The Houston Texans have taken a cautious approach with fourth-year wide receiver Tank Dell, and their patience could be rewarded with a bounce-back campaign from the former Houston Cougars star.
A favorite of Texans fans, Dell was a dynamic presence in the offense.
The group has lacked that in his absence, but it is also fair to wonder if he can still show the same burst after missing more than one full season due to a second significant leg injury.
Tank Dell Expected to ‘Turn Head’ During Texans Training Camp
GettyTank Dell is trending in the right direction for the Houston Texans.
The Texans selected Dell 69th overall in the 2023 draft, and he quickly emerged as a top target for draftmate, friend, and quarterback C.J. Stroud. However, Dell’s injury in Week 16 of the 2024 season cost him all of 2025.
He has worked his way back and was present for the Texans’ offseason program.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime expects Dell will “turn heads in camp,” noting that it will be “for better or worse.”
“Whenever Dell participates in camp, it’ll be his first time competing in 11-on-11 since his gruesome knee injury in December 2024,” Bien-Aime wrote on July 4. “Once he returns, the evaluation shifts past his triumphant comeback from a career-threatening injury to how he will contribute to the Texans’ wideout room. Right now, the room is led by No. 1 wideout Nico Collins with Jayden Higgins being the incumbent No. 2.”
The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander expects Higgins to be more productive in Year 2 after the former second-round pick surged to end his rookie season. Ditto for 2025 third-round pick Jaylin Noel.
“I’d expect Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to have improved years,” Alexander wrote on Jul 1. Higgins was much better over the second half of the season than he was in the first half, so he’ll likely build on that with more experience. And Noel has shown he can make big plays. The Texans will try and utilize him more.”
Texans Should Be ‘Concerned’ About WR Room
GettyNico Collins’ injury history is just one concern for the Houston Texans’ wide receiver corps.
Dell, who also missed time as a rookie due to injuries, including one that ended his season early, is emblematic of the Texans’ overall uncertainty at the wide receiver position heading into training camp this year.
Alexander noted that and defensive end as the two positions he would be “concerned” about if he were Texans general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans.
“Nico Collins is an elite wideout. Everyone else is solid. Perhaps Tank Dell can get back to his former self,” Alexander wrote of he WR depth chart. “But Collins suffers an injury every season. And though they had a game in which they were successful when he didn’t play, they also had horrible games without him.”
Collins missed two games during the 2025 regular season.
One of those was the regular-season finale, in which the Texans rested several veterans for the playoffs. However, Collins suffered his second concussion of the season during the AFC Wild Card Round and missed the Divisional Round.
Collins had 71 receptions for 1,117 yards, and 6 touchdowns in 2025. Higgins, Noel, and Xavier Hutchinson combined for a 102-1,245-11 line.
Texans Expected to Stand Pat at WR
GettyThe Houston Texans are expected to lean on Jayden Higgins and their other WRs.
Despite whatever potential concerns about Dell’s health and their depth in general the Texans should have, Alexander does not expect they will add another wide receiver in free agency before training camp.
Part of that is due to their inaction so far with a pool of options that has not grown.
Several players have been floated as options for the Texans, but all of them come with concerns that could relegate them to fallback options.
Moreover, Alexander noted that the “Texans like their current receiver group and will give them every opportunity to show that in camp. Obviously, if there’s an injury or they feel they aren’t getting much production from that group, then it’s possible they would sign one.”
“But for now, I don’t expect it.”
The Texans, who also drafted Lewis Bond in the sixth-round this year, could certainly use a bounce-back season from Dell, and they do not seem to concerned about it not happening.
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