After an outstanding 2023 season, which saw rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud run away with the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, things weren’t quite as smooth for the Houston Texans in 2024.
With all three starting receivers suffering significant injuries during the season, the Texans’ offense couldn’t reproduce its 2023 form despite some heroic displays from running back Joe Mixon.
With Tank Dell set to miss significant time in 2025 after suffering a devastating knee injury against Kansas City in Week 16 of the 2024 season, veteran receiver Stefon Diggs is slated to hit free agency, leaving alpha receiver Nico Collins as the team’s only recognized starter at the position.
NFL Analyst Suggests Losing Diggs Would Be a Mistake
Given the Texans’ need to address their receiver situation this offseason, Sterling Xie of PFSN believes the team should prioritize re-signing the former Buffalo Bills alpha. Writing in his “One Free Agent Each Team Can’t Afford to Lose” article, Xie makes the case for keeping Diggs around.
“The Texans are unlikely to have Tank Dell for most, if not all, of 2025 after his brutal knee injury in December. Right now, that would leave John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson as the second and third wide receivers behind Nico Collins.
That’s an untenable arrangement, even if Houston improves its woeful offensive line. With Collins on and Diggs and Dell both off in 2024, C.J. Stroud averaged -0.13 EPA per dropback with a 41.6% success rate. For context, those are almost identical to the numbers Anthony Richardson averaged in 2024. (-0.13 EPA/dropback, 41.8% success rate).”
If those numbers sound scary to Texans fans, it’s because they are. For a team looking to make the most of C.J. Stroud’s rookie contract, the team must provide their young star with enough supporting talent to succeed. The firing of once highly-thought-of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is a good first step, but a winning team needs winning players.
While Diggs has only completed two full seasons without missing time over his career, the nine games that he missed in 2024 are far more than in any other season. His 31 receiving first downs in just eight games suggest that the team trusted him on important downs, and he delivered.
Heading into 2025, it’s difficult to see the Texans taking a step forward without adding a wide receiver through free agency, finding a day-one starter through the draft, or re-signing Diggs. And given the volatility of the NFL draft, the safe bet is almost certainly Diggs.