Houston Texans wide receiver group is stacked!

Where have we heard that before?

This time last year, we all thought Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had so many wide receivers to choose from it was insane. Then, as always seems to happen with the Texans, dominoes fell, players got hurt and highlight reel moments were few and far between.

Remember thinking J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney were going to devastate the opposition? How about Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins and (insert revolving door of WR3s)?

The 2024 edition of that was Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell.

Ugh.

Welcome to the Houston Texans 2025 offseason, where hope springs eternal!

Barring any training camp and/or preseason injuries, the 2025 Texans wide receiver depth chart looks something like this:

Houston Texans wide receiver depth chart

WR1 – Nico Collins

WR2 – Christian Kirk

WR3 – Tank Dell*

WR4 – Jayden Higgins (r)

WR5 – Jaylin Noel

Waiting in the wings are: John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson, Braxton Berrios, Justin Watson, Jared Wayne, Johnny Johnson III and Xavier Johnson.

The odds of Houston carrying 12 receivers into the season are non-existent.

In shaving the list down, the 1st name to likely come off is Dell (*). The speedster is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury with no apparent timeline for his return.

Houston Texans head coach Demeco Ryans (via USA Today)

Tank is doing great. He’s in good spirits. He’s on the road to recovery. He’s doing really well on his rehab process. He’s in a really good spot, so excited to see how that continues to progress. He’ll be back when it’s time for Tank to be back. There’s nothing to rush. There’s no set timeline or we need him back by this certain date. We need Tank back when Tank is ready to be Tank, and that’s good enough for me. I want him to continue to get better, continue to attack each day of the rehab process the right way, like he’s been doing, with a great attitude.

Applause to Ryans for, well, being Ryans. Wouldn’t take much to anoint him greatest head coach in Texans history at this stage.

Beyond that, let’s say Dell is out for the time being.

Houston Texans wide receiver depth chart (edit 1)

WR1 – Nico Collins

WR2 – Christian Kirk

WR3 – Jayden Higgins (r)

WR4 – Jaylin Noel

WR5 – Braxton Berrios

Waiting in the wings are: John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson, Jared Wayne, Johnny Johnson III and Xavier Johnson.

In true “we’ve seen this before” H-Town style, hanging a helmet full of hopes on former Jacksonville Jaguar star receiver Christian Kirk doesn’t seem smart either. Headlines like “Jaguars are releasing WR Christian Kirk after two injury-filled seasons” and “Injuries Are A Big Topic For The Jaguars A Day After The Loss (of Christian Kirk)” tell the tale. Not unlike Diggs last year, Kirk will likely contribute some meaningful plays then exit to the injured reserve list.

Houston Texans wide receiver depth chart (edit 2)

WR1 – Nico Collins

WR2 – Jayden Higgins (r)

WR3 – Jaylin Noel (r)

WR4 – Braxton Berrios

WR5 – John Metchie III

Waiting in the wings are: Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson, Jared Wayne, Johnny Johnson III and Xavier Johnson.

What once was a loaded room, full of pass catching talent, is quickly getting thin.

In fact, if star receiver Nico Collins gets hurt (again), the national talking heads will likely start bashing Texans general manager Nick Caserio for not bringing in enough receiver talent this off-season.

Sure, 12 players sounds like all the depth you could need, but Metchie III, Hutchinson and the others have had more than enough opportunities to crack the starting lineup and failed to do so.

Suddenly, getting rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel up to speed quickly is a serious task. How fast can these 2 NCAA teammates get on the same page as Stroud and the rest of the offense? Will both seamlessly make the jump to the NFL? Or will either or both have the standard rookie receiver transition blues? Let’s face it, Collins wasn’t exactly a juggernaut in his rookie year either. Granted, he didn’t have Stroud throwing him the ball.

Will all this to consider, the notion that Caserio needs to explore more wide receiver options is valid. Even though 12 players might seem like too many, modern NFL attrition will erode that number quickly.

Hopefully Dell heals quickly and completely. We already had Will Fuller and don’t need another.

But this is the Houston Texans 2025 offseason, where hope springs eternal!

Load up your Madden roster with these pass catching masters and see how quickly you can light the opposing defenses on fire!