The Houston Texans are on course to win the AFC South, albeit after a less dominant campaign thus far than many were predicting during the preseason. A host of injuries have hampered the Texans this season, but it’s always ‘next man up’ in the NFL and Houston is in control of its own destiny.
Up next in Week 13 is an away game against the 2-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, who are on a four-game losing streak and coming off a bye. This resembles a trap game for the Texans, so let’s look at their main fantasy weapons for the matchup:
Texans’ Week 13 Fantasy Outlooks
QB: C.J. Stroud
C.J. Stroud has been a very frustrating figure for fantasy managers in 2024 and is the QB15 on the year. Stroud has broken 20 points just once this season and that was in Week 4 against, as it happens, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The number of rushing TDs Houston is scoring is hampering Stroud in fantasy (13), but he could be in for a good performance in Week 13. Stroud seems likely to have a good day against one of the more porous defenses in the league, with the Jags allowing an average of 28.7 points per game and 22.87 fantasy points per game to QBs.
C.J. Stroud’s points range: 5-25; Prediction: 20
RBs: Joe Mixon & Dameon Pierce
Joe Mixon has been a tremendous asset for the Texans this season, rushing for 786 yards and 10 TDs, adding another 226 yards and a TD through the air. The Jaguars are allowing an average of 28.90 fantasy points per game to RBs, which ranks 31st in the NFL this season. If you have Mixon you must start him as he is the RB5 on the season (HPPR) and faces a weak rushing D, even though he had a disappointing game in Week 12.
Behind Mixon on the depth chart, it gets a little murkier, with only Dameon Pierce flirting with fantasy relevance once in Week 6, and he cannot be started here.
Joe Mixon’ points range: 6-35; Prediction: 20.5
WRs: Nico Collins, Tank Dell & Robert Woods
The Texans may be missing Stefon Diggs for the rest of the season, but having Nico Collins and Tank Dell be able to step up is huge. Houston has a tremendously talented receiver corps and they look to be in for a good day against Jacksonville’s defense.
The Jags allow 39.52 fantasy points per game to WRs (HPPR), so both Nico Collins and Tank Dell are good starts as WR1 or WR2/flex roles, respectively. However, WR3 Robert Woods does not get enough volume to be a viable streamer here.
Nico Collins’ points range: 6-27; Prediction: 17.5
Tank Dell’s points range: 6-17; Prediction: 8.5
TE: Dalton Schultz
Tight end is historically a tough position to navigate and people looking for a reliable tight end to win them a close game should look somewhere other than Dalton Schultz in 2024. The obviously talented tight end faces a lot of competition for catches, and with such a large amount of TDs going to the running game, Schultz is not worth the gamble.
Sure, he could score a TD and approach that 10-point score, but he is yet to record one this season and his ceiling thus far is 8.1 points (HPPR).