Nico Collins injured his hamstring catching a long touchdown in Week 5 and the receiver has been placed on IR, meaning Collins will miss at least four games.
The 25-year-old is the No. 1 receiver in fantasy football this season and he has led the Texans with a 24.7% target share, so there will be a huge void to fill with Collins sidelined.
Stefon Diggs ($7,400), Dalton Schultz ($4,100) and Tank Dell ($6,200) are all going to see more usage with Collins absent, and while the latter hasn’t put up great numbers this season, Dell must be considered in Week 6.
Dell was underwhelming last week with Collins out for most of the game, catching all four of his targets for 38 yards, but this performance came against a Buffalo defense that is designed to stop the pass and force you to run the ball. This season, the Bills are allowing the fifth-least yards per pass (5.7) and the most yards per rush (5.2).
Now, for Week 6, Dell finds himself in a total opposite spot, facing a pass-funnel Patriots defense that is giving up the seventh-most yards per pass (7.2) and the seventh-least yards per rush (4.2).
This Texans offense that throws the ball at the fifth-highest clip in the NFL should rely on their passing game vs. New England and Dell should be very active.
Dell has played one full game with Collins inactive, which came vs. the Bengals in Week 10 of last season and in that tilt, he saw a career-high 14 targets, six of which he hauled in for 56 yards and a touchdown (18.9 FPTS). Overall, Dell led the Texans with a 35.9% target share in the contest.
While we can’t expect that type of target share with Diggs in the picture this time around, Dell’s rate should increase aggressively to over 20% Sunday, putting him in a prime position to have his best outing of the season.
Unless you’re in a smaller league and have great depth at receiver, Dell needs to be started this week and he is also an appealing DFS option for tournaments, as his quiet results this season may result in low ownership.
On the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Texans are seven-point favorites over the Patriots.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
