Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is hoping to earn a meaningful role as a rookie. With no clear WR1 and no allegiance to anyone above him, the opportunity is as good as he could ask for. What is his fantasy football outlook for the 2023 season?
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Tank Dell’s Fantasy Outlook
The Texans have a lot of work to do before their wide receiver corps can be considered competent. But it’s not for lack of trying. They’ve used a Day 2 pick on a wide receiver in each of the past three NFL Drafts.
Their most recent selection was Dell. At 5’8″, 165 pounds, Dell is undersized, but that seems to be the modern archetype for WRs. He ran a 4.49 40-time, which isn’t objectively slow but is extremely slow for his size. Essentially, Dell profiles as a shifty slot man.
Currently, the Texans have a guy named Robert Woods in that role. However, Woods is 31 years old and tore his ACL two seasons ago.
Aside from Woods, the Texans have Nico Collins, John Metchie III, and Noah Brown. Dell is not some incredible talent who can blow the doors off this competition. But he can certainly compete with the four guys projected ahead of him on the depth chart.
Should Fantasy Managers Draft Dell at His ADP?
The Texans will open the season with Woods and Collins as their top two receivers. Metchie projects to be the WR3, but he missed all of last season with leukemia. Even getting on the field is a massive win for him.
Dell will have every opportunity to unseat any of the guys ahead of him. The problem is, what exactly would that even be worth?
The Texans are starting a rookie at quarterback. While I do like C.J. Stroud, we do not like wide receivers with rookie quarterbacks in fantasy. We especially do not like rookie wide receivers with rookie quarterbacks on weak offenses in fantasy.
For Dell to matter in fantasy, he would need to jump Brown, Metchie, and one of Collins or Woods. Then, he would need Stroud to support two fantasy-relevant wide receivers.
Dell’s ADP sits at WR86. I have him ranked at WR95. Simply put, there’s no reason to draft Dell this season. If he does end up emerging as a starter for the Texans, you can grab him from the waiver wire.