2026 Team Previews: Houston Texans
Houston Texans 2026 Preview
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Drafted Everywhere
Nico Collins, WR (ADP: 24, WR9): Collins is a bona fide stud, and there are no nits to pick when it comes to his game. There are only two things that can keep him from being a surefire Top 5 WR, and they are health and his QB. Collins has delivered the goods for three straight seasons, eclipsing 1,000 yards in each one and delivering 22 total touchdowns across those campaigns. The problem is that Collins has been in the NFL for five years and has never once completed a full season. He’s played in 10, 12 and 15 games the past three years, the three seasons when he con be considered a fantasy contributor, and while this tells us a full season of Collins is going to provide value on even an ADP this elevated, chances are you’ll have to build for some missed time. That’s not ideal, and it does create some space between him and the truest elites of the WR position.
Second, C.J. Stroud has regressed statistically since his rookie season and Houston’s low-scoring offense might not allow for quite as much opportunity for Collins as other offenses do for their star WR1s. I’m not completely out on Stroud or this offense, but Collins is a notch below the Justin Jeffers/Puka Nacua types in terms of pure targets. With all this said, I have zero problems taking Collins at this ADP and would do so in any format with a smile on my face. He is an elite WR and is just as good as the entrenched top dogs in the first round. There may be a wart or two, but they’re unrelated to his play itself. Keep rolling the dice, and when the healthy season comes it’ll be a bonanza.
David Montgomery, RB (ADP: 51, RB23): Montgomery went from a volume-based surefire starting RB for years in Chicago and Detroit, to a touchdown-based surefire starting RB by the end of his tenure in Detroit. The arrival of Jahmyr Gibbs forced the Lions’ coaching staff’s hand in reducing Montgomery’s workload, but he still made the most of his opportunities. He fell below 200 carries for the last two seasons, but still racked up 20 touchdowns on an elite offense. He’s now gone, and the Texans will be relying on him as a bell cow once again. Montgomery’s efficiency may revert to the Chicago days where he hovered right around four yards per carry, but if he’s seeing north of 200 rushing attempts again with all of the goal line work this projects to be a very sturdy, boring and practical pick at this ADP.
Houston’s offensive line was abysmal last season, but their RB play also was a mess. Nick Chubb was a shell of his former self after myriad injuries sapped him of his burst, Joe Mixon was MIA, and Woody Marks, while explosive, struggled to consistently churn out yards behind this poor offensive line. Montgomery is a more rugged veteran who can break tackles and let Marks be a home run hitter in a more limited role.
Interesting Players
**Woody Marks, RB (ADP: 142, RB46): Marks was pressed into duty as a rookie due to Mixon’s mysterious and potentially career-ending foot injury, followed by the death of Nick Chubb’s explosiveness. While Marks didn’t wind up being a massive fantasy boon, he dramatically outperformed what was a borderline non-existent ADP (No. 218, RB62). Marks gained 911 total yards on the season and scored five total touchdowns, showing an ability to contribute as a receiver and hit big plays when the blocking was there. Marks was not an effective rusher in between the tackles, nor could he break tackles, making him a poor fit as Houston’s bell cow. This year, he won’t be asked to do that, and he’ll likely see a huge boost in his efficiency. Montgomery is a workhorse, but he isn’t a spring chicken either. Marks will have a nice role on this team, and it could be a sneaky offense on the rise. I really like Marks’ value at this point in a draft, because he’ll produce weekly and there’s plenty of room for his role to grow too.
Jayden Higgins, WR (ADP: 155, WR55): Higgins was not a player I was bullish on last year, but he turned in a decent rookie campaign. He got a lot of run and finished the season with 41 receptions, 525 yards and six touchdowns. None of his success rates vs. man, zone or press were anything to write home about, but he did show a knack for working the intermediate areas – 78.6% on outs, 78.9% on digs, while also being reliable for Stroud on curls (79.2%) and slants (78.4%). Higgins played on the outside a ton, and 15% of his routes were nines, which he was only successful on 33.3% of the time. If that doesn’t improve, that’s certainly something that lowers his overall ceiling but if he continues to operate as a flanker/slot type there’s clear room for growth into a productive player. At this ADP, there’s very little risk with Higgins and a fair amount of upside. I’m not going to target him because I still don’t love the player, but it’s a winning kind of pick.
