The outlook for the Houston Texans in 2024 and beyond is about as sunny as it gets in the NFL. Not only do they have a strong core of a good general manager, head coach and starting quarterback, they also boast one of the league's best wide receiver rooms.
Houston's receivers were relatively unacclaimed heading into the 2023 campaign, but Nico Collins and Tank Dell both delivered far better-than-expected results, coinciding with a phenomenal rookie season from C.J. Stroud.
Since then, the Texans have added one of the top-10 wide receivers in the game by trading three draft picks to the Buffalo Bills for Stefon Diggs. A four-time Pro Bowler and one-time All Pro, Diggs has been sensational the last four seasons in Buffalo. At his best he led the league in catches and receiving yards in 2020 with 127 catches and 1,535 yards. Diggs' production rarely dipped much below that, too. During that run he wound up averaging over 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns a season.
While it's no guarantee given Stroud's clear chemistry with Collins, Diggs should land at the top of Houston's upgraded depth chart. Just how good is this group now? Some analysts think this is the very-best wide receiver room in the entire NFL this year, such as ESPN's Mike Clay, who has the Texans at the top of his receiver unit rankings.
We'd prefer to wait and see how this 1-2-3 of Diggs, Collins and Dell does in at least one game before ranking them first in the league on paper, but it's only a mildly spicy take.
The last few years the top teams in this part of the game have been Cincinnati and Seattle. The loss of Tyler Boyd to the Titans knocked the Bengals down a peg, so as far as the AFC goes this is definitely the strongest WR room right now.
The Seahawks and 49ers both have a legitimate case for best-receiver-unit in the NFL, but the Texans may not face a better receiver group than their own all year, at least not until they (theoretically) reach the Super Bowl.
