How ACL tear affects Texans, WR options

On By Littum

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The Houston Texas have lost one of their best offensive players to a season-ending knee injury.

Stefan Diggs tore his ACL mod Indianapolis Colts when his knee appeared to buckle on a non-contact play. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans announced the news on October 29, confirming that Diggs would be out for the rest of the season due to the illness.

Now Houston will have to scramble to replace Diggs. They are already temporarily without their No. 1 receiver, Nico Collinsso the team will be thin as the 2024 NFL trade deadline approaches.

Here’s what you need to know about Houston’s WR depth chart and what options they could consider to replace Diggs.

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Texans WR depth chart

The Texans have five healthy receivers on their 53-man roster following Diggs’ season-ending ACL injury. Here’s a look at the pecking order among this group:

  1. Tank Dell
  2. Xavier Hutchinson
  3. Robert Woods
  4. John Metchie III
  5. Steven Sims

Dell figures to be Houston’s No. 1 receiver as long as Diggs and Collins are out. The second-year pro was a second-round draft pick in 2023 and has 71 catches for 938 yards and nine touchdowns in 18 career games. The 5-10, 165-pound receiver is a speedster and should help stretch defenses vertically for CJ Stroud.

Outside of Dell, Hutchinson and Woods have gotten the most snaps, with the latter having more NFL experience to date. These two figure to carry a larger workload until Collins returns; when that happens, they will share time as the team’s No. 3 receiver.

Metchie caught a season-high three passes for 29 yards in Week 8 against the Colts, so he could also work his way into the rotation while developing chemistry with Stroud. Sims is almost exclusively a return man on special teams, having played just three offensive snaps this season.

Houston also has Johnny Johnson III, Jared Wayne and Xavier Johnson on the practice squad. Anyone could be called up to add depth to the team, especially if DeMeco Ryans and Bobby Slowik plan to keep Sims’ role limited to special teams.

Texans WR trade options

Could the Texans trade for another receiver before the deadline? It’s possible, albeit unlikely, as Ryans communicated during a press conference announcing Diggs’ injury.

“We like the guys we have,” he told reporters. “We’re excited to see who steps up next.”

Still, Houston may change its tune if it struggles to move the ball toward New York Jets on “Thursday Night Football,” the Texans’ final game before the trade deadline. If so, there are a few low-cost options they could consider:

  • Mike Williams, New York Jets: The Jets relegated Williams to the No. 4 spot on their wide receiver depth chart after trading Davante Adams. Williams has great size at 6-4, 218 pounds, and was long a quality No. 2 receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Texans could imagine him thriving against another big receiver like Collins, so it makes sense to get the 30-year-old as the No. 3 receiver.
  • Darius Slayton, New York Giants: The Giants are out of contention at 2-6 and may start trading off pieces that don’t fit their long-term plan. Slayton has generated at least 724 yards in four of his five full NFL seasons to date and has the speed needed to thrive as a downfield carry. He has largely played with Daniel Jones throughout his career so could break out if paired with Stroud.
  • KJ Osborn, New England Patriots: Osborn averaged 53 catches, 615 yards and five touchdowns per year over his final three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He has yet to make contact with the Patriots, so a change of scenery could prove beneficial. This would be a good buy-low move for the Texans.

While those options could appeal to the Texans, they’ll likely be more comfortable waiting for Collins’ return and rolling with him and Dell as the team’s top two receivers.

But given the finicky nature of hamstring injuries like the one Collins is dealing with, never say never.