Texans not worried WR has lost speed since Bills move

The Houston Texans aren’t too worried if wide receiver Stefon Diggs starts to lose a step from his early years with the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“Talking to people around the league, they believe they’re going to have one of the best three-receiver sets in the NFL, with Tank Dell and Nico Collins,” Fowler reported Sunday. Sports center.

“The feeling is that Diggs’ vertical speed may have declined a little while he was in Buffalo, but that’s OK because Houston needs him as a savvy route runner who will win in the middle range of the bunch. They have the youngest guys who can go deep.

Diggs’ 11.1 yards per reception in 2023 was his lowest since 2018 and more than a yard below his career average (12.3).

The NFL’s Next Gen Stats tell a similar story. Average target air yards measure how far a wideout travels down the field when the ball arrives. Diggs averaged 10.1 targeted air yards last season, below the standard he set in 2021 and 2022 (11.6).

As Fowler said, however, the Texans will have the luxury of not necessarily needing Diggs to fill the kind of role he previously held with the Bills and Minnesota Vikings.

Collins and Noah Brown both finished among the top seven players in yards per catch, and Dell was just as effective on deeper throws. His 15.1 yards per reception matched those of Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill.

As a result, Diggs will likely work the middle more than ever.

That’s far from ideal for the 30-year-old as he’s set to become a free agent in 2025, but any team success Houston enjoys can help offset any decline in his individual production.