Texans' Nico Collins Receives Head Turning Rating For 2025 Season

Ahead of the NFL season, which is growing closer by the day, the NFL has been realeasing its annual Top 100 ratings. Week by week, 10 players have been announced, starting from 100 and working their way to the No. 1 overall player. With a variety of factors involved, the top metric is how the players performed last season.

So far, there have been a few Houston Texans' players mention. Coming in at No. 58 was RB Joe Mixon, who completed his first year with the Texans last season after spending the first 7 of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Mixon returned to the Top 100 rankings list for the first time since 2021 after proving to be the workhorse for the Texans.

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon celebrates with crowd after AFC wild card game against the Los Angeles Chargers — Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

DE Will Anderson Jr. was the next Texan to be unveiled at No. 46, making his debut on the list for the first time in his young career. In 2024, he had a career-high amount of sacks, totalling 4 more than his previous high, and proved himself as one of the most impactful players on the Texans' defense.

Houston Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. runs onto the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens — Dec 25, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) runs onto the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The 39th best player in the NFL was deemed the Texans' shot caller, QB C.J. Stroud. Last year, the young QB went through the typical sophomore slump which saw his ranking fall 19 spots from the year prior. However, he led the Texans to a second consecutive 11-win season behind PFF's 29th-ranked offensive line.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud rolls out to throw against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round game — Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) rolls out to throw against the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter of a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Friday's list brought the highest-ranked Texans player thus far, WR Nico Collins, who was announced as the 32nd best player in the NFL. In 12 games, Collins grabbed 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and 7 touchdowns. It was his second consecutive 1,000-yard season despite suffering a hamstring injury in Week 5 that saw him sidelined for a few weeks. Per PFF, Collins has also been the highest graded receiver over the past 2 seasons with a grade of 93.3.

1️⃣2️⃣ flying in at #32 pic.twitter.com/CrbQBSKdba
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 15, 2025

Per the NFL, Nico Collins caught 29 passes as an isolated receiver this season for a league-leading 545 yards, 127 more than any other player. His 164 receiving yards over expected on those targets ranked second in the NFL, 2 yards behind Cincinnati Bengals triple-crown winner Ja'Marr Chase.

When announcing the pick of their team website, the Texans provided an annecdote about Collins that shows the player he is:

"Against the Bears on a Sunday night in week of 2024, Nico Collins was purposely poked in the face on the final play of the first quarter by Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson. Naturally, Collins responded to get Stevenson's fingers out of his face. Unfortunately, the refs only saw Collins and threw a 15-yard penalty on Nico. I watched him throughout that entire quarter break time out and I could see him patting his shoulder pads as if to say "my bad!"

Then, the magic of Nico Collins surfaced on the first of the second quarter. Stevenson, now in coverage, inadvertently struck Nico in the face on his release, but Collins shrugged it off as he ran a slant route to the middle. He snared the catch and then with all of that "I'm going to make up for that mistake" spirit ran through what appeared to be the entire Bears defense for the only Texans TD that night."

Collins is entering his 5th season in the NFL and the ceiling is still rising. He is expected to play a major role in the teams' offensive scheme yet again this season.