The Houston Texans’ new receiving corps isn’t getting any love from Pro Football Focus.
In their recent rankings of all 32 receiving corps in the NFL, the Texans were listed at No. 20. Of course, it has to do with the trading of three-time All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
Any time you lose a player like DeAndre Hopkins, your receiving room is going to be worse for it. The Texans helped mitigate that loss by bringing in Brandin Cooks, but now they’re stuck with an interesting collection of wide receivers. Outside of Randall Cobb in the slot, their top-three options at wide receiver (Cooks, Will Fuller V and Kenny Stills) are all viewed first and foremost as deep threats. All three rank among the top-20 wide receivers in the NFL in receiving yards on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield since 2017. Too much speed is never a bad thing, but having a little diversity in their games would be helpful. It doesn’t help that the Texans don’t have a dynamic option to turn to at tight end in the short and intermediate range.
It is true that the Texans’ trio of Cooks, Fuller, and Stills brings to mind speed. However, Cooks played with Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Jared Goff, and he told reporters on April 30 that he learned something from each of those quarterbacks. Furthermore, Cooks appreciates Deshaun Watson’s ability to make every throw, not just chuck up pretty deep balls for Cooks to run under.
The intention is for Cooks to bring more to the Texans’ passing game than just another redundant speedy option, and it will pair well with Cobb’s abilities in the slot.
It is true the Texans don’t have a Zach Ertz, Travis Kelce, or George Kittle type of tight end on the roster. However, all the Texans need from Jordan Akins and Darren Fells is to react to Watson buying more time for a big play. In 2019, Fells had a career year with 34 catches for 341 yards and seven touchdowns, the most by a tight end in Texans history. Similarly, Akins had the fourth-most receiving yards on the team and most by a back or tight end with 418.
The Texans’ receiving corps may not be fantasy safe for 2020, but being in the bottom half of the league doesn’t seem to be an equitable ranking.