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The Houston Texans have endured a rocky 2020 season. Before their first game, head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien traded superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for pennies on the dollar. The Texans then became the first team to fire their head coach, letting go of O’Brien after seven years. More issues followed, with Will Fuller receiving a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Randall Cobb landing on injured reserve, and, just this week, David Johnson went on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
With so many things working against the Texans, the offense will need their remaining weapons to take on larger roles, some for the first time in their NFL careers.
Fantasy Football analysis: Texans WRs Brandin Cooks, Keke Coutee, Chad Hansen
Since arriving this offseason from the Los Angeles Rams, Brandin Cooks has performed more or less as expected. The speedster has 57 catches for 784 yards and three touchdowns, putting him on pace for his most productive season since the Rams’ last Super Bowl run. While Cooks does not typically garner a ton of targets, he can still turn the few he receives into reasonable production.
With Fuller and Cobb sidelined, Keke Coutee could see an uptick in production. He started his first game of 2020 last week, turning nine targets into eight catches and 141 receiving yards. He likely will not replicate that production again this week, but he could still merit fantasy consideration.
The absence of the top wideouts also created opportunities for Chad Hansen last week. The New York Jets castoff caught five passes for 101 yards in his first NFL regular-season action since 2017. Hansen’s production seems like a fluke given the long layoff, but the Texans do not have many alternatives at the moment.
The Texans’ opponent this week, the Chicago Bears, has not performed well against wide receivers in recent weeks. The Chicago defense has yielded two receiving touchdowns to wideouts in each of their last three games. During that stretch, the unit has also given up an average of 14.3 catches and 206 receiving yards to the position.
Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation
Start Cooks as a WR2.
Start Coutee as a low-end FLEX.
Sit Hansen.