Is Houston Texans' Nico Collins a Top-5 NFL Rookie WR?
We're about to find out. The competition for Nico Collins is daunting. A fine goal. A first goal. We're talking about the tall order of getting playing time in the Texans' somewhat-restructured wide receiver corps. Collins has to find a way to mix with incumbent Cooks, already an established force in the NFL, and with slot guy Cobb, who has demonstrated some star qualities over the course of his long career. That would, on paper, leave Collins - selected in April in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft - looking up ... though at 6-4, 205 pounds, the kid new coach David Culley calls "the prototype'' does not literally look up to many wideouts. Then maybe he projects as a kid about to put himself among the best in his class. It's hard to argue with Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports, who recently named his five rookie receivers who will be the most productive this year and failed to include Collins. Again, this is no insult. The rookies listed - JaMarr Chase, Elijah Moore, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle - were either drafted super-high or are joining a team in need (or both). Chase (to the Bengals), Smith (to the Eagles) and Waddle (to the Dolphins) were all taken in the first 10 picks, Moore went in the second round to the Jets, while fourth-rounder St. Brown fills a need for the Lions. We can also, by the way, make arguments for Kadarius Toney (Giants), Amari Rodgers (Giants), Terrace Marshall (Panthers), Rashod Bateman (Ravens) and Dyami Brown (Washington) and more ... But back to Collins. READ MORE: Rags to Riches: Houston Texans Top 5 in NFL Revenue  We could look back five or 10 years from now and see that Collins became a premium player. But it would be very, very helpful of the emergence happened, like, right now. Journeyman QB Tyrod Taylor, the likely starter with Deshaun Watson in limbo, is going to need targets. He will need them even more. We're about to find out, because this can be about both Nico being the future ... and Nico being featured.