Fantasy Football Player Notes

Nico Collins continued his run as Houston's unquestioned WR1 in 2025, posting his third 1,000-yard season in the last four years while finishing as a top-10 fantasy receiver once again. Despite battling injuries, Collins remained highly efficient and continued to dominate targets and red-zone usage in the Texans offense. Interestingly, his production actually improved without C.J. Stroud under center, though a bounce-back season from the young QB would elevate Collins' ceiling even further. At worst, Collins profiles as a reliable fantasy WR1/WR2 hybrid with one of the strongest WR efficiency profiles in the NFL.

David Montgomery now finds himself as the Texans' do it all workhorse for 2026. Last year, he was phased out of the Lions' offensive plans as the season moved along, which led to his RB32 finish in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 12-18, he was the RB43 in fantasy points per game with a 32.1% snap rate, 8.2 touches per game, and only 42.8 total yards per game. Montgomery still has the juice to produce as a workhorse this season. Last season, he ranked 30th in missed tackle rate, but he was 12th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). His receiving chops are also still alive and well, as he was also 22nd in yards per route run and 12th in first downs per route run. Many will worry that Montgomery will split Houston's backfield workload with Woody Marks this season, but I don't see that happening. Montgomery should absorb a workload close to what Joe Mixon saw in 2024. In 2024, Mixon ranked fifth in opportunity share, 14th in snap share, and 13th in carries among running backs, finishing with 281 touches. Last season, Montgomery bested Marks in explosive run rate, missed tackle rate, rushing success rate, yards after contact per attempt, and yards per route run. Legit, every per-touch metric that I care about. Montgomery is the superior back, even at this stage of his career, and he'll be a strong volume-driven RB2 that could flirt with RB1 production.

Jayden Higgins had a quiet rookie season statistically, but the Texans' second-round pick showed encouraging flashes once his role expanded late in the year. Higgins started earning more playing time after Week 10 and proved capable of stepping up whenever Nico Collins missed time, flashing both touchdown upside and starter-level usage. Entering Year 2, Higgins is positioned as Houston's full-time No. 2 receiver with clear contingent upside if Collins were ever sidelined. He's an appealing late-round depth target in deeper fantasy formats, especially given the coaching staff's confidence in his long-term potential.

With David Montgomery in Houston now, Woody Marks becomes his immediate backup and handcuff. Marks is a solid option among handcuffs. Last year, during his run as Houston's starter (Weeks 10-18), he averaged 17.5 touches and 63.2 total yards per game as the RB32 in fantasy points per game. Last year, overall, he was solid but not spectacular on a per-touch basis, ranking 34th in explosive run rate, 48th in missed tackle rate, and 40th in rushing success rate (per Fantasy Points Data). Marks is a decent late-round handcuff option to draft, but you'll likely be able to get him off the waiver wire in season if Montgomery misses any time.

Over the last two years, CJ Stroud has been unable to match the splendor of his 2023 rookie season. Shoddy offensive line play was undoubtedly part of the problem in 2024. The Texans' O-line outperformed expectations in 2025, but Stroud was a league-average starter at best. As a rookie, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns, with only five interceptions. He averaged 273.2 passing yards per game and 8.2 yards per pass attempt. In 31 starts over the last two seasons, Stroud has averaged 218.3 passing yards per game and 7.1 yards per attempt. His yearly finishes in fantasy points per game among QBs with at least nine starts: QB7, QB26, QB20. The Texans have worked on upgrading Stroud's offensive line, and Houston has a solid set of pass catchers led by WR Nico Collins. But with Houston having one of the NFL's top defenses, Stroud probably won't be presented with a lot of pass-happy game scripts. Consider Stroud a low-end QB in 2026 fantasy drafts.

Dalton Schultz had 82 catches for 777 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 to finish TE11 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. The modest TD total limited his fantasy impact, but Schultz finished tied with Jake Ferguson for third among tight ends in receptions behind only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts. Schultz finished sixth among TEs in receiving yards. The Texans have an established star at wide receiver with Nico Collins, and Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel and (if healthy) Tank Dell round out a pretty good WR corps. With robust target competition, Schultz might be hard-pressed to match the career-high 106 targets he saw last season. And since Houston has one of the best defenses in the league, the Texans aren't likely to be a pass-heavy team in 2026. It's best to consider Schultz a midrange TE2 for fantasy, even though he was more than that last season.

No. 1-highest scoring projected DST after finishing as the DST2 in 2025. Third-fewest PPG allowed. The Texans have been a top-5 fantasy unit for two straight seasons. They do draw two tougher matchups to start the year, versus Buffalo and Cincinnati.

Jaylin Noel barely made an impact statistically as a rookie, but Houston always viewed him as more of a long-term option behind its veteran receivers. With Christian Kirk now gone, Noel has a realistic path to a much larger offensive role after flashing whenever he received extended playing time in 2025. He was Pro Football Focus' (PFF) seventh-highest graded returner on 72 combined kick/punt returns in 2025. He flashed on multiple occasions as a receiver in Year 1. In the games where Noel ran at least 17 routes, he averaged almost four receptions per game.Tank Dell's eventual return could create some overlap, but Noel is firmly on the radar as a Year 2 breakout candidate in Houston's offense.

Ka'imi Fairbairn led the league in field goals attempted (48) and field goals made (44) last season despite missing two games with a quad injury. Fairbairn led all kickers with 12.9 fantasy points per game in 2025, finishing a full point ahead of runner-up Jason Myers. The dependable nine-year veteran has converted 91.3% of his FG tries and 97.3% of his PATs over the last four years. Fairbairn is accurate from long distance, converting 51-of-69 (73.9%) of his career FG attempts from 50 yards or longer. With one of the top defenses in the league and a flawed offense, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans isn't one to turn up his nose at the chance to put three points on the board. The Texans' 52 team FG attempts ranked first in the league in 2025, and they tied for fourth in that category in 2024 with 42 FG attempts. Fairbairn is a low-risk, high-upside kicker option.