HOUSTON – Nico Collins’ approach to football isn’t super complicated. It’s elemental in his strategy, though.
Some of what Collins does is a pure physics equation. Size, speed, explosiveness and force transforming into dominant outcomes on the field.
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At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash, Collins is simply bigger, faster and stronger than the defensive backs assigned to cover him.
Collins absolutely bullies the competition and has emerged as the NFL receiving yardage leader through four games with 489 yards on 30 receptions with two touchdowns, establishing a torrid season-long pace of 128 catches, 2,078 yards and nine touchdowns.
As the Texans’ go-to guy, Collins has a high volume of targets and is coming off a 12-catch, 151-yard and one touchdown performance on 15 targets in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He ranks third in the NFL with 43 targets, 10 more than Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ target total with five more catches overall.
Collins’ gold standard is propelling him to new heights this year after his breakout season last year that earned him a three-year, $75 million maximum value contract this offseason. Collins is more than justifying the Texans’ hefty investment. He’s practically a bargain and qualifies as an extremely smart move by Texans’ general manager Nick Caserio as an early round of negotiations with Collins’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, locked up one of the NFL’s biggest and most talented and skilled wide receivers.,
“I feel like I’m trying to be my best version of myself,” Collins said. “Just being available for the team, you know, being healthy, taking one game at a time. I’m just having fun and letting the game come to me. is I feel like the mindset I’ve got to have is be the best one out there. The guy in front of you can’t stop me. So that’s the mindset you’ve got to have every time. I feel that’s my mindset right now and we can continue to grow.”
#Texans wide receiver Nico Collins @lbg_nico7 the #NFL receiving yardage leader on his fast start @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/JlcKmuXW8J
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 3, 2024
Collins scored on a red zone crossing route as he got past Jaguars standout safety Andre Cisco.
Collins and Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud have built a special chemistry and timing.
And Collins, plagued by durability issues and a variety of lingering injuries during his first two NFL seasons, is on pace for his best season ever after last year’s breakout year.
Collins already surpassed DeAndre Hopkins’ franchise mark set in 2018 for the most receiving yards through four games.
Devoting himself to his workouts with the Texans’ strength and conditioning staff as one of the hardest workers on the team, Collins has spent time on his flexibility with hot yoga sessions and extra body work at Revolve Physical Therapy.
“I feel like I’ve just been finding things that work for me personally,” Collins said. “I found that, but I continue to build. It’s a marathon. It’s a long season, so just taking one thing at a time, one rep at a time so I could be healthy and be out here for the team.”
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Texans Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson praised Collins’ skills and how far he’s come since his start in the NFL after being drafted in the third round.
“Man, I love the way he plays the game,” Johnson said. “To me, he reminds me of myself a little bit. I love his physicality. He makes you want to watch the game of football. What he’s doing, man, it’s been a lot of fun to watch, and I just hope he continues it.”
To be singled out for praise from the Texans’ all-time leading receiver is significant for Collins.
Johnson is one of the most respected players in franchise history and the first Texan to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“That means a lot,” Collins said. “That’s a blessing, man. That’s a great comparison. That dude is a Hall of Famer. Dre’, he’s a baller. He’s a playmaker. I’m glad he said that. That means a lot. I continue to learn and be myself. I can’t get comfortable. Once you get comfortable, that’s when everything starts to go down.”
Collins represents a matchup nightmare. None of the defensive backs are big enough to match his physicality. Few can keep up with his speed and technique.
“Nico, he’s deserving of all the praise and all the credit that he’s getting,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s one of the top receivers in the league, and he’s showing it. He doesn’t have to talk it. He’s showing it by what he does on a game-to-game basis. He’s proving that he’s one of the best. He should be All-Pro, Pro Bowl. All those accolades should come to Nico because he’s showing it every single week.”
#Texans wide receiver Nico Collins @lbg_nico7 who leads #NFL with 489 receiving yards on 30 catches, setting a season pace of 128 catches, 2,078 yards, nine touchdowns @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/9NkBbVGy0u
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 2, 2024
Collins is a key to the Texans’ offense. He got the last word against the Chicago Bears. He continues to excel against the AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts.
