As we continue to count down to Houston Texans training camp, which begins one week from today, we thank the sports gods for the World Cup and the Astros’ July swoon to keep our plates full on the content front. We are doubly thankful, because normally the NFL’s Top 100 would assist in filling that void.
However, thus far, the Top 100 has been largely bereft of any Houston Texans. Sure, we got Azeez Al-Shaair at number 92 overall, but nothing since then —- UNTIL NOW! On Tuesday morning, the NFL revealed on X that Texans wide receiver Nico Collins comes in at number 58 on this summer’s countdown of the 100 best players in the league, as voted on by their peers.
So we have our second Houston Texan of this year’s version of this exercise, with Collins actually falling from 32nd last year to 58th this year. So why did he tumble 26 spots? That’s a good place to start, when laying out a few thoughts on this announcement:
So why did Nico Collins dip from number 32 to number 58?
I’m not going to act like there is a ton of science behind these rankings. It’s a slew of current players, each listing their personal 20 best players, and the league then spits out a Top 100 based on the votes. So there’s no direct performance data that has Nico’s falling from 58th to 32nd make us say “EUREKA!” That said, while Collins only played in 12 games in 2024 (versus 15 last season), on a per game basis, he was notably better in 2024 than in 2025, by nearly ten yards per game. Also, Collins might be getting penalized for what was a lackluster Texans offense in 2025, as a whole. Either way, 58th is still pretty damn good.
Nico Collins’ ranking highlights the Texans “number one wide receiver” lineage
If there is one position in Houston Texans history that feels like it’s been locked down pretty well, it’s the position of number one wide receiver. Let’s look at the lineage. In the Texans’ second season of existence, in 2003, Andre Johnson arrived, and went on to be one of the best receivers in the sport through 2013. In 2014, DeAndre Hopkins, in his second season, took that baton from Johnson, and went on to be one of the best in thee sport through 2019. Unfortunately, Hopkins was traded prior to the 2020 season, but Brandin Cooks actually Gave the Texans two 1,000 yard seasons in 2020 and 2021. 2022 was a dark time, because even though Cooks and Collins were on tjhe team, the team sucked on offense. However in 2023, after shipping Cooks out, Collins ascended to one of the best in football and has been now for three full seasons.
Collins’ future as a Texan may be tied to Jayden Higgins’ progress
While Collins is undoubtedly one of the ten best receivers in football, the Texans have several other players who could say the same thing about their stature among their peers at their respective position, at spots like edge defender, cornerback, safety, and so forth. The point here is that, with a salary cap, they can’t pay everybody. Collins may very well still be a high performing receiver in two seasons, but his price tag might necessitate hard decisions. It’s worth watching the progress of second year man Jayden Higgins this season to see if, like Collins in 2023, he ascends to a level where the Texans could envision him as their number one receiver, and make Collins a possible trade chip.
I’m starting to feel like there are some major Texan snubs coming
With Collins coming in at 58th overall, and with Al-Shaair at 92nd being the only other Texan on the list thus far, I think we’re ascending to a point in the rankings where it’s tough to envision Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre, or Calen Bullock making their respective debuts in the rankings. Additionally, with Lamar Jackson (67th), Trevor Lawrence (62nd), and Bo Nix (59th) unveiled over the last few days, it looks like the end of the runway might be coming for C.J. Stroud’s candidacy. We’ll find out over the next several days.
