Houston Texans Depth Chart
- AFC South
- Stadium
- NRG Stadium
- Head Coach
- Lovie Smith
- Offensive Coordinator
- Pep Hamilton
- Defensive Coordinator
- Lovie Smith
- Special Teams Coach
- Frank Ross
- Defensive Scheme
- 4-3
Houston Texans running back Rex Burkhead (head) exited Sunday's meeting with the Miami Dolphins to receive a concussion evaluation. He did not return. The journeyman finished with only one catch for five yards, which isn't surprising considering he hasn't been involved the entire season. Nevertheless, there should be an update on his condition soon, but it shouldn't impact many fantasy managers either way.
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins led the team in targets in Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins, as quarterback Kyle Allen looked his direction nine times. Collins ended up catching six of those for 44 yards. It wasn't a great showing, largely because the Texans offense couldn't move the ball in the first half. But with the change at quarterback, it was encouraging to see that Collins led the team in targets again, continuing a trend from the past month. He's a WR4 right now, but he has more upside than Brandin Cooks.
Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks was quiet in the first half but ended up posting a solid stat line in Sunday's loss to Miami, catching all five of his targets for 59 yards. Considering how bad Houston's offense looked early in this one, it's a decent showing for Cooks, who should be viewed as a WR4 play going forward. He's not living up to his preseason hype, but he's still worth a roster spot in most formats.
Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins caught five passes for a team-high 61 yards, including the only receiving touchdown of the contest for the Texans. Akins has had some solid showings this year, but he's also had some games where he was a complete non-factor, and there's really been no rhyme or reason to which outcome we get each week. He's a streaming TE2 play, assuming you believe that his usage this week is a reflection of who new starting QB Kyle Allen intends to target the most.
For the second week in a row, Houston Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce failed to make much of an impact. He carried the ball just five times, finishing with eight yards. He also added three catches for another eight yards. Dare Ogunbowale ended up with the team's lone rushing touchdown. This is now two games in a row with under 10 rushing yards for Pierce, who had previously run for at least 80 yards in six of seven contests. After last week, there wasn't much reason to worry about Pierce, but a second consecutive game like this has cast some doubt on the idea of Pierce as a set-and-forget RB2 play.
