HOUSTON – Nico Collins is primed for an increased workload Sunday against the Tennessee Titans in his second game back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for five games.
As explosive as he looked against the Dallas Cowboys, especially on a touchdown burst on a screen play that was called back due to a penalty, the Texans’ star wide receiver emphasized that’s just the preview of what he plans to do in the second half of the season.
Recommended Videos
The Texans had Collins on a reduced role Monday night as he caught four passes for 54 yards on seven targets. He appeared in 47 percent of the offensive snaps, 30 overall, and 11 less than wide receiver Tank Dell and nine less than wide receiver John Metchie III.
“I’m feeling good, man,” Collins told KPRC 2. “I can’t wait for it. We’ve got to keep building. It felt good to be back out there with the guys. Another week under my belt and I keep working.
“They definitely showed love. The entire game, they took care of me. I really appreciate that. They’re getting me back into my groove. They’re easing me in.”
#Texans wide receiver Nico Collins primed for Sunday matchup against #Titans @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/TiWf19VAoH
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 22, 2024
At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds with 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash, Collins represents the prototype NFL wide receiver. His speed and acceleration, especially for a player of his dimensions, are incredible. He reached a speed of 21.89 miles per hour on a route against the Indianapolis Colts earlier this season.
During his convalescence, Collins spent a lot of time working on honing his speed.
“I’ve been working hard, working on my speed,” Collins said. “I feel like that really just gave me time to work on myself, get bigger, get faster, get stronger. I’m a 21 miles per hour guy. That’s average for me.
“I’m excited, second week back with the guys, division game. I felt great, getting my groove back, getting my timing back with C.J., getting that rust off, getting my lungs back, getting my legs back I can’t wait to play Sunday and have fun with the guys and have that energy from the fans.”
Collins is rebuilding his timing and chemistry with Stroud.
“For sure, I feel like we got on time,” Collins said. “It’s repetition, so you don’t think about it on Sundays.”
Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik emphasized there wasn’t a specific number heading into the game they wanted to limit Collins to, going back to feel for the game and what’s best for him.
“We didn’t really go into the game with any sort of snap count but, obviously, anytime you get a player like that back you are taking notes of, how do we want to use him, how do we want to make sure we are being smart and if this game becomes a critical game at the end, we want him on the field,” Slowik said. “So, how do we make sure we are getting the best version of Nico when that happens?
“We are always going to approach it as we are going to try to be smart. The more often you can get a really good player on the field one hundred percent and not winded and being able to roll, we are going to do that as often as we can.”
#Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins works on his routes @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/kPkqapit1e
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 21, 2024
On Collins’ nullified touchdown, a yellow flag littered the field. Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil was ruled to be an ineligible receiver downfield with officials penalizing him and wiping out Collins’ touchdown. After the game, Tunsil insisted he wasn’t guilty of the infraction. Nonetheless, Collins’ speed and moves were on full display.
Inside the Texans’ victorious locker room, Collins emphasized this is just the start. As the NFL receiving yardage leader at the time of his injury, Collins was on pace for 100 catches and 2,000 yards. He’s determined to get back to that kind of stellar production.
“It’s the intro,” Collins said.
The play had been plotted well, drawn up ideally by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. And Collins did his job, smoothly waiting for the blocking to be set up in front of him before taking off at a high speed.
“How did it look?” Collins said. “It felt good. It didn’t count, but it is what it is. Being back out there with the guys, and getting this win on the road is the most important thing. Being back out there with the guys, having fun, I missed them. I feel like suiting up having fun is the most important thing.
“We kind of knew what it was. First play, gotta go out with a bang. That’s what happened, but it got called back. Sick about it, but it is what it is.”
This marked a season-low in terms of yardage for Collins as his season was interrupted by the right leg injury suffered against the Buffalo Bills on a 67-yard touchdown.
Collins leads the Texans with 621 receiving yards and has 36 catches and three touchdowns with an average of 17.3 yards per catch.
“That was a fun beginning of the game,” Slowik said. “Everyone references Week 18 last year against Indianapolis when we threw deep to Nico and he caught it and he scored. With him coming back, we really want to make sure we got him involved early, got him going, feeling back in the game action. Sometimes, when you haven’t played football in a while you don’t really feel like you are back in the game until you get that first hit. We were trying to get him untouched to the end zone or get the first hit out of the way pretty fast.
“We liked what we saw on film, structurally going into it, so we felt pretty good about the play. We were just a hair too deep at tackle. We needed to be a little flat which LT knew right away. The cool part of it was right after it. You could see everyone getting in the huddle get together and kind of talk. You could tell from the demeanor that they all kind of made the decision of, ‘Let’s go score again’. That is really what you need.”
Collins’ new season-long projection is for 56 catches, 960 yards and five touchdowns.
The most important thing, though, is having their best wide receiver back for the stretch run of the season and a likely playoff appearance for the AFC South leaders.
The Texans finished with their second-highest scoring total of the season behind their 41-point outburst Oct. 13 against the New England Patriots.
“We’ve got no choice but to build and continue to grow,” Collins said. “Especially to get to where we want to go, it’s time to be locked in on the film and just improvement every week. We’ve kind of been struggling after the half. It was a different energy and mindset.”
#Texans wide receiver Nico Collins @KPRC2 on win over #Cowboys and his first game back @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/BzHSdmCR55
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 19, 2024
And Collins supplied plenty of those attributes to an offense that missed him and that he had been missing being a part of as he rejoined the Texans’ offensive huddle.
“Enthusiasm, energy, playmaking ability and just having fun with the guys,” Collins said. “I feel like that’s the most important part. Not losing your mind and not losing track of how gifted we are to play this game.
“Just having fun, I feel that’s the main thing to me. Being out there suiting up, it’s no better feeling. Throwing on your helmet, suiting up in armor. I’m just grateful for that.”
Read more on the Texans:
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 click2houston.com.
