On March 16th, 2020, the Houston Texans shocked the pro football world. A top-three WR, Deandre Hopkins, and a fourth-round pick were traded to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson, a 2020 second-round draft pick, and a 2021 fourth-round draft pick. Not only was this an awful trade for the Texans, but the fantasy value of Houston’s wide receiving core has to be reconsidered.

To fantasy owners, Deandre Hopkins was a consistent, reliable, game-changing, wide receiver. In the last three seasons, Hopkins averaged 1,372 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns, and played in 46 out of the 48 regular-season games. There’s not much more you can ask out of a WR1. In order to replace Deandre Hopkins, the Texans traded for speedy Brandin Cooks. Cooks is a decent wide receiver, who has had very solid years in the past but doesn’t give defenses nightmares like Hopkins did.

Cooks isn’t even close to what Hopkins is, but Cooks could have a decent fantasy year. Houston’s new WR core consists of Will Fuller V, Brandin Cooks, and Kenny Stills. All three have a similar strength, a deep threat in the passing game. Houston’s new and improved, well actually not at all improved, WR core, can make big plays happen, but without an established WR1, Houston’s passing game may struggle. Will Fuller V succeeded because of Deandre Hopkins.

Opposing defenses had to keep a close eye on Hopkins, which gave Fuller more one on one matchups downfield. With Hopkins gone, the fantasy value of Fuller, Cooks, and Stills has changed. Some for better and some for worse.

Individual Impact On Houston WR’s, Without Hopkins

Will Fuller V

Will Fuller V has always been a fantasy risk due to his injury history and style of play. Fuller has only played in about 58 percent of games in the last three years, so that’s already a red flag to me. Fuller is a make or break type receiver. He usually gets limited targets because a lot of his routes are way downfield.

Having Deandre Hopkins meant a whole lot for Fuller’s fantasy value. In the 2019-2020 season when Fuller was on the field, Houston passing game was lethal. With Fuller on the field, the Texans average 296.8 passing yards per game. Without Fuller on the field, the Texans averaged only 158.3 passing yards per game. Although this seems great, someone named Deandre Hopkins isn’t on the Texans anymore making Fuller Houston’s WR1. Fuller will be getting the most attention at WR on the Texans, which makes him an even risker player to draft this year.

Since Houston’s WR core mainly consists of deep threats, Fuller may have to alter his game because you can’t have three receivers all running deep routes. I would recommend looking at different WR with a higher floor because Fuller is such an unknown. Fuller could turn out to be the biggest steal of the draft or the worst selection you’ve ever made. P.S. I’m definitely not against Fuller because I benched him when he put up 53.7 fantasy points last season.

Brandin Cooks

Recently acquired Brandin Cooks has the potential to be the Texan’s best fantasy wide receiver this year. Coming off his worst year since his rookie year back in 2014, Cooks will most likely fall pretty low in this year’s draft. With the dangerous Will Fuller on the other side of the field, Cooks should get his fair share of opportunities downfield. While on the Rams, Cooks only recorded 42 receptions in 14 games played.

Playing behind Kupp, Woods, and Gurley made it very hard for Cooks to get involved in the offense. However, on the Texans, Cooks is the WR2 and should be able to have a nice bounce-back year. Additionally, Cook’s is a lot less injury-prone than Fuller, making him a safer option. Brandin Cooks’s fantasy value has definitely gone up after being traded to the Texans, and Cooks could be a very solid late-round selection this year.

Kenny Stills

Stills faced similar problems that Cooks faced last season. With Hopkins and Fuller eating up a lot of the targets, Stills never really had that many opportunities to make an impact. I think Stills will face similar issues this year, as he is the Texan’s WR3 and with David Johnson in the backfield, I think the number of snaps that Still’s sees will diminish. The only thing that Still has going for him is Fuller’s injury past. Stills should be someone you stash on your bench just in case Fuller ends up going down. Kenny Stills is a pretty talented WR, however, his lack of opportunities makes him not so desirable in fantasy football.

Conclusion

One aspect that all Houston WR’s have going for them is that Deshaun Watson is going to have to throw the ball a lot. Houston isn’t going to be a good team this year. Their defense is still towards the bottom of the league, and their offense has gotten worse, so Watson is going have to air it out for the majority of the fourth quarter.

Houston’s ability to pass the ball effectively is going to be very interesting to watch this season. The Texans have the speed, but the loss of Hopkins created a huge void, which will most likely not be filled this year.

If you liked what you read make sure you follow me on Twitter @NateHerman27. And while you’re at it make sure to head to Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks and Belly Up Sports for more great reads!