The Houston Texans lost the late game on Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 7. If you didn’t stay up late for that game, you might have missed a significant fantasy football injury. Star receiver Nico Collins left the game in the fourth quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. If he’s out for Week 9, could tight end Dalton Schultz be a strong play against San Francisco?
Let’s take a look at what we know about Collins’ injury and outlook and what we can expect from Schultz if Collins isn’t able to get back on the field in time for Week 8.
Nico Collins injury update
After catching four of his first nine targets for 27 yards, Collins jumped to try and haul in his 10th target from C.J. Stroud in the fourth quarter on Monday night. Seahawks CB Josh Jobe contacted him while he was in the air and brought him to the turf. Since his arms were tangled with Jobe, Collins couldn’t brace himself for impact, and his head snapped back and hit the turf.
He was diagnosed with a concussion, and since the Texans are on a short week before playing the 49ers next Sunday, it will be extremely challenging for him to clear the NFL Concussion Protocol. It’s not impossible, but very unlikely.
Dalton Schultz TE1 upside
The Texans were already getting Schultz more involved in the offense over the last few weeks, and this injury could push him over the edge into clear TE1 territory.
Especially this week with six teams on bye weeks, Schultz should be started in most standard-sized, season-long leagues. He’s been a PPR option for a few weeks since he typically serves as a target vacuum for C.J. Stroud.
With Christian Kirk (hamstring) unavailable, the Texans were already short-handed at receiver coming into Monday’s matchup, and that resulted in nine catches for 98 yards for Schultz, leading the team in both catches and receiving yards. He finished tied with Collins for the team lead in targets.
Schultz has at least three catches in every game this season and at least five catches in each of his last four in a row. While he hasn’t scored a touchdown yet this year and doesn’t run a ton of deep routes, his target volume is enough to make him a strong play in PPR leagues.
The Bottom Line
With even more targets available, Schultz has a very high floor this week against the 49ers. It isn’t a great matchup, but it isn’t one you have to avoid given his potential volume.
In DFS contests like DraftKings NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], Schultz is an excellent value at only $3,300. The salaries for that contest came out before Monday’s performance and Collins’ injury, so he is a bargain option compared to the other plays around his price. Even though he doesn’t bring the highest ceiling, his consistent involvement is enough to make him worth considering as a top fantasy football sleeper this week and at least an excellent one-week fill-in if you have bye issues.
If you want a more long-term solution at tight end with more upside down the road, check out Chargers rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II, who is also an emerging TE play.
