How will Texans replace Tank Dell? CJ Stroud dishes on Texans' game plan

The Houston Texans-CJ Stroud story has been spectacular to watch, and so has the emergence of receiver Tank Dell. He was taken in the same draft as Stroud, and the pair have been on a great wavelength this season.

But against the Denver Broncos, Dell was injured, and coach DeMeco Ryans said the wide receiver will now miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.

Now, it is up to others to step up and fill the void left by the rookie who has amassed 709 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

But who could be the one to take over?

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CJ Stroud details how Texans can overcome loss of Tank Dell

Losing your second-best receiver for the year as you are pushing for a playoff spot is tough, but the Texans do have some other weapons that can cause problems.

Quarterback CJ Stroud, who was a guest on "The Pat McAfee Show," detailed how he sounded out Nico Collins to be the one to step up in the absence of Dell.

“It's actually hard to word, like really speak about it still,” Stroud said. “He's probably my best friend on the team and we hang out all the time, and I've been in constant communication with him and just trying to help him out.

“It's a part of the game, and I told Nico [Collins], not only do I think like you need to keep that going, but I think you need to start being a leader and be more vocal. And so I kind of challenged them with that, and he was all for it. But we have the tools that we need to still be great. Of course, we would love to have Tank, he was on the forefront of that.”

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Nico Collins to take over for Dell?

Denver Broncos vs. Houston Texans

Nico Collins is in his third NFL season and is having a breakout year next to Dell. What is perhaps surprising to many is that Collins has more yards and one less touchdown than Dell.

Collins, through 11 games, has 991 yards and six touchdowns on the year. He caught nine passes for 191 yards and one fourth-quarter touchdown against the Broncos, so he showed, at least in that game, that he could cover for Dell.

But now, teams will dictate coverage toward Collins to make others beat them on offense.

Others in Dalton Schultz, Noah Brown, Robert Woods and running back Devin Singletary will now be asked to shoulder the load with Dell absent as CJ Stroud will need to get to work during the week.

But if the Texans are to make a playoff push, having CJ Stroud playing to the level he is at the moment will give them the best chance, with or without Dell.