The Houston Texans’ soaring offense fluttered around midseason, then cratered in the final weeks of 2024. A pair of absences helps explain the regression.

Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs, center, yells as he breaks the wide receivers huddle before an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis.

2024 offseason addition and four-time Pro Bowl selection Stefon Diggs logged 47 receptions in his first eight games with Houston, then missed the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in a Week 8 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Tank Dell provided middling production for much of the season, though he shined in Week 16 with a 98-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Kansas City Chiefs. That touchdown grab was the last catch of Dell’s season, though, as he suffered a catastrophic knee injury that ended his 2024 campaign.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud entered the postseason with a single standout pass catcher in Nico Collins. Houston won one playoff game, then lost in a Kansas City rematch in which it mustered just one touchdown in a 23-14 divisional round defeat.

Collins will return as Stroud’s top target in 2025. Houston’s receiver depth chart behind the 6-foot-4 Pro Bowl selection is increasingly thin. Diggs is a free agent who could face a crowded market of suitors. Dell’s injury will keep him out for a portion, if not all, of the 2025 season. So, how exactly can Texans general manager Nick Caserio build a suitable receiving corps for his rising star quarterback this spring? Let’s detail Caserio’s most likely paths to success.

Retain and develop

The most straightforward path for Caserio this winter may be the most prudent. Reunite with Diggs—a wish of Stroud’s, at least per his end-of-season press conference—slide him into the WR2 role next to Collins, then hope to coax greater production out of intriguing young wideouts John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson. Retaining Diggs isn’t solely a continuity play, either. He was in many ways a perfect complement to the 6-foot-4 Collins, who thrives on deep balls and comeback routes outside the numbers. Diggs is an interior technician, an expert route-runner who thrives in the intermediate area. He recorded 31 first downs on 47 receptions, and Diggs racked up catches for the first half of the season as a star security blanket. Repeating that formula seems sensible, given a clean bill of health.

Houston has camaraderie on its side in the pursuit of Diggs. Does it have the dollars? That’s the more pressing question. The Texans enter free agency with just under $5 million in projected cap space, though they could clear an additional $25-30 million through contract restructurings and potential cuts. Given his prior production, Diggs could command around $15 million annually in his next contract. For Houston, bringing back Diggs would require a significant financial commitment. A sizable investment in March could pay major dividends next January.

An established star? 

Diggs leads the incoming free-agent receiver class in terms of 2024 salary. But the 31-year-old is far from the only free-agent wideout with a decorated resume. Keenan Allen amassed six Pro Bowl selections across seven seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers before a more middling 2024 with the Chicago Bears. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Chris Godwin sprinted out of the gate in 2024 with 50 catches in seven games, then, like Diggs, suffered his own season-ending leg injury. Football fans in the Lone Star State are likely familiar with Brandin Cooks and Amari Cooper, two former Dallas Cowboys leading wideouts and current free agents.

Each of the aforementioned receivers would aid Houston’s passing game. Each may also outpace Houston’s preferred price tag, as will current Los Angeles Rams wideout Cooper Kupp (currently on the trade block thanks to a not-so-slim $29 million cap hit in 2025). Are any of these non-Diggs names worth circling for Caserio in a potential chase? I’d tab Godwin as the most likely Diggs replacement, with the Penn State product showcasing an extended resume of success as a slot receiver. Stroud has voiced his preference to bring back Diggs. I still suspect any proven veteran will form a quick mind meld with Houston’s cerebral quarterback.

Draft and develop youngsters 

Stroud and Houston fans may need to brace for a scary reality ahead of next season. Diggs could find a bigger payday elsewhere, and ditto for the other slate of impact veteran receivers. Dell’s absence, for now, is indefinite. Houston’s financial restraints could force the team to use some of its top draft capital on a wide receiver, a position the Texans haven’t used on a first-round pick since 2016.

Good news for Houston in the event of a dry free-agency period? The first-round receiver options could be plentiful, with Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, Texas’ Matthew Golden and Missouri’s Luther Burden III all possibly still on the board for the Texans at pick No. 25. A new offensive piece is often exciting, but the opportunity cost associated with selecting a receiver is evident for this Houston team in particular. Houston’s offensive downfall last season was caused as much by its ailing offensive line as its weakened receiving corps, and I suspect keeping Stroud upright is priority No. 1 for Caserio this spring. As a result, second-stringers Xavier Hutchinson, John Metchie and Jared Wayne could be given more room to develop and grow into bigger roles.

Houston’s youth movement sparked the franchise’s revival, but a veteran arrival made its offense look truly Super Bowl-ready. Double down on another young wide receiver, and we could see another year of regression from Stroud and Houston’s offense.