The Houston Texans still need help at receiver.
According to Kevin Patra from NFL.com, the Texans are in the category of teams that need “a piece or two or three” in their receiving corps to be a good unit.
Like with most of the positions on the Texans’ roster, there are a lot of unknowns at receiver. Will Cooks stand firm on his desire not to be part of another rebuilding year? Given the dearth of free-agent options, WR-needy teams should be checking with Houston on the veteran’s availability. But if the plan is to break in a rookie quarterback, would the Texans want to jettison their best big-play threat? Collins is a solid target but hasn’t stayed healthy, and Metchie is a wild card after missing his entire rookie season due to leukemia. Houston has more prominent needs, but adding more young talent to the WR room is on the wish list.
Believe it or not, with the qualification of “a piece or two or three,” it differs from an even worse category below the Texans of “need immediate help,” which is what it seems like the Texans need.
More than additional talent, what the Texans could use is consistency from the corps they have. Cooks had one of his worst seasons availability wise as he played in 13 games, the second-lowest of his career when he appeared in 10 as a rookie for the 2014 New Orleans Saints. Collins also missed seven games after just missing three in his rookie season. Together Cooks and Collins missed Weeks 8, 14, and 15.
Should the Texans draft a receiver in Round 1 with their additional selection at No. 12 overall, it would demonstrate Houston’s willingness to move on from Cooks. The timing aspect would come into question as any rostering of Cooks and a first-round pick after the draft would indicate Houston might shop the veteran near the end of preseason.