How many Houston Texans players are considered among the best options in fantasy football?
According to the publication, two rank inside the top half.
In Yahoo! Sports’ Justin Boone’s most recent Top 300 overall fantasy football players, a pair of Houston weapons were in the top 100 players on the list, with a total of 12 players making the overall list.
The Texans’ top player, to no one’s surprise, was wide receiver Nico Collins at No. 20 overall. He also ranked No. 8 among wide receivers. The veteran pass-catcher has been one of the top performers in fantasy for the past few years, so it is no surprise that he is projected to be a top-20 player overall.
In each of the last three seasons, Collins has finished with at least 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. With quarterback C.J. Stroud once again at the helm, there is no reason Collins’ production would decrease this year.
He is someone fantasy owners should be drafting in the early rounds.
The other name mentioned in the top 100? New starting running back David Montgomery, who was listed as No. 52 overall and No. 20 among the running backs.
This will be Montgomery’s first season with Houston after spending the past three years with the Detroit Lions. While his yardage decreased over the past two years in Detroit, his touchdown total was still decent with eight scores.
Now, as the undisputed No. 1 running back in Houston, Montgomery has the potential to put up monster numbers and is perhaps being underrated by Boone and other fantasy experts.
However, that is to the advantage of fantasy owners who could get a bit of a steal waiting until the fifth round or so to draft him depending on how big your team is.
Missing out on the top 100 was Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud, who came in at No. 210 overall. This seems quite low for a starting quarterback, though Stroud is looking to prove this fall he’s the long-term starter.
Houston’s defensive unit is actually ranked above Stroud at No. 177. While the Texans have one of the best defenses in the NFL, the fact that experts view Stroud as a more valuable option in fantasy shows how far the starting quarterback and 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year has fallen.
What probably accounts for Stroud’s ranking is the combination of his lack of rushing yards and barely hitting 3,000 passing yards last season. He also only had 19 passing touchdowns.
A lack of rushing yards, passing yards and passing touchdowns is obviously a bad combination for fantasy. Stroud’s touchdown numbers have always been a little low, but his low passing yards seem more like an anomaly based on his first two seasons in the league.
He is not someone to draft as your starting quarterback in fantasy, but he is someone who could potentially be drafted in two-quarterback leagues or as a backup for your starter.
The other Texans players to make the top 300 list for fantasy are wide receivers Jayden Higgins (No. 114), Tank Dell (No. 194) and Jaylin Noel (No. 246); running backs Woody Marks (No. 142), Jawhar Jordan (No. 285) and Noah Whittington (No. 299); kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn (No. 213 and No. 2 among kickers) and tight end Dalton Schultz (No. 229).
The Texans open the regular season at home against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans WR Nico Collins, RB David Montgomery make Yahoo! Sports’ top 100 fantasy prospects
Reporting by Ariana Pensy, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ariana Pensy, Texans Wire | USA TODAY Network
