HOUSTON – Nico Collins stretched out, extending his body in the wide seam he created between two Tennessee Titans defensive backs.
At 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, Collins is one of the most imposing and athletic wide receivers in the league. And he’s an especially difficult coverage assignment.
Collins tapped his cleats, one at a time, as he secured a perfectly delivered football from Texans quarterback Davis Mills, his good friend and part of the same Nick Caserio draft class in the third round in 2021.
The clutch 17-yard reception on a gotta-have-it, 3rd-and-16 play boosted the Texans as they won the game Sunday on a last-second field goal five plays after Collins’ big catch.
“It’s incredible having him on your team: extremely reliable,” Mills said. “Nico’s going to make a big play if there needs to be one to be made. So, when I looked out and saw that they ended up running Cover 2 over there, clouded his side, we had the perfect route called for it and he was able to kind of find the honey hole behind the corner, outside the safety and I was able to deliver him a ball.”
Without Collins’ nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, especially his late play in the fourth quarter, the Texans possibly don’t sweep the season series over the Titans to improve to 5-5 overall.
“Oh man, this team, they count on me,” Collins said. “I’m grateful. They give me the opportunity to just go out and make a play. Whenever my number is called, I have to go out there and execute. So, that’s my job.”
Collins is on a tear the past two weeks catching passes from Mills again. He has combined for 16 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown in wins over the Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, including a season-high 136 yards on a career-high 15 targets. He’s been heavily involved, with a combined 25 targets in two games.
The Mills to Collins connection is cooking.
“Davis and Nico, they’ve done it before and they continue to do it,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They’re doing a good job. Davis is doing a good job of finding the right guy, throw it down there to No. 12 and he’s going to make a big play for us. Those guys are doing a really great job and it’s no bigger play than the 3rd-and-16, the play that Nico makes.
“The catch, to be able to get both feet down, it’s an outstanding play. Great job by Davis of giving them an opportunity to finish that play in bounds. When we needed a spark, we needed to get going, we started to feed the ball to our best player, Nico and he showed up and showed why he’s one of the best receivers in the league.”
Collins, after a slow start to the season as the entire offense struggled, is up to 49 catches for 642 yards and four touchdowns, on 82 targets. He’s on pace for 83 catches for 1,091 yards and seven touchdowns.
Over the past two weeks with Mills stepping in for injured quarterback C.J. Stroud, Collins is a huge factor in the offense. Stroud will miss his third consecutive game Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills due to remaining in the NFL concussion protocol.
Mills and Collins are in a great sync together in their collaboration, especially on that pivotal third down.
“It was a big read by Mills: caught them in a zone, Cover-2, had the corner route, kept it high, toe tap on the sideline,” Collins said. “It means a lot. It comes down to the week of practice, extra reps, routes on air, the communication out there, just seeing what he sees.
“And just coming back to the huddle and saying, ‘We keep it hot just like that,’ that’s all it takes. And then just continuing to stack wood and continuing to get better every single day.”
Not to mention Collins’ skills and size, which are superior to most of the defensive backs he faces. In November, he has 23 catches for 302 yards and one touchdown. He has 267 career catches for 3,872 yards and 22 touchdowns.
“When Nico is out there, he’s getting targeted,” Ryans said. “For the most time when he gets targeted, he comes down with the football.
Collins led the Texans’ offense with nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Titans. The receptions represented his most this season, and the yards were his third-most of the year.
The Texans want to find more creative ways to get the ball to Collins. Opportunities were missed earlier this season.
“It feels great, man,” Collins said. “Especially a divisional win on the road, it means a lot. And coming off of last week, another divisional win. I feel like for us, we have to continue to take it one game at a time.
“Continuing to stay eyes in front of us and get ready for Buffalo. Short week so got to take care of the bodies and go out there and have fun.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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