HOUSTON – As Texans Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud drops back to pass Sunday night against the Detroit Lions, he’ll have a familiar downfield target.
Tank Dell who operated as the equivalent of WR1 against the New York Jets with Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs both out at the same time for the first time this season, is expected to be play against the Lions after being added to the injury report Friday with a questionable listing after a limited practice, per league sources.
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in the wake of Diggs’ season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament, Dell caught six passes for a season-high 126 yards against the Jets. He had a season-long 50-yard sideline catch and four first downs on nine targets. Collins’ official status is still being determined after he was designated for return Friday morning and had a limited practice with a questionable listing and still not restored to the active 53-man roster, but the Texans have prepared all week to go without him and have Dell in a primary receiving role.
When utilized, Dell remains an explosive wide receiver with a proven track record for creating separation and being a dangerous deep threat. His production is down compared to his rookie season when he caught 47 passes for 709 yards and broke Owen Daniels’ franchise rookie record with seven touchdowns. Lately, though, Dell’s catches and yards are up. He has 30 receptions for 355 yards and two touchdowns for a season-long pace of 57 catches for 671 yards and four scores. Over the past two weeks, Dell has 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown on 13 targets.
“It is not like we did anything different,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said when asked about Dell’s role against the Jets. “He took advantage of some matchups, and some plays worked out where we had given him plenty of opportunities in the last three or four weeks. Sometimes, you can’t control the coverage. Coverage is dictated that we can’t necessarily work it and it worked out this past game where we were able to utilize a matchup.”
Although Dell has gotten off to a quiet start after an ultra-productive rookie season that was cut short by a broken fibula, his targets have also been reduced until now because of the emphasis on throwing to Collins and Diggs.
“Last year is last year,” Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “This is Week 10 in 2024, so we have to let that go and we have to go play this year. I thought every week he has been open. We just have to find time to get it to him and I have to throw the right ball to get it to him. He is going to continue to do great.”
Now, Diggs gets an increased workload and an opportunity to show what he can do in an expanded role.
“I know I have to step up,” Dell said before the Jets game. “I’m not gonna make it seem like I don’t have to go out here and do what I need to do. I know I have some shoes to fill. I have to get back to doing what I was doing last year.”
After recovering from the broken leg, the former third-round draft pick from the University of Houston suffered a gunshot wound as an innocent bystander in a mass shooting at a party in his home state of Florida. He made another full recovery.
He’s averaging 11.8 yards per catch.
Dell is capable of doing more and a lot of people close to Dell are confident he will step to the forefront.
Without Diggs and Collins, the Texans’ top wide receivers against the Jets were Dell, Xavier Hutchinson, Robert Woods and John Metchie III.
Dell is inspired to carry the torch and pick up for Diggs, his fallen teammate.
“I know the conversation that me and him had about what we wanted to achieve for ourselves and for the team,” Dell said. “For him to go out like that, I had went out like that last year. I know how it feels to go out and want something so bad and get it taken from me.
“He wants us to win it all. We all harp on we want to win it all ourselves. We’re gonna do it for him. That’s our brother, no shadiness. That’s our brother, that’s my guy. And he knows we’re ready to go out there and rock out for him. And if the worlds were switched, I know he’d be ready to do it for each and every one of us.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
