Houston Texans Team Preview for the 26-27 Fantasy Football Season

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  • By Jon Mosales

    Last Updated on May 29, 2026 2:39 pm by Jon Mosales | Published: May 29, 2026

    The Houston Texans remain one of the best teams in the NFL, but not one that is very attractive for fantasy football purposes.  They have a poor o-line and a great defense, a combination that is among my number one red flags when looking to invest in a team.  They were 2nd in PPG allowed with 17.2 and they defense is only getting stronger each season.  The Texans went 12-5, but it was an up-and-down season despite having the best point differential in franchise history (109).  The crux of the issue is that CJ Stroud is no longer on the superstar track with b2b disappointing follow up seasons.    The Texans were 19th in FPPG at QB with a mix of Stroud and backup Davis Mills.  It’s not ideal that the Texans offense seemed to take shape under Mills even though Stroud was better with 15.6 FPPG to Mills 11.6.  Stroud finished as the QB21 and is going around the QB22, so if you think he’s due for a comeback tour, the value is there.  I don’t see it coming without the o-line making major strides.  There is hope though as the Texans traded for David Montgomery and have a reliable two-headed monster at RB with sophomore Woody Marks.  They also used two of their top-four picks to bolster the o-line which ranked 24th last season.  Even then, the Texans have planted the seeds for a fantasy breakout, but the picture remains murky.   The running game should be improved, but it would be hard not to be after finishing 27th in rushing TDs (9) and 29th in yards-per-run (3.8).  The 44-56 run/pass split was league-average, but again it seemed the Texans were perpetually in third-and-long.  This is all window dressing because as much as improved running game with stabilize the offense, if the passing game doesn’t get sorted, it’s all moot.  The entire fantasy world, me included was primed for the Nico Collins ascension and instead it was a failure to launch as he had 52 yards or less in four of the first six games and didn’t take off until Mills was under center.  Collins only had three TDs after the Week 6 bye and while he finished as the WR9, no one is claiming victory over Collins’ fantasy season.  The consistency just wasn’t there, as he didn’t have more than five receptions in any game after Week 11.  Collins will be fine though and I will draft him as a top-10 WR without any second thought.

    Stroud might not be who everyone thought he was after his rookie season, but he just needs to competent for this offense to take off.  He only had two top-10 finishes, but six outside the top-20 while missing three games.  The hope is that the supporting parts raise up Stroud and make life easier for him and Collins.  Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are primed to make the leap, well one of them at least.  Both were rookies and while Noel didn’t do much, we’ve seen stranger things happen.  The real fantasy sleeper is Higgins, who finished as the WR47 and had five TDs after the Week 6 bye, which is two more than Collins.  The Texans were 10th in FPPG at WR and targeted their WRs at the 11th highest rate.  It’s possible Christian Kirk starts as the WR2, but Higgins is destined to be a fantasy star.  He’s going as the WR47, which again feel like drafting at his floor.  We’ve seen too many times that sophomore WRs can make the leap and if the HOU offense goes with him, the sky is the limit.

    Player most likely to beat ADP: WR NICO Collins (ADP 10, WR7)

    Collins might not have taken off as previously thought, but he’s got too much talent to not to double-down.  It would seem taking Collins here would be drafting him at his ceiling, but I remain adamant he still has room to grow.  Finishing as the WR1 is not out of the realm of possibility, but I feel a top-five finish is more in line with probabilities.   The health remains an issue as the most games he’s played is 15, but I can’t imagine he doesn’t have perfect fantasy season in him.

    Player most likely to fade based on ADP: RB David Montgomery (ADP 60, RB23)

    Montgomery should see more work than with DET, but he’s still in a timeshare, is getting up there in age (28) and I don’t like the track record of RBs changing teams late in their career.  Woody Marks could easily supplant him and it would take a Marks injury, something that happened often last season for Montgomery to crush his ADP.  

    Late-round Flier that could blow up: WR Jayden Higgins (ADP 118, WR47)

    I’m always going to bank on the second-year breakout for talented WRs who didn’t put it all together as rookies.  I was all-in on Rome Odunze last season and while he faded down the stretch, I love Higgins this season, especially at the price.  He will easily be on my list of top-10 WR sleepers this fantasy season.


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    May 29, 2026, 2:39 pm