Texans TE Jordan Akins remains in concussion protocol, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. His status for Sunday's Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars is in doubt.

Related Player: Darren Fells

Akins barely found his way onto the TE2 radar before his concussion, but he was the clear TE target to roster from the Texans offense. Darren Fells will get the majority of TE targets for the Texans until Akins returns.

Jordan Akins: By NFL standards, the 28-year-old Akins, a former pro baseball player, isn’t that young, but he is entering just his third pro season and has been a productive red-zone target during practices. Whether he keeps this up will be important, as Darren Fells seems due for some regression after a season in which he caught seven touchdowns, more than doubling his previous season high.

Akins saw 140 snaps out of the slot last season, and though Cobb will absorb most of DeAndre Hopkins’ workload from that spot, Akins could experience an uptick in usage here, too, if his practice production carries over to games.

There are reasons to believe Akins may make a leap in his third year. He led all Houston tight ends in routes run (390) and ran the 10th most routes among all tight ends last year. Given his snap rate (61%), it’s an indicator that the team views him mainly as a receiver. He was fourth among tight ends in yards after the catch per reception and third among tight ends in average YAC above expectations, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. With the loss of DeAndre Hopkins, Akins should play a larger role in the passing game, especially with Darren Fells another year older. Akins could see competition from second-year player Kahale Warring, but after a lost-rookie season it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to eat into Akins’ snaps.

In Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, and Whitney Mercilus, the Texans have several key players coming back from serious injuries but they won’t be getting tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz back.

Fiedorowicz signed a three-year deal with Houston after a 54-catch season in 2016, but three concussions limited him to five games in 2017 and led to his decision to retire once the year came to an end.

“I think they all have different strengths and weaknesses that they have to work on,” tight ends coach Tim Kelly said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “As far as replacing anybody, I don’t know if one person is going to do it. I think it will be more of a collective effort. But again, if you look at the tight ends and how they played last year, it’s more of a collective group, even when C.J. was in the room.”

Related players: Ryan Griffin, Stephen Anderson, Jordan Akins, Jordan Thomas

The Texans have seven tight ends on the roster right now and tight ends coach Tim Kelly said several of them will be tasked with filling the role come the regular season. The story said Griffin will likely be at the top of the group, but the team drafted Akins and Thomas, so they are likely the future. It's a situation to watch, as it would be hard to believe anyone who emerges offensively wouldn't get more snaps and opportunities as the season goes on.