Who is the Houston Texans’ highest-graded free agent entering the offseason?
Pro Football Focus broke down every NFL team’s highest-graded pending free agent from the 2024 season.
For Houston, it probably comes as no surprise given his impact in the season that two-time All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs was named Hoston’s top free agent by production.
TEXANS PULLING OUT ALL THE TRICKS 🪄
Stefon Diggs runs it in for the TD‼️ (via @HoustonTexans)pic.twitter.com/sebaiQS28H
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 29, 2024
In his 430 snaps through eight games, Diggs earned a 79.0 offensive grade, which ranked third among Houston’s offensive players and sixth overall among players.
Per PFF, Diggs was also the No. 22 overall receiver for the 2024 season despite being limited to eight games.
Diggs was relishing a bounce-back season in Houston before suffering a season-ending ACL tear. Through eight weeks, his 79.9 PFF receiving grade ranked 18th among receivers with 20 or more targets. Diggs placed second in first downs gained and in the top 35 in yards per route run (1.84) and passer rating when targeted (108.0).
The 31-year-old wideout seemed to build solid chemistry with C.J. Stroud, so a return to Houston wouldn’t be surprising. But if another team — especially a contender — offers Diggs a more lucrative deal, then he’d probably land with his third franchise in three seasons.
Talks of a new deal have been rumored since Houston’s divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Texans need a stable No. 2 weapon behind Nico Collins and can’t rely on the draft for a young prospect to take his place.
Initially, it seemed like Houston was content with Diggs walking in free agency, but after Tank Dell suffered a season-ending knee injury in December that likely will keep him out of the lineup for most of 2025, plans have changed.
Both Collins and Stroud, along with Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, have been vocal of ensuring a reunion with the four-time Pro Bowler for next season. Collins said that Diggs’ biggest impact came off the field in the locker room rather than as a target in the passing game.
“That’s who Stef is, he’s a leader. Great, great leader in the receiver room,” Collins said Monday. “Great leader around the league. Dude’s been around the league for years. He knows what it takes to win, and you want to have that leadership in the locker room. For him to go down, it hurt.”
.#Texans WR Nico Collins praising C.J. Stroud , also addresses the WR corp and why he wants Stefon Diggs (@stefondiggs )
to come back. pic.twitter.com/Fl0VgNoHO6— Randy McIlvoy (@KPRC2RandyMc) January 23, 2025
The record backs it up. With Diggs in the lineup, the Texans were 6-2. After his season-ending knee injury, Houston finished 4-5.
In eight games, Diggs caught 47 passes for 496 yards and scored four touchdowns. Those numbers still ranked in the top four among Houston’s targets despite missing 11 total games, including the playoffs.
The Texans will have as many as 25 players entering some form of free agency, including unrestricted free agents in defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr., wide receiver Robert Woods, cornerback Jeff Okudah and running back Dare Ogunbowale.
