Nico Collins is the heart of the Houston Texans’ offense through five weeks of the NFL season.
That heart could be beating at full capacity once more this Sunday against the New England Patriots.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Collins is listed as “day-to-day” with a hamstring injury after leaving in the first quarter of Sunday’s win against the Buffalo Bills.
The hope is he’ll be cleared to play for Week 6 or at least Week 7 when Houston travels to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.
Texans now consider WR Nico Collins “day to day” with the hamstring injury he suffered during Sunday’s win over the Bills. pic.twitter.com/oVqo8Kr5jd
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2024
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud connected with Collins for a touchdown to put the Texans up 14-3. The fourth-year pass-catcher limped to the sidelines and entered the blue medical before heading to the locker room for further evaluation.
Entering Sunday’s game, Collins led the league with 489 yards off 30 catches. After the pair of receptions, his number went up to 567 yards.
“He is the best receiver in football,” Stroud said postgame. “When he gets out the game, it definitely is tough on us. A lot of things are predicated towards him and planned for him. I definitely do think we still have a lot of other guys who step up too, so I thought they did a good job doing that.”
Barring an injury, Collins is on pace for 128 catches for 2,078 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s been Stroud’s go-to guy through guy, as his volume of targets only continues to expand with each game.
In last week’s against over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Collins caught 12 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown performance on 15 targets to secure the 24-20 victory.
C.J. STROUD 67-YARD DIME TO NICO COLLINS 🎯
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/QwShMEO3ut
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 6, 2024
If Collins can’t go, Houston still has a 1-2 combination in Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs, plus tight end Dalton Schultz. In his first game against his former team, Diggs finished with a team-leading six catches for 82 yards.
Dell, who missed last week’s game against the Jaguars, caught four balls for 38 yards.
“Definitely hope Nico is okay and we can get him back as soon as possible,” Stroud said. “I definitely know that we have a lot of depth in that room.”
