The quickest way to fall behind in a fantasy football league is to become complacent and rely on the team you drafted, neglecting the all-important waiver wire. As managers make numerous waiver claims for Week 11, hoping to strengthen their roster, should Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins be a priority addition off the waiver wire vs. Washington?
Nico Collins Takes the No. 1 Role Following the Brandin Cooks’ Drama
While all the focus was on Brandin Cooks and the drama surrounding his situation, Collins was overlooked as he returned from injury. With Cooks stripped of his captain status during the lead-up, a good performance out of Collins could put him on a trajectory for an increased role. That’s exactly what happened on Sunday.
In his first game back, Collins led the team with 10 targets (27% target share), hauling in five receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. After missing the last month with a groin injury, Collins has now tied Cooks in touchdowns on the season.
Do you think Collins can ride the momentum? Well, over on Underdog Fantasy, you can take the higher or lower on Collins’ projections as part of their Pick’em contest and win up to 20x in the process. Sign up at Underdog Fantasy today for a 100% deposit bonus of up to $100.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Collins play well. In fact, he closed out the 2021 season on a little bit of an upward trajectory. In the final five games of last year, Collins closed the season with 30 targets with 15 receptions for 218 yards and a touchdown.
At 6’4″ with blazing speed, Collins brings a sneaky amount of upside off the waiver wire, assuming he and Davis Mills can continue to build on their chemistry. Luckily enough, he’s also on the waiver wire in 93% of leagues.
Should Collins Be a Top Waiver Wire Priority for Fantasy Managers in Week 11?
With the trade deadline passed, Cooks is going nowhere, which started this whole fiasco in Houston. So, while Collins will have to deal with Cooks’ presence, that’s not to say it couldn’t become closer to a 1A/1B scenario instead of the latter dominating the volume (20.9% target share).
When Collins has been utilized, it’s been as a vertical threat. Although Cooks has 20 more targets than Collins (60 to 40), Collins is only 2.5% behind Cooks in air yards (26.4% to 23.8%). That was not the case on Sunday, as we saw a slightly different route tree as Collins only ran two routes that traveled further than 15 yards downfield.
The only reception Collins had where the ball traveled further than 10 air yards down the field was on his 12-yard touchdown, where he had one of the best releases you’ll find on tape in 2022 to set up the outside release on his fade route.
MORE: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 11
At this point in the year, there aren’t a ton of roster-changing players available on waivers. I’m not entirely sure that Collins will ever hit that threshold, but he’s someone I want on my team and would be someone I would drop one of those players who are never going to see my starting lineup for at this point.
Collins could have success over the next few weeks, as the Texans will face Washington and Miami, who have given up the fifth and ninth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, respectively.
Houston has only been able to keep one player fantasy relevant at a time. We’ll see if that changes, but there’s reason to have hope in Collins’ outlook as a player on the rise. Before you submit your final waiver wire claim for Week 11, I’d make sure Collins is one of them.