Deep Cuts
Dalton Schultz, TE (ADP: 172, TE24): Schultz is as boring as it gets. At his very best, he put up 808 yards and eight touchdowns with the Cowboys in 2021, and last season he actually did rack up 82 receptions for 777 yards. He only scored three touchdowns though, and I’d expect his usage to fall back as Houston’s young WRs ascend. If you want to punt on TE until the final rounds, Schultz will be there as fantasy oatmeal, but you’re really not getting any type of upside going this route.
C.J. Stroud, QB (ADP: 172, QB22): It’s crazy that we’re here with Stroud as he enters Year 4, based on how high hopes were following his rookie season. Stroud didn’t just plateau after that season, he’s gone backward. After averaging 273.9 yards per game as a rookie he’s averaged 219.2 and 217.2 yards the last two seasons, with 20 and 19 touchdowns. Without any rushing production to speak of, Stroud has been relegated to a borderline streamer, but more often than not just a player to be left on waivers.
Maybe I am crazy, but I have not given up on Stroud. He has a true WR1 in Collins, and multiple young WRs who can take a leap. He battled through injuries to Collins in 2025 and along his offensive line while the running game crumbled around him. We’ve seen him flirt with the benchmarks needed to be a QB1 as a pass-first player, and he did that as a rookie. The physical talent is in him, and we’ve seen the production before. It’s not appealing right now, but late value is rarely obvious. I’m not advising anyone trust him in a one-QB league, but if your league plays with two QBs, is a SuperFlex, or is a deep keeper league with six-point pass touchdowns, I’d be buying stock.
Tank Dell, WR (ADP: 231, WR75): Dell was a super exciting player as a rookie, and I am a major fan of his work, but he’s suffered catastrophic leg injuries in back-to-back seasons, and was already an undersized bulldog type receiver to begin with. We will have to wait for news of his recovery throughout the offseason, but I’d need to see him play and look great in preseason games before even thinking of drafting him. It’s sad to say that, because I want him to return to his old form, but we’re trying to win out here and it’s hard for me to see Dell becoming a safe player to use in 2026.
**Jaylin Noel, WR (ADP: 275, WR85): Noel on the other hand, is someone I’d definitely be okay with a late gamble on. The stats aren’t impressive, but his success rates sure are. Noel beat man at a 72.7% clip (74th percentile) and zone at an 81.1% rate (72nd percentile). Shockingly, he was 96th percentile (81.8%) vs. press coverage, and while only 8.2% of his routes were against press that’s a sign that he has a lot of potential for growth. The majority of Noel’s routes were short stuff like slants and flats as well as curls, and all of those routes were executed well. They didn’t run him deep quite so much, but when they did he was pretty effective down the field as well. Noel only cracked more than 40% of snaps once all season, so he did not get enough opportunity to put up numbers. Clearly, when he was on the field he was tearing it up and proving his worth. Christian Kirk is out of the way this year, and people are by and large not looking at success rates and snap counts, which is going to keep Noel’s ADP in the cellar. For us who know ball, Noel has a great chance to be a contributor.
Xavier Hutchinson, WR (ADP: N/A): Hutchinson got solid run at times last season when injuries were hitting, but his overall numbers don’t reflect a player who is due for a breakout. He drew 57 targets, turning them into 35 receptions, 428 yards and three touchdowns. The Texans drafting Higgins and Noel was a signal of where Hutchinson stood, and by not blowing up when he had a chance, that likely cemented him as pure depth. Is he terrible? Not at all, but he’s unlikely to earn a fantasy-relevant role without a slew of injuries, and even then he may just provide middling numbers. This ADP says ignore, and I concur.