{"id":279114,"date":"2026-04-24T13:44:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=279114"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:02:17","slug":"texans-two-time-pro-bowler-connected-in-nfl-draft-trade-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/04\/24\/texans-two-time-pro-bowler-connected-in-nfl-draft-trade-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"Texans Two-Time Pro Bowler Connected in NFL Draft Trade Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Night 1 of the NFL Draft over, the Houston Texans received calls on the availability of WR1 Nico Collins regarding a possible trade. While the Texans aren’t expected to trade him<\/a>, it’s still worth bringing up for the rest of the draft weekend. Teams like the Steelers, Vikings and 49ers are still looking for wide receivers. Carnell Tate<\/a> and Makai Lemon are the latest top receivers that are off the board, which means teams might have to get creative with a possible trade for Collins. As of this posting, nobody should expect the Texans to move on from Collins unless they receive an enormous deal similar to the one the Denver Broncos offered the Dolphins for Jaylen Waddle.<\/p>\n

Originally selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the receiver is just too good. Coming off the 2025 season, recording 71 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns, the Texans can’t afford to let him go. Collins helped elevate this offense alongside Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, so unless they get a premium player in return, the Texans won’t be moving on.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Texans Two-Time Pro Bowler Nico Collins Connected in NFL Draft Trade Rumors<\/h2>\n

The receiver is attached to a three-year contract he signed in 2024 and won’t become a free agent until after the 2027 season. A trade won’t happen now, but it’s something to watch for in the following seasons to come. With that being said, the Texans trading Collins isn’t impossible, as he will be older by the time he’s eligible for a new deal. However, the team can’t afford to lose him, especially with how Tank Dell has dealt with multiple injuries in the past few seasons.<\/p>\n

Still, the Texans may only “listen” to offers regarding Collins, but here are three teams that could make a strong push.<\/p>\n

Possible Destinations<\/h2>\n

Philadelphia Eagles<\/h3>\n

After selecting Makai Lemon<\/a> with the No. 20 pick, the Eagles are actively trying to move on from AJ Brown<\/a>. While the team doesn’t need another receiver, it’d be nice to get an immediate WR1 boost alongside DeVonta Smith while Lemon develops. Brown swapping places with Collins doesn’t sound like a bad idea on paper, but it might have to include a future first-round pick swap, too. It would make the Eagles’ life easier and also put the Texans in a winning situation with a receiver who has Super Bowl experience.<\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the Panthers should be able to grab a receiver on night 1 of the NFL Draft. While they’re brushing up on the offensive line, selecting Monroe Freeling<\/a> to help QB Bryce Young, they also could use a wideout. Xavier Legette is a name to watch for the rest of the NFL Draft weekend, so if the Panthers move on, they should be drafting at least a low-stakes receiver. Collins would immediately strengthen the pass-attack for Young to help Tetairoa McMillan<\/a> if Carolina wants to truly evolve this offense.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams<\/h3>\n

The Los Angeles Rams selected QB Ty Simpson, which means the team is preparing for life after Matthew Stafford. Head Coach Sean McVay expects competition between Simpson and Stetson Bennett<\/a>, and the same energy must be applied to the receiver unit. The Rams explored trading Davante Adams, and even though they decided against it, the team has to think about the depth future behind Puka Nacua<\/a>, as Adams is on the older side.<\/p>\n

If the Rams want to address it now, they should go full-throttle for Collins to be the WR2 for Nacua.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Houston Texans may be listening to offers for WR Nico Collins regarding a trade for the rest of the 2026 NFL Draft weekend. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":279155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<\/smartframe-embed>","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,30,14,34,36,6431,21],"tags":[33533,7739,7360,32193,7473,33773,246,7996,7661,7393,9950,10035,33031],"class_list":["post-279114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-panthers","category-texans","category-rams","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","category-eagles","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-carolina-panthers-news","tag-houston-texans-news","tag-lastest-nfl-news","tag-los-angeles-rams-news","tag-makai-lemon","tag-nfl-news","tag-nico-collins","tag-panthers-featured","tag-philadelphia-eagles-news","tag-puka-nacua","tag-tank-dell","tag-tetairoa-mcmillan"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279114"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279139,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279114\/revisions\/279139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}