Nico Collins

Collins is a big-bodied receiver that can go up and highpoint the football. He runs a wide variety of routes, but lacks refinement within the top of his breaks. Tends to round out his routes rather than snapping in and out. Works with his size well though and can be a vertical and intermediate threat.Good athlete for his size. Doesn't possess elite burst or agility, but good overall athleticism for being 220 pounds. Solid receiving ability and good hand-eye coordination. No drops on tape and shows strong hands when going up to highpoint the ball. Able to shield defenders off well due to his large frame in the middle of the field and then also go up and highpoint the football with his size and length. Understands how to create positioning deep downfield and put himself in the best possible position to make a play on the ball. Certainly won't be breaking tackles consistently after the catch with his twitch or short-area quickness, but has more than enough speed to pull away from defenders if he's able to take the reception in stride.Good release and able to fight off contact well at the LOS and get defenders routinely flipping their hips. Lacks the overall burst to take advantage of this, but it does give him slight leverage that he can then utilize his contested catch ability with. Hard evaluation due to playing with Shea Patterson. Passes were routinely airmailed or under-thrown, which makes it difficult to gauge Collins' proficiency in deep ball tracking. However, did show an excellent ability to adjust to the ball on a back-shoulder throw in the end zone against Indiana in 2019. Limited sample size, but it seems the ability is there. Possesses enough straight line speed to be a vertical threat downfield. He's unlikely to break the 4.4's in the 40-yard dash, but has enough speed with his size to be a solid field-stretching option paired with his contested catch ability. Overall, Collins is a difficult evaluation due to the QB play he endured at Michigan and then opting out of the 2020 season. The traits are there for him to develop into a refined receiver at the next level, but there are certainly plenty of question marks. With the NFL game moving further and further away from true contested catch players, where Collins fits and his value in the NFL Draft are going to be very interesting to watch. An early Day 3 pick or late Day 2 pick is my projection currently.

Nico Collins held to just 28 yards in Week 12 loss

Houston Texans' WR Nico Collins caught just 2-of-5 targets for 28 yards in Sunday's loss to the Jets.

Fantasy Impact

Collins was a late add to injury report Friday, but was active Sunday. The rookie has just 16 catches for 189 yards over the course of his last six games, which makes him very hard to trust from a fantasy standpoint.