Texans TE Dalton Schultz ranked third at the position in first-team snaps in Sunday night's preseason finale. He played just four of the nine snaps that QB C.J. Stroud played, running two routes and drawing one target. Schultz did lead Houston TEs in those latter two categories. But he trailed Teagan Quitoriano (six snaps) and Dalton Keene (five) in playing time. It's just one game, and Stroud attempted only four passes total. Schultz's three targets in the previous outing tied for second on the team. So Sunday night's usage shouldn't leave you panicking if you've already drafted Schultz. But it's enough to confirm that he belongs in TE2 territory of upcoming fantasy football drafts. And if you have already drafted Schultz, you might want to check our TE rankings for an early pickup off waivers as insurance.

Texans TE Dalton Schultz (hamstring) remained sidelined on Thursday. He's seemingly in real danger of missing this weekend's game vs. the Broncos. Schultz's absence would leave Brevin Jordan as Houston's lead TE -- and likely push more targets to the WRs.

Texans TE Dalton Schultz (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday. It's the first we've heard of the injury -- but might explain why his playing time plummeted in last week's loss to the Jaguars. We'll see if Schultz is able to get back on the field tomorrow. Brevin Jordan would likely operate as Houston's lead TE vs. Denver this weekend if Schultz is out.

Dalton Schultz has generally dominated playing time and opportunities among Texans TEs, but that wasn't the case in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. TE Brevin Jordan set season highs in playing time and routes. According to Pro Football Focus, he ran a route on 19 of C.J. Stroud's 47 dropbacks (40.4%). Schultz's mere 47.8% route rate for the game was his second-lowest of the season. It also marked a surprising fall vs. the previous four games, all of which found Schultz running a route on more than 80% of dropbacks. We've seen no report of an injury for Schultz, so we'll keep watch for any explanation of the Week 12 variation. Barring some indication from the team that Schultz will return to his previous usage, he'll make for a shaky play against an improved Broncos defense in Week 13. Jordan, meanwhile, will need to see his usage climb much further before he'll be a fantasy option.

Texans TE Dalton Schultz caught 10 balls for 130 yards and a TD in the 39-37 Week 9 win over the Bucs. The catches and yards were both career highs. Schultz tied for the team lead with 11 targets (26% share). This will very likely go down as Schultz's best game of the season. But he's now found the end zone in four of Houston's last five games while averaging 7.2 targets per game. The Texans gave Schultz a one-year, $6.25 million deal in free agency, so it's not a major surprise that he's emerged as a big part of this passing game. Schultz looks like a weekly TE1 going forward. There's nothing scary on the upcoming schedule, with games against the Bengals, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Broncos.

Texans TE Dalton Schultz led the team with 10 targets, seven catches, and 65 yards in the Week 5 loss to the Falcons. He also scored the team's only TD, breaking loose from 18 yards out with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was easily the best game of the season for Schultz, who had totaled just 10 catches on 17 targets through the first four games. Houston lost WRs Tank Dell (concussion) and Robert Woods (ribs) in Atlanta, though. If those guys miss more time, Schultz will have an opportunity to soak up more targets. The bad news is that he gets a tough Week 6 matchup vs. a Saints defense that entered this week ranked fifth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs.