’s WR3 position and will push Jayden Higgins and Dalton Schultz for targets behind first-read Nico Collins. Dell is a value dart in best ball and a strong buy-low candidate in fantasy football dynasty leagues.
McNair is doubling down on his support for C.J. Stroud, reaffirming that the Texans are “totally behind” him as their long-term leader. The team exercised Stroud’s fifth-year option through 2027, with plans for a formal contract extension expected next year.
Although Stroud’s individual stats have cooled since his rookie year, his consistent postseason success has the organization focused on upgrading his offensive weapons to alleviate pressure next season. Still just 24.5 years of age, Stroud is a relatively inexpensive, young building block asset for fantasy football superflex and 2 QB dynasty leagues.
