[The Athletic] Texans draft Nico Collins: Michigan WR adds needed size as Houston goes all-in on offense on Day 2 By Aaron Reiss The Texans ranked 30th in defensive DVOA last season but focused on adding to their offense with their first two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. After selecting quarterback Davis Mills 67th, Houston traded picks Nos. 109, 158 and a 2022 fourth-round pick to move up to No. 89 for Michigan wide receiver Nico Collins. As of Saturday morning, the Texans still have one fifth-round pick, three sixth-round picks and one seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. Big Board ranking: Collins was No. 82 on Dane Brugler’s list of the top 300 prospects. He was the 13th-ranked receiver in a deep class for the position. Introduction: Collins was a two-year starter at Michigan, lining up inside and outside. He opted out of this season despite never even recording 40 catches in a season, though that was due in part to inconsistent quarterback play. The Texans’ coaching staff has some familiarity with Collins. Pep Hamilton, Houston’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, was Michigan’s assistant head coach and passing game coordinator in 2017, when Collins caught three passes as a freshman. How he fits: After trading away DeAndre Hopkins last year, the Texans rebuilt their receiving corps around field-stretching speed receivers, primarily Will Fuller and Brandin Cooks. Though Houston ranked eighth in passing DVOA and Deshaun Watson turned in the best season of his career, the Texans missed having a big-bodied possession receiver they could turn to in the red zone. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Collins has the size the Texans’ receiving corps lacked. But Brugler notes in his scouting report on Collins that he had an “inconsistent success rate on 50-50 balls.” Among his strengths is using his body as a shield against defenders to finish over the middle. Second guess? Given how many needs the Texans have and how little draft capital they entered this draft with, it’s easy to argue they shouldn’t have been looking to trade up at all this year — especially for a wide receiver in a draft with a lot of good ones. Houston began the draft with 78 players on its roster, so it always seemed plausible they would select fewer than eight this week, as that would leave them with little room for undrafted free agents. But rather than trade up, trading out of a round for a future pick in a higher round would’ve been a preferable choice. Of course, Caserio would have to find a trade partner to pull that off. Perhaps he still will on Day 3. Rookie impact: Assuming the Texans coaching staff prioritizes developing young players as the team rebuilds — which was not the case under interim head coach Romeo Crennel — Collins should get chances in 2021. But the team won’t need him to contribute as a rookie. First-year production never defines the success of a draft pick, but especially not in the case of a third-rounder joining a team in transition. Depth chart impact: Brandin Cooks is the Texans’ No. 1 receiver. Aside from him, everyone else should be competing for snaps. In Collins’ case, he’ll be vying for playing time against veteran Chris Conley, who joined the team on a one-year deal, as well as 2020 fifth-round pick Isaiah Coulter, who played just six snaps as a rookie. Fast evaluation: I’m generally not a fan of rebuilding teams trading up, as explained above. Some might argue Houston had bigger needs to address, which is true, but this roster has holes everywhere. Prioritizing need with mid-round picks is impractical.
It feels weird to be the team trading up given we are in a rebuild. Ideally we would be the team trading down and stockpiling picks.
I don’t think those picks would’ve amounted to anything. Since 2006, the only notable players that the Texans drafted in 4th-7th round were Owen Daniels, Glover Quinn and DJ reader.
The odds are low, of course, but the wider the net you cast the better your odds that you will land a few hits. Getting a guy like DJ reader who gives you 2-3 years as a solid contributor and then goes and gets his payday elsewhere is a huge deal. Those type of 4th round and beyond players that stick are huge for building a competitive team while staying under the cap.
Eh...we got decent returns from Studdard, Diles, Yates, Newton, Ben Jones, Hal, Covington, and more recently Watkins and Omenihu. Still a relatively short list though.
Does seem like a pretty steep price to pay to move up 20 spots but they must really love the guy. He certainly has an impressive physical skill set and playing at a big program helps. Reminds me a bit of an Alston Jeffrey type