Whether it’s man-to-man coverage or zone techniques, Collins is scheme-repellent.
“I feel like my standard is continuing to be me, continue to emerge in the deep end, block out distractions, continue to be myself, continue to find the things that I need to work on, which is everything,” Collins said. “I feel like there’s always room for improvement on your game. My mindset, man, don’t get too comfortable. Continue to build, continue to take care of my body, continue to be available for the team and just let the rest be the rest. Let all the pieces fall into place.”
Ever since Collins met Stroud at an organized activity last year, their relationship has grown, as has Stroud’s confidence in the former third-round draft pick from the University of Michigan.
“It’s grown,” Stroud said. “I go back to when I first met Nico on the field and I told him, ‘You’re a superstar, and I’m going to make sure people know that. ’I feel like ever since then, he’s had a swagger and a confidence starting from last year, and it’s just rolling now. He’s been big for us. He’s always somebody that I lean on whenever I’m just looking down or whatever, he comes up to me.
“He don’t do too much. Like, ‘Hey, you good? You know you are.’ He always gives me confidence, just like I give it to him because he’s just a heck of a player. I’m super proud of him. I was told that he was leading the franchise in four games. That’s huge, with all the great receivers we have coming through this Texans organization. So, I’m very, very happy to be a part of his journey.”
The milestone of passing Hopkins, a former All-Pro now playing for the Tennessee Titans isn’t insignificant to Collins.
“Those are the types of achievements you want to have,” Collins said. “It’s early, but it’s a great position to be in right now. For me, continue to be myself. Don’t be comfortable and continue to build.”
What’s Stroud’s scouting report on Collins as the go-to guy of a gifted receiving corps headlined by him and Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs?
“Honestly, I look for that for everybody, but Nico is somebody who’s quick on his feet,” Stroud said. “It’s kind of crazy because we worked on that from last year, just trying to get that down. That’s where I feel like I could have elevated my game, he was there traveling down the field, and, really, it’s just offense. Nico is at the forefront of that. He’s eating off of scrimmage drills and whatnot. I think a lot of the other guys are getting open, too, and they’ll be able to eat off that as well.”
That’s why Stroud counts on Collins so heavily. He simply scans the field and finds Collins. Even if he’s covered, he’s basically open because of his size and ability to jump and high point the football. And Collins’ sideline, toe-tap skills are off the charts. Stroud passed for a season-high 345 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Jaguars.
“It’s simple, Nico is open,” Ryans said. “That’s why the connection is strong. Nico, he’s open, but he’s also so competitive at the catch point. He’s a strong, physical, fast, and big receiver. That’s an easy target for C.J. and Nico has showed up every time that we needed him.”
On ad-lip, off-script scramble plays, Collins and Stroud combined for 102 yards, per Next Gen Stats.
Collins’ 26-yard catch set in motion Stroud’s game-winning touchdown pass to running back Dare Ogunbowale to complete the comeback in the final minute.
“Since I first got here, Nico has definitely improved, and he’s put the work in,” Ryans said. “That’s the thing that people don’t see. I wish everybody could come to see how he works throughout the week. So, it’s no surprise to me with what Nico has done because you watch him work throughout the week, he’s one of the hardest workers on our team, shows up every single day ready to work, and he’s doing it in practice, and it shows up in the game.”
Collins feels like every football belongs to him. He’s going to compete every time.
“Whenever the ball is in the air, just go get it,” he said. “It’s yours. You’ve got to be aggressive at the catch point, aggressive hands, and I just go get it. That’s my mindset every time. Your opportunity comes, you just never know when the next one is going to come. Whenever the ball comes your way, just go get it.”
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.”
Collins is ultra-reliable. There isn’t a play on the field he can’t make.
“Nico Collins is all-world,” Diggs said.
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.
“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 click2houston.com.
