The Houston Texans signed wide receiver Nico Collins to a contract extension last week, which has quarterback C.J. Stroud giddy for the 2024 NFL campaign.
With Collins, Tank Dell and offseason acquisition Stefon Diggs, the Texans have one of the most dynamic receiving corps in football. They also have Noah Brown and John Metchie III to round out the depth chart, and Stroud is loving what he is seeing.
While discussing Nico Collins' contract extension and his emergence as a No. 1 wide receiver, CJ Stroud paused to say, "I think we have five No. 1 receivers. I’ve had that before in college, and now I have it again. It's going to be fun, man.”
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 4, 2024
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While claiming that Houston has “five” No. 1 receivers is a bit of an exaggeration, there is no doubt that Stroud has an embarrassment of riches to throw to heading into next season.
We got a taste of what could be last season, when Stroud formed an electrifying connection with Collins and Dell. However, a broken leg knocked Dell out of commission midway through the year. But Dell is on the mend (from the leg injury and from a gunshot wound), and now, opposing defenses will be scrambling trying to cover the Texans’ plethora of options at wide receiver.
There is a lot of pressure on C.J. Stroud and the Texans
NFL player CJ Stroud attends the NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
The Texans went into last season with no expectations. Well, actually, there were expectations: that they would finish at the bottom of the AFC South.
Instead, Stroud had one of the greatest rookie campaigns ever and Houston ended up winning 10 games and capturing the division title. Not only that, but the Texans went on to rout the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs before finally falling to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.
Things are a bit different this time around, however.
Last year, the Texans were the hunters. Now, they will be hunted.
Houston went from being expected to win four or five games to being labeled as a legitimate threat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. That’s a big jump, and it’s something that Stroud and Co. are going to have to deal with.
The Texans acquired Diggs via trade earlier this offseason, which further increased the hype surrounding the club going into 2024. Now, if Houston doesn’t have a terrific regular season backed by some playoff success, it will be a disappointment.
That may end up weighing on Stroud and the rest of the team, especially if the Texans get off to a slow start.
Let’s also keep in mind that sophomore slumps are a thing. Yes, Stroud was brilliant in 2023, but now, defenses have film on him. Teams will make adjustments. It will then be up to Stroud to counter those adjustments with some tweaks of his own.
There is no question that Houston is one of the most talented teams in the NFL. The problem is, the game isn’t played on paper.
The Texans will not only have to contend with clubs like the Chiefs and the Ravens, but they will even have some fierce competition within their own division. Remember: they beat out the Indianapolis Colts in a winner-take-all game in Week 18 this past year, so it’s not like there is some huge gap here.
We’ll see what Stroud does for an encore in 2024.
