3 Pressing Questions Facing Texans' WR Position This Season

The biggest question mark of the Texans’ entire wide receiver group relies on how exactly Tank Dell will look upon his return to the field, and even how long it'll take for the 26-year-old to return to the same version of himself from before suffering his severe leg injury back in 2024.

It could be wishful thinking to expect Dell to rise back up to being a top target in C.J. Stroud's arsenal as soon as next year. Based on the extent of his knee injury and the length that he's been sidelined, a slow start to the season wouldn't be unrealistic to expect. But the sooner that he's able to be a reliable downfield target, the better this offensive attack will be because of it.

As of now, the expectation is for Dell to be a full participant in practice once training camp arrives towards the end of the month. During OTAs and minicamp, he wasn't involved in team practices, but still was working off to the side in wide receiver drills to indicate that he's trending in the right direction.

2. Will Jayden Higgins Take a Second Year Leap?

There's no doubt that of anyone in the Texans' wide receiver room facing the most pressure this season, it's second-year wideout Jayden Higgins.

That's because he's in the perfect position to take ahold of Houston's WR2 role following a strong end to his rookie campaign, paired with an impressive offseason. And he'll certainly need to take that role in stride for this offense to reach its aspired ceiling.

From Weeks 9 through 18 of last season, Higgins averaged over five targets and 40 yards a game with four total touchdowns in that stretch, and was on the field for over 61% of the offensive snaps. That's a hint of what his second year in Houston might look like, and he could produce even further with a full offseason under his belt to get even better.

All signs at this point in the offseason tend to indicate that the Texans are ready to trust Higgins to take that leap and will extend a good share of opportunities his way to make it happen.

But that's only half of what the 22-year-old needs to break out on the scene; now comes the time for him to take advantage and produce for some concrete numbers on the field. Time will tell if he can put the pieces together to make it happen.

3. How Will Xavier Hutchinson's Usage Change?

With how deep the Texans' wide receiver group expects to be this year, between Nico Collins, their second-year duo of Higgins and Jaylin Noel, along with the return of Tank Dell, it leaves fourth-year pass-catcher Xavier Hutchinson in a bit of an awkward spot for where he might slot into this depth chart.

It's certainly not for any lack of talent. Hutchinson comes off the best season of his career in 2025, logging 35 receptions, 428 yards, and three touchdowns; good for being the Texans' fourth-leading receiver across all positions.

Despite having the best year of his career now in the rear-view mirror, the road for Hutchinson getting that same opportunity and target share for next season is a bit more difficult this time around because of the extensive depth that surrounds him.

If Higgins slips from having his second-year breakout as expected, or Dell takes a bit longer to get his feet back under him post-injury, that opens the door for a much more impactful campaign from Hutchinson. Otherwise, he might be slotted down as far as WR5 on the depth chart.