2026
2026 season · WR · #12 · 6th season
Nico Collins
Age 27 · 6'4" · 222 lb · Michigan · Pick 89 overall (2021). Listed WR1 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 70% across 5 games.
- How goodCollins's +20.1 EPA is 21st of 99 wide receivers.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes in the air (+17.4, 66th percentile per target).
- Fantasy10.4 standard points a game, WR14 of 171.12.8 half-PPR points a game, WR14 of 171.15.2 PPR points a game, WR15 of 171.
- How he's usedThe screen game runs through him: 11% of his targets are screens (league 4%).
- LatelyTargets are steady: 5.7 a game over his last three against 7 for the season.
- This weekWeek 8 is the bye.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target shareof team targets | 23% | 25th of 99 | 75th | |
| Depth of targetair yards per target | 12.5 | 39th of 99 | 61st | |
| After the catchyards per reception | 3.5 | 54th of 99 | 45th | |
| Catch ratereceptions per target | 69% | 33rd of 99 | 67th | |
| EPA per target | +0.57 | 12th of 99 | 88th |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First downsper target | 43% | 28th of 99 | 71st | |
| Drop ratedrops per target, lower is better | 0% | 1st of 99 | 88th | |
| Yards per game | 65.8 | 21st of 99 | 79th | |
| Success rate | 57% | T-25th of 99 | 75th | |
| Total EPA | +20.1 | 21st of 99 | 79th |
How this is measured
Each bar is the league at his position; the marker is him. Right is better, the dashed line is the median. Ranks are out of the qualifying pool, ties shown as T-, and move every week as the pool changes.
Collins scores 10.4 standard points a game, WR14 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 4.6 and 16.1; 2 boom weeks (12+) and 1 bust (under 5). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 16th-fewest standard points to WRs, 19.9 a game.
Collins scores 12.8 half-PPR points a game, WR14 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 6.8 and 19.6; 2 boom weeks (16+) and 1 bust (under 6.5). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 16th-fewest half-PPR points to WRs, 25.3 a game.
Collins scores 15.2 PPR points a game, WR15 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 9.0 and 23.1; 2 boom weeks (20+) and 1 bust (under 8). Next up, in Week 9, the Chargers allow the 16th-most PPR points to WRs, 30.6 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the WR24 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
The screen game runs through him: 11% of his targets are screens (league 4%). Motion is part of the plan: 60% of his targets come with pre-snap movement (league 49%). His share of the team's targets is 15%: on third down it holds at 15%; inside the 20 it holds at 15%.
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own targets, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying wide receivers; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Collins's +20.1 EPA is 21st of 99 wide receivers. The biggest share comes in the air (+17.4, 66th percentile per target).
career +0.34 over 2021–2025 · his 2nd best of 6
How this is measured
Every target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. The percentile is him among the qualifying wide receivers, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 15 targets.
He is targeted deep right 2.9× as often as the league (14% of his targets against 5%) and gains +1.81 EPA a target there.
How this is measured
Every target with a charted depth and direction this season; sacks and throws with no charted direction are left out. Left and right are as the offense sees the field. Cells with fewer than three targets show no EPA.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
at ChargersSoFi Stadium
HOU −4.5 · O/U 40.5
The defense vs WR
a middle-of-the-pack matchup
His history
First meeting this season
His status
Week 8 is the bye. A middle-of-the-pack matchup: the Chargers rank 14th vs WR, allowing +0.20 EPA per target to wide receivers. He has averaged 74 yards a game against middle defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3623rd D | 23rd vs WR | 72% | 10 | 7 | 75 | 1 | +4.9 |
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-20Did not play · Out (hamstring) | |||||||
| 3 | at IND L 17-19Did not play · Out (hamstring) | |||||||
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3427th D | 27th vs WR | 69% | 8 | 7 | 118 | 2 | +9.4 |
| 5 | at TEN W 26-331st D | 31st vs WR | 71% | 7 | 5 | 56 | +4.5 | |
| 6 | at JAX W 34-3120th D | 20th vs WR | 73% | 5 | 3 | 74 | +5.1 | |
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-277th D | 7th vs WR | 67% | 5 | 2 | 6 | -3.8 | |
