How Texans’ go-to guy Nico Collins leads NFL in receiving yards: ‘Shows up in clutch moments, been lights out again’

HOUSTON – Nico Collins caught the football in stride, hauling in a pass over the middle and busting through two weak arm tackle attempts from the Chicago Bears’ secondary.

The exclamation point on Collins’ first touchdown of the season: slamming Johnson to the ground in the end zone and spiking the football to celebrate the score.

One play earlier, Collins was flagged for unnecessary roughness when officials caught him retaliating with a push to the facemask of Tyrique Stevenson after the corner pointed his finger in Collins’ face.

On the touchdown, Stevenson was unable to jam Collins at the line of scrimmage and he got a clean release as he ran through his facemask contact that drew a penalty from the officials for illegal hands to the face.

“Just out there talking noise, you know how that goes,” said Collins, who had the game ball in his locker after the game. “They try to get under your skin, but I wasn’t going for it. Nah, you got me messed up. I ain’t one of them, but it’s football. You’ve got to be on 10 toes and stand your ground out there.”

One of the most talented and imposing wide receivers in the NFL, Collins has been dominant through two weeks of the season. He caught eight passes for 135 yards and one score on 10 targets in the Sunday night win over the Bears.

Collins leads the league with 252 receiving yards on 14 catches and 18 targets. Since his breakout season last year, Collins signed a three-year, $75 million contract extension. The former University of Michigan standout is more than justifying the hefty investment as the go-to guy for Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud as a vital part of an ultra-talented receiving corps that includes Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs and speedy Tank Dell.

How Collins continues to stand out as a clutch contributor whose ability to tightrope the sideline to convert key first downs stamps him as one of the top all-around wide receivers in the game. His juggling, one-handed sideline catch against Bears safety Kevin Byard was textbook form.

Collins is making high degree of difficulty plays appear routine. Well, at least they are for him.

“Nico, he’s been consistent,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s been one of our most consistent guys since I first got here, watching Nico, watching the way he prepares throughout the week. He’s always been the same person. Nico never gets too high or too low.

“Nico was always even keel, always consistent, and he shows up in clutch moments. He doesn’t have to do anything different in a clutch moment. Nico was just being Nico, like he’s making the plays that he makes. He’s been lights out, again, this start of the year, he is having an outstanding year.”

For Collins, it’s about maximizing the moment. He caught a career-high 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in a breakthrough season last year.

“They believe in me, man,” Collins said. “It means a lot.”

And the off-script plays are becoming increasingly more commonplace in the potent passing connection between Collins and Stroud.

“We work on those every day as an offense,” Collins said. “Off-schedule, that’s how we start practice. Just ‘boom,’ scramble drill. Okay, ‘Boom, find the open space.’ I feel like it’s just what we do. We out here hoopin.’

“Extend a play like that, scrambling to the right, getting the ball and making a play. I feel like he’s special. It’s just two guys out there making plays. We have a drill that we do at practice, it does help those things. Trying to be two dynamic players.”

Collins got off to a fast start in his first game against the Indianapolis Colts after a career-high nine receptions for 195 yards, including a 75-yard bomb for a touchdown in a pivotal AFC South division clinching victory last season. In the season-opener, Collins tormented them again.

Collins leapt over cornerback JuJu Brents, who surrendered the 75-yard score as he got scorched last season in single coverage,, and safety Nick Cross for a 55-yard catch as he high-pointed an underthrown pass from Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud. And he delivered a dramatic first down on a critical 3rd-and-11 situation in the fourth quarter to close out a 29-27 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium while leading the Texans with six receptions for 117 yards on eight targets.

In his last three games combined against the Colts, Collins has recorded 22 receptions for 458 yards and two touchdowns on 26 targets and set an opponent franchise record against Indianapolis with 341 receiving yards against them last season.

“One game at a time, taking it one step at a time,” Collins said. “It’s a marathon. Every detail matters. That’s where we are right now. It feels good. It’s a blessing.

Collins is averaging 18 yards per catch. He has 12 first downs out of his 14 receptions.

The chemistry between Collins and Stroud is on point.

“Me and Nico, we’ve always had a good relationship and always read each other well on the field,” Stroud said. “I think, even now, we’ll take the next steps. We’re trying to spread it around. We have so many dynamic players. It’s a good problem to have.”

Collins is ultra-reliable. There isn’t a play on the field he can’t make.

SEE ALSO ‘True playmaker’ Nico Collins squares off against Colts after dominant performance in pivotal game last season

“Nico Collins is all-world,” Diggs said.

A vital part of an ultra-talented Texans receiving corps, Stroud’s 55-yard pass to Collins against the Colts had a completion probability of 16.6%, Stroud’s most improbable completion of his NFL career, according to NextGen Stats analytics. Brents and Cross were within one yard of Collins when the ball arrived.

“I feel like every ball in the air is mine,” Collins said. “That’s the mindset you have to have, regardless. Get my route, look up, ball in the air. Two people right there, it’s time to make a play.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.