Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

This rookie WR could save your fantasy season

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 11/11/23

In fantasy football, opportunity is everything, and your chances of winning a fantasy championship could be much better with Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell in your starting lineup.

Overall, this year’s class of rookie wide receivers has performed well, especially in fantasy leagues. The Rams’ Puka Nacua has the seventh-most fantasy points among wide receivers (159.10), while Minnesota’s Jordan Addison averaged the fifth-most points (18.68) over the past four weeks.

But of all rookie receivers, only Nacua has more games (5) with 20+ points than Dell (2). Addison also has two, but he’ll be without quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the year. Nacua’s quarterback, Matthew Stafford, is dealing with a thumb injury that could seriously jeopardize the Rams' passing numbers.

Tank Dell: 131.3 Passer Rating when targeted this season

Leads all rookies pic.twitter.com/BbEckTbHR4
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 10, 2023

Dell, on the other hand, will catch passes from quarterback C.J. Stroud, a talented rookie in his own right and last week’s leading passer. Dell caught two of Stroud’s five touchdown passes against Tampa Bay and finished last week as fantasy football’s top receiver with 29.6 points in Yahoo leagues.

Teammate Noah Brown finished third with 27.3 fantasy points, and both should see even more work against the Bengals now that Nico Collins has been ruled out with a calf injury. With 641 yards, Collins remains Houston's leading receiver, but he’s been prone to injury since joining the Texans.

Collins missed three games with a shoulder problem in 2021 and seven games with an assortment of injuries last season. If his calf continues to give him problems, Brown and veteran Robert Woods, battling a foot injury himself, would be Dell’s primary competition for catches.

Generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Dell may not look the part of an alpha receiver like Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown or the Cowboy’s CeeDee Lamb, but with games against pass-friendly teams like the Cardinals, Broncos and Jaguars on tap, Dell and Stroud could do real damage in the weeks ahead.

Available in almost 30% of leagues, Dell is at least worth a stash given the injury status of Houston’s other wide receivers.

More must-reads: