PITTSBURGH, PA – JANUARY 12: Nico Collins #12 of the Houston Texans exits the field during an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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Now everyone knows Nico Collins as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but he hasn’t always been an elite fantasy football option. Unlike a lot of the top fantasy football receivers right now, Collins was drafted on day two, 89th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
As a prospect, Collins was fine where he was at Michigan for three years, but his numbers were never elite. Collins went for over 600 yards twice and had 37 receptions, 729 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior.
Now the reason this matters is that Collins would also start slow in the NFL, with 6.0 and 9.7 PPG (PPR) in his first two seasons. That said, Collins is 6’4”, 222 lbs, and it’s clear he just needed time to develop. This is not a case of a player who wasn’t a great prospect playing well for a short period of time.
Collins had a 17.4 PPG season in 2023 with 1,297 yards, 80 catches, and eight touchdowns. The impressive part is that Collins only had 109 targets as well.
At this point, Collins has scored at least 15 PPG in each of his last two seasons, with 15.1 in 2025, but he had 17.6 in 2024.
Not that Collins was bad in 2025, but we’re looking to answer whether he can be a WR1 in 2026. Last season, Collins ranked 10th among wide receivers for PPG. We’ll be focusing on a 12 team league for this question, but either way, that’s cutting it close.
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