Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins broke loose in the 2023 season with 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 regular-season games plus another 11 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown in two playoff games. But when the “NFL Top 100” was revealed the next summer, the former Clay-Chalkville High School star wasn’t on it.
In 2024, Collins missed five games with a hamstring injury, but he still put up 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season, then had 12 receptions for 203 yards and one touchdown in two postseason contests.
This time around, Collins made the “NFL Top 100,” with the NFL revealing on Friday the wide receiver came in at No. 32 on the 2025 list.
In its 15th year, “NFL Top 100” features a ranking for the league’s best 100 players as selected by the players for NFL Films.
Collins earned All-State honors three times at Clay-Chalkville, as a second-team selection in 2014 and 2015 and a first-team pick in 2016. In 2014, the Cougars went undefeated on their way to the AHSAA Class 6A championship. Clay-Chalkville also was undefeated in 2015 until falling to Spanish Fort in the state-title game.
Collins entered the NFL as a second-round selection from Michigan. He had 126 receptions for 927 yards and three touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons until breaking out with rookie C.J. Stroud at quarterback in 2023.
Using a new digital-first format this year, “NFL Top 100” is being revealed two players at a time every weekday on the social-media platform X until Sept. 1, when the top 10 players for 2025, as chosen by their peers, will be announced on NFL Network at 7 p.m. CDT.
Collins is the ninth player from an Alabama high school or college to appear in this year’s rankings, with Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (Alabama) at No. 33, Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) at No. 46, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) at No. 47, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (Abbeville) at No. 63, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (Pinson Valley, Auburn) at No. 64, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (Alabama) at No. 82, New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (Wenonah, Alabama) at No. 87 and Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) at No. 91.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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