Dalton Schultz Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Schultz posted a 53-532-2 line across 17 games last season. He finished 20th among TEs in total PPR points and 31st in points per game. Schultz scored as a top-12 PPR TE in only three of his 17 outings.

The lack of TDs hurt. Schultz ranked among the top-16 TEs in catches and yards. But his two scores tied for 24th at the position.

Usage & Role

Schultz played 78% of Houston’s offensive snaps and ran a route on 77% of pass plays last year. That latter mark ranked 12th among TEs.

Schultz’s 85 targets were 11th-most at the position. But his 5.0 targets per game ranked 17th. And his 14.9% target share ranked 18th.

Schultz averaged 8.1 expected PPR points per game, which left him just 20th among TEs.

Efficiency Metrics

Schultz averaged 10.0 yards per catch last year — just below his career average of 10.2.

But his 62.4% catch rate was the second-worst mark of his career. It left him with 6.3 yards per target, which was also his second-worst mark and ranked 29th among 36 TEs with 40+ targets in 2024.

Schultz was even worse in terms of yards per route, ranking 32nd among those 36 TEs. He finished 30th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade.

Offensive Context

The Texans offense disappointed last year, finishing 19th in points, 22nd in total yards, and 21st in passing yards.

They opened the season with a strong WR trio in Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell. But those three wound up playing just three full games together (the first three weeks of the season).

Schultz averaged 3.7 targets per game on a 9.8% share in those first three games vs. 5.3 targets per game on a 16.2% share the rest of the way.

Historical Production & Trends

Schultz’s 7.0 PPR points per game last season were his fewest since 2019, his second year in the league.

He ranked 11th among TEs with 10.2 points per game in his first season with Houston in 2023. He saw more targets per game (5.9), had a higher target share (17.2%), and was more efficient (1.47 yards per route) that year than he was in 2024.

Prior to that, Schultz turned in TE18, TE5, and TE11 finishes in PPR points per game the previous three seasons in Dallas.

Injury History

Schultz missed two games with a hamstring injury in 2023 and two games with a knee injury in 2022.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

Schultz returns to Houston for the second season of his three-year, $36 million deal and should at least open the season as the clear lead TE.

The Texans only added seventh-round rookie Luke Lachey to the TE room this offseason. Brevin Jordan returns after going down with a torn ACL last September. And Irv Smith remains on the roster.

Second-year TE Cade Stover is the biggest threat to Schultz’s role. The 2024 fourth-rounder caught just 15 balls as a rookie but earned more playing time as the season wore on. He topped a 30% route rate in five of his final seven games after doing so in just two of his first nine.

Stover’s progress will be worth monitoring throughout the summer.

Supporting Cast

QB C.J. Stroud will look to bounce back after a disappointing sophomore season. He’ll hopefully get a healthier season from WR Nico Collins, who missed five games with a hamstring injury.

He’ll be working with a revamped WR corps, with Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, and Jaylin Noel replacing Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, who’s expected to miss the 2025 season after last December’s multi-ligament knee injury. WR Nico Collins returns as the alpha.

It’s a more unproven group than last year’s, giving Schultz some potential for more targets — especially early in the season while rookies Higgins and Noel settle in.

The offensive line remains the biggest concern in Houston. Five-time Pro Bowl LT Laremy Tunsil was traded to Washington in March. He’s expected to be replaced by free-agent signing Cam Robinson — a solid player but a clear downgrade from Tunsil.

The Texans also added OT Trent Brown, G Laken Tomlinson, and G Ed Ingram in free agency, plus OT Aireontae Ersery in Round 2 of the draft. But the team will be counting on improved play from C Jarrett Patterson and Gs Tytus Howard and Juice Scruggs.

This still looks like a bottom-10 unit, with the downside to be one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

The Texans canned OC Bobby Slowik shortly after last season and replaced him with Nick Caley. It will be his first time calling plays at any level, making him a bit of a wild card.

Caley spent the last two seasons working under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, holding the title of TEs coach in 2023 and passing game coordinator last year. He was with the Patriots from 2015 through 2022, mostly working under OC Josh McDaniels. Caley was TEs coach for six of those eight seasons in New England.

We’ll see if that experience with the position means Caley will feature Schultz in his passing game — although we’re not betting on it considering the talent at WR.

Production & Efficiency Trends

Schultz is coming off his worst season by most metrics since 2019 and will play the 2024 campaign at 29 years old. Our aging-curve research says to expect 86% of peak production from 29-year-old TEs. That sinks to 76% at age-30.

Schultz is likely approaching the age cliff but might still have one serviceable season left in him.