Nico Collins may miss the Texans-Bengals game. How Houston can replace its star receiver

When the Houston Texans lost second-year wide receiver Jayden Higgins earlier this summer to an ACL injury , they knew they needed to acquire another starter at wide receiver.

And not just because of what Higgins brought to the team.

Their star receiver, Nico Collins , had also dealt with a series of injuries in his five seasons with the team - most notably in last year's playoff loss to the Patriots. The Texans eventually added more depth and talent.

But that depth and talent will be tested this weekend.

Collins suffered a hamstring injury in practice Wednesday and missed practice entirely Thursday, raising significant doubts about his status for Sunday's noon game against the Cincinnati Bengals .

So what will Houston do in the meantime?

Outside of Collins, the Texans have four other receivers on the 53-man roster: Xavier Hutchinson , Kayshon Boutte , Jaylin Noel and Jared Wayne .

There probably isn't a clear No. 1 option among them, though that may not be a problem. C.J. Stroud often likes to distribute the ball to a variety of receivers. While Collins led the team with seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown last week, Stroud distributed the ball to 11 different players in the 36-31 loss to Buffalo.

Hutchinson was third in that group with three catches for 32 yards. He has experience stepping up whenever there is an injury among the wide receivers.

"We all prepare like we're receiver No. 1," Hutchinson said when asked whether having experience filling in makes things easier. "You've got to be delusional about yourself and what you can do. And I feel everybody has the right delusion and confidence in themselves.

Then there's Boutte, whom the Texans traded for because they felt he could be the deep-play threat he was in New England . He had just one catch for 21 yards on two targets last week against the Bills, but Stroud seemed confident they could develop success in the future.

"He knows how to get open," Stroud said of Boutte. "I know we didn't connect on a couple of them, but we're still building that chemistry. He knows how to get open and play fast."

Stroud's games without his top option have been a mixed bag since he entered the league. He's had both some of his worst performances and some of his best.

Some of his best performances without Collins include his 2023 game against the Bengals, when he led the team on a game-winning field-goal drive. There was also last year's win over the 49ers, when he passed for 318 yards and two touchdowns.

When Collins hasn't played, Stroud typically spreads the ball around more. In the win over the 49ers last season, Stroud completed passes to 10 different players.

"The good thing about the offense is we have a lot of guys we have trust in," offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. "We go through our reads, and the ball finds the open guy."

But some of Stroud's worst performances have come when Collins has been sidelined, including his four-interception showing in the playoff loss to the Patriots and his 86-yard passing performance in a loss to the Packers in 2024.

He is 5-4 in nine starts without Collins in the lineup. Sunday's game will likely mark his 10th start without his star receiver.

Collins' two best attributes are his ability to make contested catches and generate explosive plays. Stroud had a 125 passer rating when targeting him last week. That's something the Texans will miss. So what's the solution?

The Texans will need to find ways to get Jaylin Noel and Boutte the ball more often. Noel didn't see much time on the field as a rookie. And he ran just 15 routes Sunday, compared with 37 for Collins.

That could be, in part, because Collins is an every-down receiver who plays on the outside, while Noel mostly runs routes from the slot.

Noel had two catches for 53 yards and led all receivers in separation yards. He's good when he gets out in space and has a unique ability to make players miss.

"We were mixing groupings," Caley said when asked why Boutte and Noel didn't get more reps. "I think some weeks you're going to see that, and some weeks I think the flow of the game will dictate some of those things. Whether there are more multiple-tight-end groupings, more 11 personnel with a bunch of different groupings that we can deploy to move those guys around, it switches their identity based on grouping.

"Nothing those guys have done. I've been pleased with the progress of the entire unit."

But getting those two players going doesn't have to be the only solution. The Texans can also lean on their running game, which was a major plus in their game against Buffalo. Running back David Montgomery ran for 60 yards and three touchdowns, while Woody Marks added 42 yards. Those two running backs kept Stroud out of third-and-long situations, which helped him convert manageable third downs. The offense faced third-and-3 on seven of its 18 third downs. The Texans also converted 43.8% of their third downs.

The Texans could also use bigger groupings, such as 12 personnel (two tight ends and two wide receivers) and 13 personnel (one wide receiver and three tight ends). The Texans ran 11 personnel (three receivers and one tight end) on 57.5% of their plays last week, while running both 12 and 13 personnel on 13.7% of their plays.

Whatever the Texans choose to do, they have plenty of options and just a few days to get it right.

"I think having the mindset of being open-minded and being flexible is something that, as an entire staff, we all try to do, and we all support each other in that," Caley said. "Just be ready to adjust when need be and try to put our guys in the best position possible."