With dynamic wide receiver Tank Dell sustaining a season-ending injury towards the end of the 2024 campaign, and likely missing this upcoming season, the Houston Texans made it a priority to address the wide receiver position.
Now, some within the fan base thought that the Texans would go after Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, or Deebo Samuel to fill the void left by Dell. However, Houston had other ideas, as they made an inter-division trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for Christian Kirk.
And then a month later in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Texans took Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the fourth round. Houston hopes that all three guys can make a huge impact, as it could go a long way to getting this team where it wants to go.
Christian Kirk Could Be a Hot Commodity with a Big Year in Houston
If that dream materializes for the Texans, which means winning the division and making a deep playoff run – an AFC title game maybe, Houston may not be able to re-sign Kirk next offseason.
Without Dell on the field, defenses will be doing everything in their power to double-cover Nico Collins, who has developed into one of the more underrated WR1s in the NFL over the last two years.
Therefore, that should leave favorable matchups for Higgins and Kirk in the slot. The veteran wide receiver is coming off a down 2024 campaign in Jacksonville. Kirk had 27 receptions (47 targets) for 379 yards and a touchdown in eight games.
It was a far cry from what the veteran wideout did in his first two years with the Jags, where he had a 1,000-yard season in 2022 (1,108 and eight touchdowns), which was the first time Kirk crossed that threshold in his career.
Last season, Kirk suffered a broken collarbone in Week 8, which effectively ended his season and tenure in Jacksonville. After seeing how things ended in Jacksonville, you have to imagine that Kirk is motivated to prove that his 2024 season was a fluke.
When healthy, Kirk is one of the better WR2/WR3s in the NFL as he has the skills to get open, but also stretch the field. Over his three-year run with the Jags, Kirk averaged 13.5 yards per catch.
The Texans will need that as they don’t have Dell to open up the defense. Now, Kirk does not have the same speed as Dell, but if he can turn back the clock to 2022 or 2021 with the Arizona Cardinals (77 receptions for 982 yards and five TDs), he’ll be due for a big payday.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Texans likely expect their top-three WRs to be Collins, Dell, and Higgins if everything goes well. Kirk, as a fourth option, doesn’t work, especially if he has that year we think he can.
However, we’ll see how everything plays out on the field as Kirk has a good QB (C.J. Stroud) and a new offensive coordinator (Nick Caley), who comes from the school of Sean McVay, to get back on track.