Nico Collins Expected To Miss Week 2 With Injury, Dalton Schultz Leads Our Fantasy Football Targets In Houston

The latest injury update on Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins and the fantasy football impact.

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) catches a ball and warm-ups before the Houston Texans played the Las Vegas Raiders at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Houston Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins is reportedly not expected to play this week due to a hamstring injury. I think we all expected this, but this is further confirmation. This is a brutal loss for both the Texans' offense and fantasy football owners. Especially this week in a strong matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Texans WR Nico Collins (hamstring) is not expected to play in Week 2, per @AaronWilson_NFL pic.twitter.com/4zeWMi6ITy

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) September 18, 2026

Fantasy Impact

WR Nico Collins, Houston Texans

Collins is going to miss Week 2, which continues his streak of missing time in 100% of his NFL seasons. Hamstrings can be tricky, and he has dealt with hamstring injuries in the past.

Based on everything we've learned about this injury, we are also very skeptical that he'll play in Week 3. A Grade 1 hamstring strain suffered mid-week is going to be tough to come back from by next week, but we will have to monitor this situation closely. Week 4 seems like a more realistic return date to us.

WR Xavier Hutchinson, Houston Texans

Excluding Collins, Hutchinson led all Texans' wide receivers in snaps (56%) and targets (six) last week. He is the favorite to step up as the WR1 this week; however, he also lacks the upside of some of the other options you go with in this offense.

WR Kayshon Boutte, Houston Texans

Boutte came in behind Hutchinson, playing 46% of snaps, but only saw two targets while getting caught up with the offense just before the start of the regular season. He will likely give you the best mix of volume, opportunities, and big-play upside while Collins is sidelined. This is the wide receiver we would start this week if we had to roll with one of these guys.

WR Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans

Noel actually finished second on the team in receiving last week, behind only Collins. Despite playing just 30% of snaps and seeing just two targets, he caught both of his targets for 53 yards. The upside is clearly there, but the potential lack of volume is scary.

TE Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

This is who we think the biggest beneficiary of Collins being out will be. Schultz already saw eight targets last week, and now Collins vacates his 10 targets from last week. There is a strong chance he leads this team in targets in Week 2 and makes a great spot start in a good matchup.

QB CJ Stroud, Houston Texans

Stroud is already a quarterback we didn't want in our starting lineup, even against the Bengals' defense. Nevertheless, without Collins, he loses whatever little value he did have.

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