# Nico Collins

Dominique Stephon "Nico" Collins (born March 19, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Texans in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.

## Early life

Collins was born and raised in Pinson, Alabama, the youngest of three children. His father, Don Collins, a Michigan native, worked as a surgical tech, and his mother worked in human resources. In his youth, Collins played AAU basketball. He attended Clay-Chalkville High School in Clay, Alabama, where he played wide receiver on the undefeated football team that won the 2014 Class 6A state championship. As a junior, he caught 60 passes for 1,103 yards and 16 touchdowns. As a senior, he had 43 receptions for 865 yards and 9 touchdowns. In February 2017, Collins committed to play football at Michigan over Georgia and Alabama. His paternal grandparents live near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Nico Collins WR | Birmingham, Alabama | Clay-Chalkville High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 197 lb (89 kg) | 4.50 | Feb 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 120 247Sports: 138 ESPN: 150 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Michigan Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 4, 2020. |||||||

## College career

In 2017, Collins enrolled at the University of Michigan. On October 12, 2017, Collins made his first collegiate reception on a 12 yard pass against Rutgers. As a freshman, he appeared in two games and had three receptions for 27 yards. He had a breakout season in his sophomore year of 2018, earning the Most Improved Offensive Player, finishing the season with 38 receptions for 632 yards and six touchdowns. In 2018 he had four catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State. On November 23, 2019, Collins had a career-best 165 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Indiana. Despite playing alongside Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Ronnie Bell, Collins was second on the team in receiving yards in 2019, with 37 receptions for 729 yards and seven touchdowns.

### College statistics

| Team | G | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving |
| Team | G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2017 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018 | 13 | 38 | 632 | 16.6 | 6 |
| 2019 | 12 | 37 | 729 | 19.7 | 7 |
| 2020 | Opted-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Opted-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Opted-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Opted-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Opted-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Career | 27 | 78 | 1,388 | 17.8 | 13 |

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 4+1⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.45 s | 1.55 s | 2.63 s | 4.32 s | 6.79 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | 14 reps |
| All values from Pro Day ||||||||||||

### 2021 season

Collins was drafted 89th overall by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. On May 12, Collins officially signed with the Texans. Heading into his first training camp, Collins was listed as a starting wide receiver alongside veterans Brandin Cooks and Chris Conley. Again at the end of the NFL preseason, head coach David Culley named Collins a starting wide receiver, alongside Cooks and Conley.
Collins made his first career start and NFL debut in the Texans' Week 1 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He recorded one reception for seven yards. Collins again started in the Texans' Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns, where he recorded one reception for 32 yards before exiting early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. Collins was placed on injured reserve on September 21. He was activated on October 16, and returned to start the Texans' Week 6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. In Week 14 against the Seattle Seahawks, Collins recorded five receptions for 69 yards and caught his first career touchdown pass during the Texans' Week 16 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Overall, Collins finished his rookie season appearing in 14 games (8 starts) and recorded 33 receptions for 446 yards and one touchdown while playing in just over half of the Texans' offensive snaps on the season.

### 2022 season

Collins entered the 2022 season as the Texans No. 2 receiver behind Brandin Cooks. He finished the season with 37 catches for 481 yards and two touchdowns, playing in ten games, including seven starts. On December 23, Collins was placed on season–ending injured reserve with a foot injury.

### 2023 season

During Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts, Collins finished with 146 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Texans lost 31–20. In a Week 4 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Collins set new single-game career highs with seven receptions for 168 receiving yards and two touchdowns. In Week 13 against the Denver Broncos, Collins would top his single-game career highs in yardage and receptions once again, finishing with nine receptions for 191 receiving yards, adding a touchdown as the Texans won 22–17. In a win-or-go-home scenario against the Colts in Week 18, Collins caught all nine of his targets for a career-high 195 yards and a career-long 75-yard touchdown in a 23–19 win, clinching the Texans a playoff spot for the first time since 2019. He appeared in 15 games and made ten starts in the 2023 season. He had 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished the season 8th in the league in receiving yards, and tied 4th in receptions of 20 or more yards.
Collins had a receiving touchdown in the Texans' 45–14 victory over the Browns in the Wild Card Round.

### 2024 season

On May 29, Collins agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Texans, worth a maximum of $75 million, with $52 million guaranteed. Collins led the league with 567 receiving yards before suffering a hamstring injury in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. On October 9, the Texans placed Collins on injured reserve. He was activated from IR on November 9.

## NFL career statistics
### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2021 | HOU | 14 | 8 | 33 | 446 | 13.5 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | HOU | 10 | 7 | 37 | 481 | 13.0 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | HOU | 15 | 10 | 80 | 1,297 | 16.2 | 75T | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | HOU | 12 | 12 | 68 | 1,006 | 14.8 | 67T | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 51 | 37 | 218 | 3,230 | 14.8 | 75T | 18 | 1 | 0 |

### Postseason

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Receiving | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost |
| 2023 | HOU | 2 | 2 | 11 | 164 | 14.9 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | HOU | 2 | 2 | 12 | 203 | 16.9 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 4 | 4 | 23 | 367 | 16.0 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 0 |