With Tank Dell's return, Texans now have a surplus of receivers. Why 'it's a good problem to have'

Four weeks ago, it felt like the Houston Texans were holding on for dear life at receiver after losing Nico Collins to a hamstring injury.

Before that, Jayden Higgins had torn his ACL late in training camp, and Tank Dell was still recovering from a knee injury he suffered two years earlier.

At one point, the Texans were down to just four receivers on the 53-man roster – none of whom had experience as the lead receiver.

But with the recent acquisition of Marvin Harrison Jr. and the return of Dell on Sunday against the New York Giants, the Texans now have a surplus of receivers.

And don’t forget tight ends Dalton Schultz and Foster Moreau, who had two touchdowns last week.

“It’s huge,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said of having so many weapons. “I just have options and guys who know how to get open and create separation.

“A lot of guys with a lot of experience, so it’s fun for me.”

The Texans have won their last two games, in large part because their passing attack has been elite. Stroud ranks No. 2 in the NFL with 1,714 passing yards this season.

He has nine touchdowns and just one interception, also the second-best mark in the league. Coach DeMeco Ryans called the surplus of receivers “a good problem to have.”

“I see it as a strength, a true strength of ours, and I see us really being able to press the tempo and really put defenses in a bind,” Ryans said.

But as good as it is to have a bevy of receivers at their disposal, it will still be a challenge for Stroud and offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who will have to juggle keeping everyone happy while trying to win games.

It’s in a receiver’s nature to want as many targets as possible.

With Dell back and Harrison added, someone’s targets are inevitably going to suffer. Last week, in Harrison’s first game as a Texan, Xavier Hutchinson saw the biggest drop-off in targets. He was targeted a season-low three times and had a season-low two catches for 10 yards.

Kayshon Boutte also had a season-low 16 yards receiving.

“From a receiver’s standpoint, it can be tough,” Boutte said. “Everybody wants the ball a lot. But that’s not really the case here, honestly. I look at last year (with the Patriots), we made it far because of unselfishness. Here we’ve got six guys. Anybody can catch the ball at any given moment. Everybody can make plays.”

But winning helps keep players and coaches happy.

The Texans (2-4) have won their last two games and appear to be trending up. No one will complain – at least publicly – when the team is winning.

“When you’re winning, you don’t really care about the targets, the yards and stuff like that,” Boutte said. “Everybody supports each other. And that’s a big thing. We talk every day. We’re with each other every day.

“We’re cool, everybody is close. That plays a factor in it.”

Ryans agreed with Boutte’s sentiment.

“There’s no beef in the wide receiver room,” he said. “Guys are still friendly, great teammates, encouraging one another, and that’s what I love most about the room.”

Stroud has been in a similar situation before, both in college and during his rookie season.

At Ohio State in 2021, his receivers included Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka and Harrison.

Stroud managed to distribute the ball, though he said it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Three of those receivers had at least 900 receiving yards. The next-best receiver or tight end had just 309.

“It’s not easy, but I think it’s good because now you can’t really just focus in on Nico,” Stroud said. “You can’t really just focus in on Tank or whatever has been in the past.

“I think there are a lot of different ways that we can move the ball and create explosives and use everybody.”

Last Sunday’s game in London against the Jaguars was Stroud’s best of the season. Ten players caught passes from Stroud, and eight had at least two catches.

Now the Texans will add Dell to the mix.

Dell hasn’t played in a game since December 2024, meaning Sunday’s game will be his first in 673 days. It will also be his first game in offensive coordinator Nick Caley’s offense, making his involvement a wild card.

But Dell has been watching and learning, sitting in on every meeting and watching some practices from the sidelines when he wasn’t rehabbing.

Dell could have a role similar to Harrison’s last week.

But no one is setting expectations for Dell, especially considering few players have returned from the type of knee injury he suffered two years ago.

“Of course y’all know I’m competitive, so I want to make some plays – a lot of plays,” Dell said Wednesday. “But my main thing is to live in that moment, be where my feet are at, have fun and fly around, and be who I am.”

Dell said he’ll celebrate when others make plays, too. It’s part of the culture in the wide receiver room. He said having a surplus of receivers is better than the alternative, and the Texans have felt the effects of that over the past two years.

“If you look back to last year, and I don’t want to harp back on last year, but you look at last year, we had receivers and tight ends down in a big game,” Dell said. “And just to have heads in the room to anybody who can go out there and make a play, it helps us.

“I feel like we feed off each other’s energy, feed off each other making plays, and I feel like we’re competitive. If I see Nico make a play, in a not-selfish way, I want to go out there and make a play, and I’m going to be happy for him, but I want to go out there and make a play.”

Subscribe

There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.

This article originally published at With Tank Dell’s return, Texans now have a surplus of receivers. Why ‘it’s a good problem to have’.