Texans head coach Lovie Smith addressed Collins’ injury Wednesday and explained that Phillip Dorsett would likely see the biggest increase in workload.
With WR Nico Collins missing practice Wednesday, Texans head coach Lovie Smith discussed the Collins injury situation and also spoke on how the team would have to adapt to Collins’ absence.
Smith was asked Wednesday about Dorsett’s role with the team and if it would be expanding with Collins out:
“Yes, I see his role changing based on how much Nico (Collins) can play. Beyond that, he made some big plays our last game. That warrants more time, more targets. Phillip, great speed, fluid athlete, can do a lot for us. It was good to see him making a few plays like that. He’s definitely capable of that, and we need it.”
Smith also described Dorsett’s strengths and stated that he expects the wideout to make an impact:
“Speed, quickness. Comparing him to Nico (Collins), of course, a different body type, but he is one of the fastest guys on the team. You start with that quickness, speed. We’ve seen him. Now he’s on record of making some big plays for us. That’s what he’ll bring to the table.”
The Texans coach did admit that they will have to adjust the offense and the playcalling to adapt from Collins’ strengths to Dorsett’s:
“They’re two different body types. Not exactly the same; they’re wide receivers. It’s not like one receiver is here; we go from 100 to 10. It’s just about getting receivers the ball in different ways. We won’t be throwing fade routes with him out, jumping smaller DBs (defensive backs). That’s not a part of the game we’ll be using him for, but there’s other ways you can use him. It’s not going into strategy too much to see we’re going to be using him a little differently. You look how we’ve been using him; you kind of start with that.”