Contract Terms
As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported, the Texans have agreed to terms on a deal to keep TE Dalton Schultz in Houston. Schultz gets a new three-year, $36 million contract with $23.5 million fully guaranteed at signing.
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Fantasy Football Impact
Schultz, 27, was a pending unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year contract with the Texans last offseason. NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal noted that after spending his first five pro seasons in Dallas, last season proved that Schultz can produce in different schemes.
Schultz hit the fantasy radar in 2020 when he made his first visit inside the top 20 at the position. He rocketed to relevance with a TE3 finish with the Cowboys in 2021. That year, he caught 78 of 104 targets for 808 yards with 15 touchdowns.
Schultz followed up with a pair of TE11 finishes in 2022 (his final season as a Cowboys) and last year, his first in Houston, when he benefited from a combination of quarterback C.J. Stroud's Offensive Rookie of the Year performance, the emergence of dangerous downfield receiving threats in Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's successful implementation of the scheme he brought with him from San Francisco.
In his first season as a Texan, Schultz had his second-highest receiving yards total for a season (635) on 59 catches. He also scored five touchdowns in 15 games. ESPN.com's DJ Bien-Aime notes Schultz's most noteworthy output came in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he had 10 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown, his lone 100-yard performance of the season.
Since 2020, Schulz ranks in the top five among tight ends in receptions (257) and touchdowns (22) and sits eighth in receiving yards (2,635). According to NFL.com's Kevin Patra, Schultz is one of three TEs to have 50-plus catches and 500-plus receiving yards in each of the last four seasons (along with Travis Kelce and T.J. Hockenson).
Schultz currently sits as TE15 on the Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings, TE16 on our initial Dynasty Rankings, and TE14 on our Best Ball Rankings. Footballguy Jason Wood projects Schultz with 63.7 catches, 712 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Those numbers align with Shultz's current Average Draft Positions (ADP) on Underdog and BestBall 10s. He sits at TE15 on both best-ball sites, going off with an ADP of 129 on Underdog and 138 on BestBall 10s.
Those prices make him a solid value as a TE2 with some upside for those investing earlier picks at the position. And while he might not be the ideal TE1 in best ball, he'll be better than most streaming options if he remains at the tail end of the TE2 conversation when serious redraft leagues begin.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Since he's not a primary downfield option, retaining Schultz won't significantly impact players like Stroud, who ranks QB8 on our 2024 Draft Rankings, QB2 on our Dynasty Rankings, and QB5 on our Best Ball Rankings. That best-ball ranking aligns with his current Underdog ADP of QB6 and BestBall 10s ADP of QB7. The same goes for Collins and Dell, who are also already going at premium prices. Collins is WR9 on Underdog and WR11 on BestBall 10s; Dell is WR18 on Underdog and WR21 on BestBall 10s. With both already being drafted aggressively, it's hard to imagine them rising much higher. Given the level of talent around them, both could fall a bit as other players in their same range -- unrestricted free agent Michael Pittman Jr, for example, could rise now that we have some clarity on his future. At the same time, Mike Evans re-signed with the Buccaneers, but we're still waiting to find out who his QB will be.
Still, the values of Stroud, Collins, and Dell have been rising independently of this move, and expecting that to change materially is a reach. Similarly, the values of other ancillary pieces in this offense, wideouts Noah Brown (an unrestricted free agent) and Robert Woods, and tight end Brevin Jordan are already lower and unlikely to change on this news.
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Overview
The Houston Texans are keeping one of their key offensive players in Dalton Schultz, who has agreed to terms on a new three-year contract with the club. As NFL.com framed it, "The 27-year-old proved a perfect fit alongside the Texans' weapons on the outside, able to win over the middle and on shallow out-routes. With stellar hands, he's a trusty security blanket for C.J. Stroud."