The Texans activated Tank Dell from injured reserve on Saturday, and he is expected to play during the Texans’ week 7 matchup against the Giants. Dell last played on Dec. 21, 2024, when he dislocated his kneecap and tore his ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus while making a 30-yard touchdown catch against the Chiefs. A 2023 third-round pick out of Houston, Dell has 98 catches for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns across 25 career games.
Tank Dell’s return complicates a suddenly crowded Houston receiving corps. Nico Collins holds firm as C.J. Stroud’s primary target, but the midseason acquisition of Marvin Harrison Jr. and the recent emergence of slot wideout Jaylin Noel (12–233 line across his last three outings) alter the equation. Noel’s slot snaps are the prime candidate to regress with Dell active, making snap progression and target hierarchy essential storylines for fantasy managers to track.
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins is already out ...
The Houston Texans will have tests done on wide receiver ...
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (hamstring) was ...
CJ Stroud and Marvin Harrison Jr. reunite after playing two seasons together for the Ohio State Buckeyes. 2022 was Harrison’s breakout season where he racked up 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns catching passes from Stroud.
It’s been a downward trend for Harrison the past few years. His target share as a rookie was 22% and he averaged 52 yards per game. Those numbers declined both of the following seasons down to an 8% target share for 21 yards per game so far this season. Harrison is officially and NFL reclamation project. While Nico Collins will be largely unaffected, Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte‘s roles are most at-risk. Jayden Higgins‘ lifetime value rating also nominally drops in fantasy football dynasty leagues.
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said at a recent press conference that the team plans to open the practice window for receiver Tank Dell. Dell missed all of the 2025 season while recovering from a dislocated knee and multiple torn knee ligaments. The Texans receiver had 51 receptions for 667 yards and 3 touchdowns prior to the injury.
The struggling Texans could certainly use a speedster like Dell, as outside of Nico Collins, the receiving corps has struggled to produce consistent fantasy points. Quarterback C.J. Stroud already has an established connection with Dell, as both showed plenty of promise during their rookie season. While Dell’s fantasy relevance may take some time to develop as he works his way back, he becomes an interesting name to watch as we progress through the season. In the meantime, continue to check out PlayerProfiler’s weekly rankings for all your start and sit decisions.
Nico Collins, who suffered the injury during Wednesday’s practice, was always a long shot to suit up this weekend. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson followed up with a report that Collins will likely miss two games.
If last week’s deployment is any guide, Xavier Hutchinson (69% snap share) and Kayshon Boutte (61% snap share) are positioned to lead the receiver room on Sunday, with second year receiver Jaylin Noel (28% snap share) mixed in. For fantasy football purposes, both Hutchinson and Noel operated predominantly out of the slot last week, logging 57% and 81% of their snaps there, respectively. Hutchinson offers the versatility to move back outside where he played the majority of his snaps in 2025, should the team opt to keep Noel in the slot. The offense will ramp up Boutte’s route participation while leaning on veteran tight end Dalton Schultz, who finished second on the team with eight targets in Week 1.
This is a situation that needs to be closely monitored as some reports have stated that WR Nico Collins did in fact go through individual drills during practice after sustaining the injury. But according to Aaron Wilson, it has been confirmed that the Houston Texans are to have tests done on Collins’ hamstring per league source. Adam Schefter followed up with a reported stating Collins met with doctors after Wednesday’s practice, and they “don’t believe it’s serious.”
Collins is PlayerProfiler’s WR6 in seasonal-redraft and is coming off a strong Week 1 performance of 7 catches on 10 targets for 75 yards and 1 TD against the Buffalo Bills, and his status for Week 2 vs. the Bengals remains in jeopardy. If Collins misses time, it would cripple the Texans passing attack and leave Houston’s newly-acquired Kayshon Boutte as the de facto WR1.
Beyond Boutte, Xavier Hutchinson (29 routes run in Week 1), WR Jaylin Noel (15 routes run in Week 1), and TE Dalton Schultz (32 routes run in Week 1) are all No. 2 receiving options for C.J. Stroud. Second-year WR Jaylin Noel is the most dynamic secondary option and would offer the most upside for fantasy football, if Collins misses time. ~Jason Diaz
While both sides made a run at completing an extension before the regular season begins, they couldn’t strike a deal and both sides now prefer to wait until after this season to work out a long-term deal. C.J. Stroud. Stroud has had an up-and-down past couple of years after a strong rookie season, culminating in a brutal Divisional Playoff loss last year to New England where he completed 20 of 47 passes along with 4-INTs. This has Stroud wanting to bet on himself to revert back to his rookie year form, where he finished as QB11, and the Texans not willing to financially commit to him at that level.
This should lead to a highly motivated Stroud this year. The arrival of David Montgomery at RB in the offseason, combined with Woody Marks, whose improvement this offseason has impressed the coaching staff, should force defenses to be more honest against Stroud and star WR Nico Collins. Stroud is PlayerProfiler’s No. 22 ranked QB in dynasty rankings and No. 21 ranked QB in Week 1 rankings.