| 8 | Bye week | |||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | |||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | |||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | |||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 5 games | 70% | 35 | 24 | 329 | 3 | +20.1 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Tgt share | Air share | aDOT | YAC | EPA/tgt | 1D | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3623rd D | 23rd vs WR | 27% | 37% | 12.0 | 8 | +0.49 | 3 | |
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-20Did not play · Out (hamstring) | ||||||||
| 3 | at IND L 17-19Did not play · Out (hamstring) | ||||||||
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3427th D | 27th vs WR | 31% | 29% | 14.0 | 38 | +1.18 | 5 | |
| 5 | at TEN W 26-331st D | 31st vs WR | 21% | 32% | 11.7 | 11 | +0.65 | 4 | |
| 6 | at JAX W 34-3120th D | 20th vs WR | 16% | 28% | 14.6 | 23 | +1.01 | 3 | |
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-277th D | 7th vs WR | 18% | 21% | 9.8 | 4 | -0.77 | 0 | |
| 8 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | ||||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | ||||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | ||||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | ||||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | ||||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | ||||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 5 games | 22% | 29% | 12.5 | 84 | +0.57 | 15 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs BUF L 31-3623rd D | 23rd vs WR | 7 | 75 | 10.7 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | vs CIN L 6-20Did not play · Out (hamstring) | ||||||
| 3 | at IND L 17-19Did not play · Out (hamstring) | ||||||
| 4 | vs DAL L 30-3427th D | 27th vs WR | 7 | 118 | 16.9 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | at TEN W 26-331st D | 31st vs WR | 5 | 56 | 11.2 | 1 | |
| 6 | at JAX W 34-3120th D | 20th vs WR | 3 | 74 | 24.7 | 2 | |
| 7 | vs NYG L 21-277th D | 7th vs WR | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | ||
| 8 | Bye week | ||||||
| 9 | at LACSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||
| 10 | at CLESun Nov 15 | ||||||
| 11 | vs INDThu Nov 19 | ||||||
| 12 | vs BALSun Nov 29 | ||||||
| 13 | at PITSun Dec 6 | ||||||
| 14 | at WASSun Dec 13 | ||||||
| 15 | vs JAXSun Dec 20 | ||||||
| 16 | at PHIThu Dec 24 | ||||||
| 17 | at GBMon Jan 4 | ||||||
| 18 | vs TENSun Jan 10 | ||||||
| 5 games | 24 | 329 | 13.7 | 3 | 6 |
Targets are steady: 5.7 a game over his last three against 7 for the season. At or above a starter's median in yards in 4 of 5 games. Week 7 was his season low in yards.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 32nd-toughest slate vs WR: his opponents rank 21.6 of 32 on average (league middle 16.4). Ahead: 2 of his next 10 are top-10 vs WR and 2 are bottom-10, starting with the Chargers (14th, away) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Tgt/g | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 1 | 5.0 | 6 | -0.77 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 1 | 5.0 | 74 | +1.01 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 3 | 8.3 | 83 | +0.75 |
| All games | 5 | 7.0 | 66 | +0.57 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
How this is measured
His yards climb as the defense gets softer (r = 0.72): the schedule has been doing some of the work.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2023, 1,297 receiving yards in 15 games. This season's 65.8 a game puts him on pace for 1,119 over 17, close to it.
| Season | Team | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | HOU | 14 | 60 | 33 | 446 | 1 | 13.5 | 31.9 | 0.00 |
| 2022 | HOU | 10 | 66 | 37 | 481 | 2 | 13.0 | 48.1 | -0.02 |
| 2023 | HOU | 15 | 109 | 80 | 1,297 | 8 | 16.2 | 86.5 | +0.66 |
| 2024 | HOU | 12 | 99 | 68 | 1,006 | 7 | 14.8 | 83.8 | +0.43 |
| 2025 | HOU | 15 | 120 | 71 | 1,117 | 6 | 15.7 | 74.5 | +0.33 |
| 2026 | HOU | 5 | 35 | 24 | 329 | 3 | 13.7 | 65.8 | +0.57 |
| Career | 1 tm | 71 | 489 | 313 | 4,676 | 27 | 14.9 | 65.9 | +0.35 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- WR1 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- Not injury related - resting player, limited participation in practice
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 0 on 35 targets
- Broken tackles
- 1
- Passer rating when targeted
- 106.1
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Woody MarksRB | 94 | 365 · 2 TD | -12.9 |
 David MontgomeryRB | 59 | 205 · 3 TD | -13.4 |
 Xavier HutchinsonWR | 44 | 274 · 1 TD | -1.4 |
 Dalton SchultzTE | 43 | 322 | +9.8 |
 Jaylin NoelWR | 27 | 357 · 2 TD | +20.1 |
 Kayshon BoutteWR | 23 | 194 | +9.3 |
 Marvin Harrison Jr.WR | 21 | 125 · 2 TD | +3.7 |
 C.J. StroudQB | 18 | 80 · 1 TD | +8.4 |